Abstract
Compared to the existing PC which uses a mouse and a keyboard, the touchscreen-based portable PC allows the user to use fingers, requiring new operation methods. However, current touchscreen-based web browser operations in many cases involve merely having fingers move simply like a mouse and click, or not corresponding well to the user's sensitivity and the structure of one's index finger, making itself difficult to be used during walking. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop finger gestures which facilitate the interaction between the interface and the user, and make the operation easier. First, based on the frequency of usage in the web browser and preference, top eight functions were extracted. Then, the users' structural knowledge was visualized through sketch maps, and the finger gestures which were applicable in touchscreens were derived through the Meaning in Mediated Action method. For the front/back page, and up/down scroll functions, directional gestures were derived, and for the window closure, refresh, home and print functions, letter-type and icon-type gestures were drawn. A validation experiment was performed to compare the performance between existing operation methods and the proposed one in terms of execution time, error rate, and preference, and as a result, directional gestures and letter-type gestures showed better performance than the existing methods. These results suggest that not only during the operation of touchscreen-based web browser in portable PC but also during the operation of telematics-related functions in automobile, PDA and so on, the new gestures can be used to make operation easier and faster.
