Comparing Tangible and Multi-Touch Interfaces for a Spatial Problem Solving Task

Candidate: Sijie Wang
Type: Master of Science (MSc), School of Interactive Arts and Technology
Date: December 7, 2010
Senior Supervisor: Dr. Alissa Antle
Thesis: Download Thesis Document

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of an exploratory, mixed methods, comparative study of a tangible user interface and multi-touch interface. The study investigates the effect of interface style on users' performance, problem solving strategies and preference for a spatial problem solving task.  Participants solved a jigsaw puzzle using each interface style on an interactive digital tabletop. Hands-on actions are conceptualized using theories of complementary, pragmatic and epistemic actions. The effect of interface style was explored through efficiency measures; a comparative analysis of video data of users' hands-on actions based on an coding schema for complementary actions; participants' responses to structured and unstructured questionnaires; and observational notes. Main findings are that tangible interactoin better enabled complementary actions than multi-touch interaction and was more efficient. In addition, the 3D tactile interaction space of the tangible user interface facilitated more effective search, bi-manual handling and visual comparison of puzzle pieces and enabled the use of offline space for organization. For spatial problem solving activities where an effective and efficient strategy is not important, a multi-touch approach is sufficient and easier to implement. The thesis uniquely contributes to understanding the hands-on computational design space through its theoretical framing and empirical findings comparing tangible and multi-touch interactoin for a spatial problem solving task.