Explorations and Experiments on the Use of Auditory and Visual Feedback in Pen-Gesture Interfaces

We explore the use of auditory feedback in pen gesture interfaces in a series of informal and formal experiments. Initial iterative studies showed that gaining performance or learning advantage with auditory feedback beyond the obvious is difficult. To establish a baseline, Experiment 1 formally evaluated gesture production accuracy as a function of auditory and visual feedback. Size of gestures and the aperture of the closed gesture were influenced by the visual or auditory feedback, while most other features were not. Design implications from this experiment were taken in developing a revised form of EdgeWrite that was proved successful. Experiment 2 focused on the emotional and aesthetic aspects of auditory feedback in pen-gesture interfaces. Participants' views with regard to the dimension of being wonderful and stimulating was significantly higher with musical feedback. Our exploration points to several general rules of auditory feedback that may serve as a foundation for future research and development. Author