Ability-Based Optimization of Touchscreen Interactions

Ability-based optimization is a computational approach for improving interface designs for users with sensorimotor and cognitive impairments. Designs are created by an optimizer, evaluated against task-specific cognitive models, and adapted to individual abilities. The approach does not necessitate extensive data collection and could be applied both automatically and manually by users, designers, or caretakers. As a first step, the authors present optimized touchscreen layouts for users with tremor and dyslexia that potentially improve text-entry speed and reduce error.

Ability-Based Optimization

Our goal is to develop ability-based optimization for increasingly realistic and important interactive tasks. Here we focus on text entry, but our approach is generally applicable to all interaction tasks. It involves five steps: 1.

Define the design space.

2.

Define the objective function.

3.

Construct a parameterizable generative model of user behavior.

4.

Obtain parameters to describe a given user/group.

5.

Use a combinatorial optimization method to search for design solutions.