chapter 2

the computer
The Computer
a computer system is made up of various elements

each of these elements affects the interaction

– input devices – text entry and pointing
– output devices – screen (small&large), digital paper
– virtual reality – special interaction and display devices
– physical interaction – e.g. sound, haptic, bio-sensing
– paper – as output (print) and input (scan)
– memory – RAM & permanent media, capacity & access
– processing – speed of processing, networks
INTRODUCTION
• In order to understand how humans interact with computers,
we need to have an understanding of both parties in the
interaction. The previous chapter explored aspects of human
capabilities and behavior of which we need to be aware in
the context of human–computer interaction;

• this chapter considers the computer and associated input–

output devices and investigates how the technology
influences the nature of the interaction and style of the
interface.
• When we interact with computers, what are we trying
to achieve?

• Consider what happens when we interact with each

other – we are either passing information to other
people, or receiving information from them.

• Often, the information we receive is in response to the

information that we have recently imparted to them,

and we may then respond to that.

• Interaction is therefore a process of
information transfer

• Relating this to the electronic computer,

the same principles hold:

• interaction is a process of information

transfer, from the user to the computer
and from the computer to the user.
Interacting with computers

to understand human–computer interaction

… need to understand computers!

what goes in and out

devices, paper,
sensors, etc.

what can it do?

memory, processing,
networks
 A ‘typical’ computer system
? • screen, or monitor, on which there are windows
• keyboard
window 1
• mouse/trackpad
window 2
• variations
– desktop
– laptop
– PDA
12-37pm

the devices dictate the styles of interaction that the system

supports
If we use different devices, then the interface will support a
different style of interaction
How many computers …

in your house? in your pockets?

– PC – PDA
– TV, VCR, DVD, HiFi, – phone, camera
cable/satellite TV – smart card, card with
– microwave, cooker, magnetic strip?
washing machine – electronic car key
– central heating – USB memory
– security system

try your pockets and

can you think of more? bags
Levels of interaction-Batch
processing
• In the early days of computing,
information was entered into the
computer in a large mass – batch data
entry.
• There was minimal interaction with the
machine: the user would simply dump a
pile of punched cards onto a reader,
press the start button, and then return
a few hours later.
• This still continues today although now
with pre-prepared electronic files or
possibly machine-read forms.

• It is clearly the most appropriate mode

for certain kinds of application, for
example printing pay checks or entering
the results from a questionnaire.
• With batch processing the interactions
take place over hours or days.

• In contrast the typical desktop computer

system has interactions taking seconds
or fractions of a second (or with slow
web pages sometimes minutes!).

• The field of Human– Computer

Interaction largely grew due to this
change in interactive pace.
Richer interaction –
everywhere, everywhen
• Information appliances are putting internet access or
dedicated systems onto the fridge, microwave and
washing machine:

• to automate shopping, give you email in your kitchen or

simply call for maintenance
• when needed.

• We carry with us WAP phones and smartcards, have

security systems that monitor us and web cams that
show our homes to the world
Richer interaction

sensors
and devices
everywhere
 text entry devices

keyboards (QWERTY et al.)

chord keyboards, phone pads
handwriting, speech
Keyboards

• Most common text input device

• Allows rapid entry of text by experienced users

• Keypress closes connection, causing a

character code to be sent
• Usually connected by cable, but can be
wireless
layout – QWERTY

• Standardised layout
but …
– non-alphanumeric keys are placed differently
– accented symbols needed for different scripts
– minor differences between UK and USA keyboards

• QWERTY arrangement not optimal for typing

– layout to prevent typewriters jamming!
• Alternative designs allow faster typing but large social
base of QWERTY typists produces reluctance to change.
QWERTY (ctd)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Q W E R T Y U I O P
A S D F G H J K L
Z X C V B N M , .
SPACE
alternative keyboard layouts
Alphabetic
– keys arranged in alphabetic order
– not faster for trained typists
– not faster for beginners either!

Dvorak
– common letters under dominant fingers
– biased towards right hand
– common combinations of letters alternate
between hands
– 10-15% improvement in speed and
reduction in fatigue
– But - large social base of QWERTY typists
produce market pressures not to change
special keyboards

• designs to reduce fatigue for RSI

• for one handed use
e.g. the Maltron left-handed keyboard
Chord keyboards
only a few keys - four or 5
letters typed as combination of
keypresses
compact size
– ideal for portable applications
short learning time
– keypresses reflect letter shape
fast
– once you have trained

BUT - social resistance, plus fatigue

after extended use
NEW – niche market for some
wearables
phone pad and T9 entry
• use numeric keys with
multiple presses
2 –abc 6 - mno
3 -def 7 - pqrs
4 -ghi 8 - tuv
5 -jkl 9 - wxyz
hello = 4433556
surprisingly fast!

• T9 predictive entry
– type as if single key for each letter
– use dictionary to ‘guess’ the right word
– hello = 43556 …
– but 26 -> menu ‘am’ or ‘an’
Handwriting recognition

• Text can be input into the computer, using a

pen and a digesting tablet
– natural interaction

• Technical problems:
– capturing all useful information - stroke path,
pressure, etc. in a natural manner
– segmenting joined up writing into individual letters
– interpreting individual letters
– coping with different styles of handwriting

• Used in PDAs, and tablet computers …

… leave the keyboard on the desk!
 Speech recognition

• Improving rapidly

• Most successful when:

– single user – initial training and learns peculiarities
– limited vocabulary systems

• Problems with
– external noise interfering
– imprecision of pronunciation
– large vocabularies
– different speakers
Numeric keypads

• for entering numbers quickly:

– calculator, PC keyboard
• for telephones
1 2 3 7 8 9
not the same!! 4 5 6 4 5 6
7 8 9 1 2 3
ATM like phone 0 # 0 . =
*
telephone calculator
positioning, pointing and drawing

mouse, touchpad
trackballs, joysticks etc.
touch screens, tablets
eyegaze, cursors
the Mouse

• Handheld pointing device

– very common
– easy to use

• Two characteristics
– planar movement
– buttons
(usually from 1 to 3 buttons on top, used for
making a selection, indicating an option, or to
initiate drawing etc.)
the mouse (ctd)
Mouse located on desktop
– requires physical space
– no arm fatigue

Relative movement only is detectable.

Movement of mouse moves screen cursor
Screen cursor oriented in (x, y) plane,
mouse movement in (x, z) plane …
… an indirect manipulation device.
– device itself doesn’t obscure screen, is accurate and fast.
– hand-eye coordination problems for novice users
How does it work?
Two methods for detecting motion

• Mechanical
– Ball on underside of mouse turns as mouse is moved
– Can be used on almost any flat surface

• Optical
– light emitting diode on underside of mouse
– may use special grid-like pad or just on desk
– less susceptible to dust and dirt
– detects fluctuating alterations in reflected light intensity to
calculate relative motion in (x, z) plane
 Even by foot …
• some experiments with the
footmouse
– controlling mouse movement
with feet …
– not very common :-)

• but foot controls are

common elsewhere:
– car pedals
– sewing machine speed control
– organ and piano pedals
Touchpad

• small touch sensitive tablets

• ‘stroke’ to move mouse pointer
• used mainly in laptop computers

• good ‘acceleration’ settings important

– fast stroke
• lots of pixels per inch moved
• initial movement to the target
– slow stroke
• less pixels per inch
• for accurate positioning
Trackball and thumbwheels

Trackball
– ball is rotated inside static housing
• like an up side down mouse!
– relative motion moves cursor
– indirect device, fairly accurate
– separate buttons for picking
– very fast for gaming
– used in some portable and notebook computers.

Thumbwheels …
– for accurate CAD – two dials for X-Y cursor position
– for fast scrolling – single dial on mouse
Joystick and keyboard nipple

Joystick
– indirect
pressure of stick = velocity of movement
– buttons for selection
on top or on front like a trigger
– often used for computer games
aircraft controls and 3D navigation

Keyboard nipple
– for laptop computers
– miniature joystick in the middle of the keyboard
Touch-sensitive screen
• Detect the presence of finger or stylus on the screen.
– works by interrupting matrix of light beams, capacitance changes
or ultrasonic reflections
– direct pointing device

• Advantages:
– fast, and requires no specialised pointer
– good for menu selection
– suitable for use in hostile environment: clean and safe from
damage.

• Disadvantages:
– finger can mark screen
– imprecise (finger is a fairly blunt instrument!)
• difficult to select small regions or perform accurate drawing
– lifting arm can be tiring
 Stylus and light pen
Stylus
– small pen-like pointer to draw directly
on screen
– may use touch sensitive surface or
magnetic detection
– used in PDA, tablets PCs and drawing
tables

Light Pen
– now rarely used
– uses light from screen to detect location

BOTH …
– very direct and obvious to use
– but can obscure screen
Digitizing tablet

• Mouse like-device with

cross hairs

• used on special surface

- rather like
stylus

• very accurate
- used for
digitizing maps
 Eye gaze
• Eye gaze or eye tracking is a way of
accessing your computer or
communication aid using a mouse that
you control with your eyes.
• follow your eyes with amazing
accuracy to see where you are looking
on the screen.uses laser beam
reflected off retina
– … a very low power laser!
Cursor keys

• Four keys (up, down, left, right) on keyboard.

• Very, very cheap, but slow.
• Useful for not much more than basic motion for text-
editing tasks.
• No standardised layout, but inverted “T”, most common
Discrete positioning controls

• in phones, TV controls etc.

– cursor pads or mini-joysticks
– discrete left-right, up-down
– mainly for menu selection