“Will Use it, Because I Want to Look Cool” A Comparative Study of Simple Computer Interactions Using Touchscreen and In-Air Hand Gestures

Abstract

The Xbox Kinect and now the Leap Motion Controller have brought about a paradigm shift in the way we interact with computers by making the recognition of 3D gestures affordable. Interfaces now understand natural user interfaces, integrating gestures, voice and various other kinds of multi-modal input simultaneously. In this paper we attempted to understand in-air gesturing better. The purpose of the study was to understand differences between touchscreen and in-air gesturing for simple human computer interactions. The comparison of the gestures was done in terms of Muscle effort/fatigue and Frustration, Satisfaction and Enjoyment We have also tried to study the learnability of in-air gesturing. In our research we found that in-air gesturing was significantly superior with respect to muscle effort and fatigue when compared with touchscreens. We also found that in-air gesturing was found to be more fun and preferred because of its “coolness factor”. Lastly, in-air gesturing had a rapid learning curve.

Keywords: HCI, Touch Screens, in-air gestures, ergonomics, EMG, learnability, social acceptability, natural user interfaces (NUI)

DOI: 10.54941/10010