Control theoretic models of pointing

Müller, J., Oulasvirta, A. and Murray-Smith, R. (2017) Control theoretic models of pointing. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 24(4), 27. (doi: 10.1145/3121431)

Abstract

This article presents an empirical comparison of four models from manual control theory on their ability to model targeting behaviour by human users using a mouse: McRuer’s Crossover, Costello’s Surge, second-order lag (2OL), and the Bang-bang model. Such dynamic models are generative, estimating not only movement time, but also pointer position, velocity, and acceleration on a moment-to-moment basis. We describe an experimental framework for acquiring pointing actions and automatically fitting the parameters of mathematical models to the empirical data. We present the use of time-series, phase space, and Hooke plot visualisations of the experimental data, to gain insight into human pointing dynamics. We find that the identified control models can generate a range of dynamic behaviours that captures aspects of human pointing behaviour to varying degrees. Conditions with a low index of difficulty (ID) showed poorer fit because their unconstrained nature leads naturally to more behavioural variability. We report on characteristics of human surge behaviour (the initial, ballistic sub-movement) in pointing, as well as differences in a number of controller performance measures, including overshoot, settling time, peak time, and rise time. We describe trade-offs among the models. We conclude that control theory offers a promising complement to Fitts’ law based approaches in HCI, with models providing representations and predictions of human pointing dynamics, which can improve our understanding of pointing and inform design.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Murray-Smith, Professor Roderick
• Authors: Müller, J., Oulasvirta, A., and Murray-Smith, R.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment
• Journal Name: ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
• Publisher: ACM Press
• ISSN: 1073-0516
• ISSN (Online): 1557-7325
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 ACM
• First Published: First published in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 24(4): 27
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy