An evaluation of display/control gain in the context of control-display interface optimization

Display/control gain is the amount of movement that occurs on a display in response to a unit amount of movement on the control. Two studies were conducted to determine the adequacy of identifying the optimum gain for an interface as a method of control-display interface optimization. The first study examined the effects of changes in both the maximum control input and the display width on target acquisition performance with a touch tablet and a trackball. The hypothesis that an interaction between the control input and the display output would determine performance was not supported for either device. There was a main effect of the control input for the touch tablet, and significant effects of the control input and the display width for the trackball. The results also indicate that, at least for the touch tablet, gain is not a sufficient specification for performance. The second study evaluated the effects of changes in the display amplitude, the display target width, and the control amplitude. There were significant interactions among these three factors for both touch tablet and trackball target acquisition performance. These results extend the findings of the first study with respect to the inability of gain to predict performance. In addition, the inadequacy of Fitts' Law as it applies to the given interfaces is discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

Department dc:contributor.department

Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1986

Author dc:creator

• Arnaut, Lynn Y.

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Snyder, H.L.
• Greenstein, J.S.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Williges, Robert C.
• Kemmerling, Paul T.
• Birdwell, G.G.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49978

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/49978