Research Of Model Switching Techniques For Pen-based Interfaces

Mode switching technique are widely used on some pen-based devices, such as PDAs and Tablet PCs. Inking and gesturing are two central tasks in pen-based user interfaces. Currently, some mode switching techniques have been proposed by researchers, such as Non-Preferred Hand and Barrel Button Mode Switch. However, this is just a gesture mode switching technique, but these techniques usually utilize switching time intervals or space intervals on operational sequences. So the techniques not only take extra operational time but also distract the user’s attention from the targets. Therefore, our purpose is to explore some novel mode switching techniques. Usually electronic pens possess multiple input parameters, such as pressure value, azimuth angle, tilt angle and rotation angle, using them to execute mode switching can eliminating or reducing switching intervals.However there is no study which comprehensively compares different mode switching techniques with multiple pen input parameters. Thus, this study comprehensively investigates mode switching techniques that utilize pen input parameters.Based on this, in this paper, we investigate six mode switching techniques for pen-based interactions, a quantitative experimental study was conducted to evaluate the performance of these techniques. The results suggest that the mode switching technique with the pen angle offers the fastest performance, while the mode switching technique of pen barrel button and non-preferred hand are more prone to error than the other techniques.