Usability Evaluation of Finger Pointer for Home-Use Display

With the onset of interactive digital data broadcasting, a user-friendly pointing device for controlling home use displays such as digital HDTVs is desirable. A linger pointer that does not use any artificial devices in the hand is a suitable candidate. This paper describes the basic design and usability of the finger pointer. To obtain a degree of freedom in the operation, we propose a finger pointer used in the crooked elbow position. In the experiments, we detect the position of the fingertip with a stereo camera and examine whether there is a datum point on the body that has sufficient accuracy for our purpose. Then, the psychological plane where the display is mapped by the finger is measured. The performance of the finger pointer is evaluated in accordance with IS09241-9. Moreover, we examine the subjective evaluation test and a comparison test using the mouse. The experimental results show the finger pointer to be a promising device for domestic use.