Bimanual and dual-cursor control for constrained navigation and selection

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Abstract

Constrained navigation and selection are two very common tasks performed in a variety of environments, such as in medical tele-operation units, games, and map browsers. In this thesis we explore the benefits of Guiard’s theory of bimanual control for the tasks of constrained navigation and selection. Guiard’s theory suggests that under certain conditions bimanual operation can be more effective than unimanual control. In this thesis I initially seek out whether Guiard’s theory applies to an environment with constrained navigation and selection requirements. The results of the first two experiments suggest that uni-manual operation is more effective than bi-manual control in constrained navigation environments. However, a comparison between different bimanual methods suggests that Guiard’s theory is still valid and one can delegate the task of constrained navigation to the non-dominant hand and selection to the dominant hand. The results of the first two experiments led to the design of a novel navigation technique with uni-manual control, referred to as the dual-cursor navigation technique. The dual-cursor navigation method borrows principles from Guiard’s theory of bimanual control to the concept of a constrained navigation and selection. The results of our study show that the dual-cursor navigation mechanism is more effective than the typical uni-manual navigation in constrained environments. The contributions can assist interaction designers in developing adequate tools for bimanual operation.

Citation

Xu Xia. 2007. Bimanual and dual-cursor control for constrained navigation and selection. Master's thesis, University of Manitoba.

Bibtext Entry

@MASTERSTHESIS { XuXiaMScThesis,
    AUTHOR = { Xu Xia },
    TITLE = { Bimanual and dual-cursor control for constrained navigation and selection },
    SCHOOL = { University of Manitoba },
    ADDRESS = { Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada },
    YEAR = { 2007 },
}