Computational Design of Input Methods
Anna Maria Feit · 2017
Designing a user interface or input method requires to evaluate and trade-off many criteria. The corresponding design spaces are huge, making it impossible to consider every potential design. Therefore, my work focuses on the use of computational methods for the design of input methods. I follow a modelling-optimization approach: understand and model the characteristics of the interaction, formulate the design space and develop (multi-) objective functions to evaluate designs, and develop algorithms to systematically search for the best design. In my projects I applied this approach to develop better text entry methods. Among others, I modelled the performance and anatomical constraints of the hand to computationally optimize multi-finger gestures for mid-air input, and studied how people type on physical keyboards, in order to understand and model the performance of two-hand typing.