Evaluation of Four Wearable Computer Pointing Devices for Drag and Drop Tasks when Stationary and Walking

This paper presents the results of two experiments comparing four commercially available pointing devices performing drag and drop tasks for use with wearable computers. The pointing devices evaluated consist of a Trackball, Touchpad, Gyroscopic mouse and Twiddler2 mouse. The studies involved 24 participants performing drag and drop tasks with the pointing devices while wearing a wearable computer on their back and using a head-mounted display. The first experiment required participants to perform drag and drop tasks when stationary, while the second experiment required participants to perform drag and drop tasks while walking. The error rate and time to complete the drag and drop of the targets was measured and participants were required to complete an exit questionnaire. The results are presented in this paper.