Circling Interface for Computer Access and Augmentative Communication

描述(由申请人提供)：我们建议开发和评估一种在图形用户界面(GUI)中选择和操作对象的替代方法，该方法基于环绕目标而不是指向和点击。一些残障人士发现很难或不可能一致和有效地执行涉及鼠标左键和右键的操作(例如，左击以选择项目或激活按钮、右击以显示上下文菜单、双击图标以启动应用程序、点击并拖动以移动图标或选择文本)。传统电脑鼠标上的左右按钮已经有了几个替代品，包括用于自适应开关和停留点击软件的界面，但每种方法都有自己的局限性和权衡。循环界面的潜在优势包括：7不需要操作物理按钮或开关；7不需要将光标定位在目标上足够长的时间以使用停留点击；7兼容多种类型的定点设备。我们会成立一个由八名残疾人士组成的顾问委员会，他们是拟议软件的潜在使用者。咨询委员会成员将从匹兹堡联合脑瘫公司和三河独立生活中心的消费者中招募，这些消费者过去曾就计算机访问需求与辛普森博士见过面。我们将招募各种残疾的成员，包括脑瘫、脊髓损伤、帕金森病、肌萎缩侧索硬化症和多发性硬化症。我们将实施TestBed软件，该软件允许我们呈现各种现实的指向任务，这些任务可以通过使用鼠标光标环绕目标、按下鼠标按钮或使用驻留点击软件来完成。在该项目的前九个月，顾问委员会将每月开会审查该软件。在会议间隙，软件的修订版将张贴在项目网站上。咨询委员会将就软件设计的所有方面提供反馈。一旦软件完成，我们将比较残障人士在使用旋转界面的定点任务上的表现，以及使用左右按钮和停留点击软件时在相同任务上的表现。我们将检验这一假设，即残疾用户使用旋转界面可以比使用物理鼠标按钮或驻留点击软件更快、更准确地执行指向操作的目标。这项拟议的研究有望产生一种在图形用户界面内选择和操作对象的新方法，并有望对计算机访问和增强通信软件有用。对于一些残疾人来说，圆形界面将比基于开关或停留点击的替代界面更高效、更准确，并将使计算机和增强通信设备更易于使用。拟议的圆形界面将相对容易集成到新的和现有的产品中，增加了商业采用的可能性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop and evaluate an alternative method for selecting and manipulating objects in a graphical user interface (GUI) based on circling the target rather than pointing and clicking. Some individuals with disabilities find it difficult or impossible to consistently and efficiently perform operations involving the left and right mouse buttons (e.g., left clicking to select an item or activate a button, right clicking to display a context menu, double-clicking an icon to launch an application, clicking-and-dragging to move an icon or select text). Several alternatives to the left and right buttons on traditional computer mice already exist, including interfaces for adaptive switches and dwell-clicking software, but each approach has its own limitations and trade-offs. Potential advantages of a circling interface include: 7 No need to operate physical buttons or switches; 7 No need to keep the cursor positioned over a target long enough to use dwell-clicking; 7 Compatible with many types of pointing devices. We will establish an advisory board of eight individuals with disabilities who are potential users of the proposed software. Advisory board members will be recruited from the consumers at United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh and Three Rivers Center for Independent Living who have met with Dr. Simpson in the past regarding their computer access needs. We will recruit members with a range of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. We will implement testbed software that allows us to present a variety of realistic pointing tasks which can be completed by circling the target with the mouse cursor, pressing a mouse button, or using dwell-click software. The advisory board will meet every month for the first nine months of the project to review the software. In between meetings, revisions to the software will be posted on a project website. The advisory board will provide feedback regarding all aspects of the software's design. Once the software is completed, we will compare the performance of individuals with disabilities on pointing tasks with a circling interface to performance on the same tasks when using the left and right buttons and with dwell-clicking software. We will test the hypothesis that users with disabilities can perform the target of pointing operations more quickly and accurately with a circling interface than with physical mouse buttons or dwell-clicking software. The proposed research is expected to result in a novel method for selecting and manipulating objects within graphical user interfaces, and is expected to be useful for both computer access and augmentative communication software. For some individuals with disabilities, a circling interface will be more efficient and accurate than alternatives based on switches or dwell-clicking and will make computers and augmentative communication devices easier to use. The proposed circling interface will be relatively easy to integrate into new and existing products, increasing the likelihood of commercial adoption.