Light Pen Use and Practice Minimize Age and Hand Performance Differences in Pointing Tasks

Abstract

We contrasted performance with mouse and light pen input devices for younger, middle-aged, and older adults (N = 72) who were experienced mouse users. Participants used both preferred and nonpreferred hands to perform a menu target selection task. The light pen minimized age differences in performance relative to the mouse. Older adults were more lateralized on a handedness test than young adults and were less efficient using their nonpreferred hand. With practice, older adults improved their response time more than other age groups did. The mouse was rated as more acceptable and easier to use than the light pen across trials, despite the performance advantage of the light pen for all age groups. Usability ratings correlated moderately with performance. A benefit-cost analysis indicated that the more efficient light pen might cover its greater initial cost within 11 months for an older adult and within 23 months for a younger adult. Actual or potential applications of this research include advising older adults to persist with practice for new input devices, advising those who must switch to their non-preferred hand to select a direct positioning device, and providing a methodology for determining the potential payback interval when switching to a faster, though more expensive, input device.

What Older Adults Can Teach Us About Designing Better Ballots

“…Once selected, that candidate's name was highlighted and the vote was cast only when the voter touched "Accept Vote" at the bottom of the screen. Past research indicates that the use of a direct positioning device minimizes differences across age with regard to pure pointing tasks, which in turn reduces time and increases accuracy for attaining a target item (Charness, Holley, Feddon, & Jastrzembski, 2004). As such, we hypothesized that age differences would be minimized using the pure touchscreen system.…”

Research on Interactive Device Ergonomics Designed for Elderly Users in the Human-Computer Interaction

“…The results of comparative study on the using portable computer"s two cursor control devices -touchpad and trackpoint to carry out pointing and dragging tasks indicate that age effect significantly affects ergonomics, middle-aged people (40-65 years old) take significantly longer time to complete the task than younger people [9]. When using two different input devices--mouse and stylus to select menu, Charness et al found that using stylus can reduce the impact of age difference on ergonomics, the results indicate that it is more suitable for elderly people to use stylus to pointing task [10]. In addition, some researchers consider that when carrying out long-time frequent repetitive operations, it is more suitable for elderly people to use track ball than mouse [11].…”

Gestural Interfaces for Elderly Users: Help or Hindrance?

“…In addition, we assess whether they might even benefit from intuitive gesture input compared to traditional input modes such as function buttons and little joysticks which are typically used in mobile devices. The benefit for older users of direct input devices in general [3], and touch screens in particular [4], over indirect input devices such as the mouse, has already been demonstrated. However, there are also disadvantages related to touch screens, such as the lack of inherent feedback, the risk of inadvertent activation or difficulties with precision [5].…”