Steven Hennessy
Joe Cabrera
Reference Information
Title: Manual Deskterity: An Exploration of Simultaneous Pen + Touch Direct Input
Authors: Ken Hinckley, Koji Yatani, Michel Pahud, Nicole Coddington, Jenny Rodenhouse, Andy Wilson, Hrvoje Benko, Bill Buxton
Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia
Summary
This article described Manual Deskterity, a scrapbooking application that uses both pen and touch input. The idea of the application was not to create a perfect new system for public use, but instead to study how people use real paper and materials for scrapbooking, and to incorporate that into a digital system. By starting with the concept of how people use real materials, the system is more likely to be easily usable and natural feeling.
A study was conducted to observe how users gestured and structured their workspace while scrapbooking in an actual notebook. Using this information, the project designers constructed a number of actions in the digital system including the ability to move and select objects, place items into a stack, cut and tear items, and copy items. The idea is not to mimic physical actions, but to enhance the entire process by using the pen and touch combination. In general, the pen is used for writing and touch for manipulation; however, to make the process more natural, there are some exceptions to this rule. This allows for easy switches into modes that are exited simply by unselecting an object.
Another user study was done, this time with professional designers using the digital tool. In general, users found the core operations of the system to be obvious, and with initial instruction about the gestures required, commented that, "the gestures felt pretty natural."
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| Manual Deskterity in action. Source: alltouchtablet.com |
I find this to be a very interesting application. The idea of doing user studies first to decide what users are likely to use in a normal, physical application seems like something that more programs should be built off of. Most people want programs that are easy to learn and feel natural to use, so obviously, they should be based off of things we are already used to.
The combination of both touch and pen seems like a very good idea, since both are used interchangeably throughout many related real world interactions. I think this application would be fun to use, not to mention, it could be very useful for people that like to scrapbook often. You pose no risk to damaging the only physical copy of a photograph by manipulating it in a program, and you can't accidentally glue your hands together when there's no actual glue in use.
Wow, I want this! As you discussed, it really does sound like they did their homework before designing this - which is probably why they received such positive feedback from the users. I can think of several friends who scrapbook often that would find this application to be invaluable since it would keep them from damaging their photos and prevent any messes involved with cutting and gluing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting way of seeing the actual way of doing things (scrapbooking) in order to develop the digital concept. I find it interesting that in class we discussed the digital pen and how it has moved out of tablets. It would be interesting to see how useful this pen would be and how well you would be able to model actual writing in the scrapbook.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like an interesting concept. I have never scrapbooked, and I never thought that I would, but this is an interesting design, and would probably be the method of choice for me. The fact that you don't need to use glue, and paper, and that you don't have to go searching for the photos will probably bring more people to scrapbooking.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great project! I was really surprised at the efforts the research team put forth to make something which was usable. As you highlighted, the user study was very important to their design. I can't wait to use devices which combine pen and touch input.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I'm a huge scrapbooking fan, but the way they testing this idea is great. Since the goal of these systems is to be as natural as possible, I was pleased with the way the user study was done. It is important with a system like this to make it accessible both professional and the average everyday consumer.
ReplyDelete