User Preferences for Smart Applications for a Self-Powered Tabletop Gestural Interface

Abstract

Nowadays, technologies and applications have become remarkably widespread and versatile. This versatility lies in their ability to be adapted and controlled by users through different kinds of interfaces. A self-powered tabletop gestural interface presents a significant technological advancement in a sustainable manner, resulting in energy-harvesting technologies that alter the concept of power consumption. However, determining the applications for some gestural interfaces to align with users' requirements and preferences requires further consideration. To this end, we conducted a survey and a semi-structured interview through a user-centred design (UCD) approach with 20 end-users in pairs to increase engagement between participants in selecting a smart application for a self-powered gestural interface. We presented the self-powered gestural interface with eight different applications and domains determined from the literature. Our findings indicated that users may find one application more beneficial than the other based on the quantitative data. In addition, our qualitative investigation focused on the reasons behind the ratings, where we used open coding from participant interviews and conducted a thematic analysis that revealed three high-level themes: touchless gestures, user experience, and other applications. Ultimately, the combination of users' feedback from quantitative and qualitative means led us to capture the selected application by users and build on it in future research.

Keywords: Self-powered Tabletop Gestural Interface, User-centred Design, Smart Application, Touchless Gestures

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004552