COMPUTER USE ON MOVING TRAINS: WHICH POINTING DEVICE?

摘要

An increasing number of travellers use computers whilst travelling by train. Most portable computers now use a touchpad as the primary pointing device, although it is cheap and easy to use an external mouse. This paper reports a laboratory study designed to investigate the influence of whole-body vibration on mouse and touchpad use. The experiment used a multi-axis motion simulator to produce low and high magnitudes of vibration whilst participants performed a pointing task using a touchpad or mouse. A control condition (no vibration) was also used. Data were analysed using a framework based on Fitts' Law. Under all conditions the mouse proved a superior pointing device. Fitts' Law independent constant (analogous to 'reaction time') was greater for the touchpad. The index of performance was better for the mouse. It is therefore recommended that wherever possible, train travellers use a mouse in preference to the touchpad when using a laptop computer for pointing tasks.