DYNAMIC KEYBOARD SYSTEMS & IMPROVING TYPING PERFORMANCE

计算机技术(即，速度和内存的显著提高)和辅助技术软件(即，现有的屏幕键盘系统)方面的最新进展为辅助打字的创新方法提供了基础。在拟议的努力中，将利用和测试这一新方法。“动态键盘”被认为是为了提高身体、智力和学习障碍用户的打字速度和准确性，因为它们动态地使屏幕上的键盘适应当前的打字环境。使用“字母预测”，动态键盘修改所显示的键盘，以便仅显示或突出显示在该上下文中极有可能的那些键。性能增强的假设来源是1)减少了视觉扫描时间，2)减少了复杂的显示器，3)减少了选择错误键的概率，以及4)减少了使用扫描键盘的人的键选择时间。在拟议的工作中，将在涉及目标用户群的用户测试中识别、创建和评估动态键盘的不同方法。将征求主观评估，并收集和分析不同实验条件下打字性能的客观测量，以证明可行性和潜力。拟议的商业应用：如果拟议的研究表明，对于使用标准键盘有困难的人来说，动态键盘在提高打字速度和准确性方面有好处，由此产生的软件将被整合到现有产品中，并向最终用户和为最终用户提供服务的组织销售。

Recent advances in computer technology (i.e., the dramatic increase in speed and memory) and assistive technology software (i.e., existing On- screen keyboard systems) provide the foundation for an innovative approach t assisted typing. In the proposed effort, this new approach will be exploited and tested. "Dynamic Keyboards" are hypothesized to increase typing speed and accuracy in physically, mentally, and learning disabled users because they dynamically adapt an on-screen keyboard to the current typing context. Using "letter prediction", Dynamic Keyboards modify a displayed keyboard so that only those keys that are highly probable in that context are displayed or highlighted. Hypothesized sources of performance enhancement are due to 1) reduced visual scanning time, 2) less complex displays, 3) reduced probability of selecting an incorrect key, and 4) decreased key selection time for persons using scanning keyboards. In the proposed work, different approaches to Dynamic Keyboards will be identified, created, and evaluated in a user test involving the target user population. Subjective evaluations will be solicited and objective measures of typing performance under different experimental conditions will be collected and analyzed to demonstrate feasibility and potential. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: If the proposed research demonstrates benefits of Dynamic Keyboards for improving typing speed and accuracy for persons who have difficulty using standard keyboards,the resulting software will be incorporated in an existing product and marketed to end users and organizations that provide services for the end users.