Armbrüster C, Sutter C, Ziefle M
RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstrasse 17-19, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
Ergonomics. 2007 Mar;50(3):426-45. doi: 10.1080/00140130601127885.
In two experiments, the usability of input devices integrated into computer notebooks was under study. The most common input devices, touchpad (experiment 1) and trackpoint (experiment 2) were examined. So far, the evaluation of mobile input devices has been restricted to younger users. However, due to ongoing demographic change, the main target group of mobile devices will be older users. Therefore, the present study focused on ageing effects. A total of 14 middle-aged (40-65 years) and 20 younger (20-32 years) users were compared regarding speed and accuracy of cursor control in a point-click and a point-drag-drop task. Moreover, the effects of training were addressed by examining the performance increase over time. In total, 640 trials per task and input device were executed. The results show that ageing is a central factor to be considered in input device design. Middle-aged users were significantly slower than younger users when executing the different tasks. Over time, a significant training effect was observed for both devices and both age groups, although the benefit of training was greater for the middle-aged group. Generally, the touchpad performance was higher than the trackpoint performance in both age groups, but the age-related performance decrements were less distinct when using the touchpad.
在两项实验中，对集成在笔记本电脑中的输入设备的可用性进行了研究。研究了最常见的输入设备，即触摸板（实验1）和指点杆（实验2）。到目前为止，对移动输入设备的评估仅限于年轻用户。然而，由于人口结构的不断变化，移动设备的主要目标群体将是老年用户。因此，本研究聚焦于衰老效应。比较了14名中年（40 - 65岁）用户和20名年轻（20 - 32岁）用户在点击和点拖放任务中光标的控制速度和准确性。此外，通过考察随时间推移的性能提升来研究训练的效果。每个任务和输入设备总共执行了640次试验。结果表明，衰老是输入设备设计中需要考虑的一个核心因素。中年用户在执行不同任务时明显比年轻用户慢。随着时间的推移，观察到两种设备和两个年龄组都有显著的训练效果，尽管中年组的训练收益更大。一般来说，两个年龄组中触摸板的性能都高于指点杆的性能，但使用触摸板时与年龄相关的性能下降不太明显。
