Research On The Rolling Cursor And Its Evolutionary Tools In Pen-based Interfaces

Target selection is a common task in pen-based interfaces.An electronic pen has its special multiple input channels,which is rather different from other input devices,e.g.,a mouse-keyboard or a touch screen.Selection techniques in pen-based interfaces are still similar to those in traditional interfaces,and connot fully utilize the potential of a pen-based interface.Although a few techniques utilize the pressure channel of an electronic pen to offer pen-suitable target selection,these techniques have not taken full advantage of a pen-based interface.It is still an open question how to utilze multiple input channels of an electronic pen to present pen-suitable selection techniques.To improve target selection performance in pen-based interfaces,fully exploit advantages of multiple channesl of an electronic pen,and meet the practical needs of pen-based interfaces,we proposed and designed an adaptable target selection technique based on area cursor(i.e.,Rolling Cursor,RC).Two experments were conducted to determine optimal parameter values of RC,the third experiment was done to complare RC with three other typical selection techniques in pen-based interfaces.In the first experiment,we designed,compared,and analysized four triggering techniques for RC.The experimental results show that all four triggering techniques have high performance and there is no significant difference between them.In the second experiment,we aimed at choosing optimal values for three parameters of RC,i.e.,target selection strategy,RC length mapping method,and the brush head posture adjustment method.The experimental results show that the optimal values for the three parameters are center selection,RC length being inversely proportional to the pen input tilt angle,and adaptable RC edges being always perpendicular to the pen barrel axis,respectively.Based on the results of the two expriments,we conducted the third experiment to compare the optimal RC with three classic selection techniques,i.e.,tapping,crossing,and lassoing.The results show that RC outperforms the others generally.RC has proved to be a suitable choice of selection technique in pen-based interfaces.Finally,based on the characteristics of RC,we designed and implemented two valueable application tools with better interaction performance in pen-based interfaces for drawing and text processing.