Gesture Research – Protocol (Part 1: Equipment)
Dan Mauney / Gesture ResearchWhile the concept for the study was simple, this was a challenging study to design and ensure repeatability of the protocol when conducting the study across 9 different countries with 9 different test teams. The equipment played an important role in accomplishing this.
The study concept: Ask 40 people (20 experienced in using multitouch touchscreens, 20 inexperienced) to create a gesture that will elicit software to perform a particular action (e.g. scroll, rotate, multiselect, cut, copy, paste). Then, see what gestures people commonly make and if there is a difference across cultures in those common gestures.
The challenge: Ensure repeatability of the study protocol across 9 different teams.
The solution: A pictorial-based protocol where participants were shown a before screen and an after screen and asked to perform a gesture that would result in the after screen. This protocol relied very little on verbal communication for trying to describe an action where the mere description itself could influence the participant’s gesture and translation of that description across multiple languages would increase the chance of that occurring.
Figure 1. Example Before and After screen for Multiselect Action
The next challenge: How to record the gesture generated. Also, how can the gesture be made on the before picture so we can identify location-specific gestures? And, how can the gesture be recorded and viewed later?
The solution: We created a gesture rig where a webcam was mounted on a neck over a base where the gesture would be performed. The before screen was placed on the base itself. Every country used a gesture rig for recording the gestures made to ensure a consistent video output.
Figure 2. Gesture rig
The gesture rig consists of three primary components:
- Base
- Neck
- Camera
Base
The base is designed to simulate a handheld touchscreen device. Each base held a printed image of the before screen and a protective layer of transparent plastic (i.e., Plexiglas). The Plexiglas fit securely within the base so gestures can be captured on its surface. Users performed the gestures on the Plexiglas after dipping their finger(s) in charcoal. The charcoal left a trace of the gesture which could then be referenced in pictures and video in later analyses. The Plexiglas was then wiped clean after the gesture was made and a new before screen placed underneath it.
The base was constructed from sturdy lightweight plastic. The base can be held or placed on a surface to provide balance for the attached webcam or better simulate an electronic handheld device.
Figure 3. Base
Neck
The neck, which was made of 3mm thick aluminum, secured the Webcam to the base, managed the Webcam’s cable and maintained a consistent camera position to record the gestures. The neck can be adjusted by carefully bending it toward or away from the base to allow for alternate camera distances.
Figure 4. Neck
Camera
The camera used was any readily-available USB Webcam capable of recording video in 640/480 resolution at 10 frames per second or better.
Figure 5. Sample screen capture
>> Follow this research at http://www.humancentric.com/GestureResearch
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