Comparing Multi-Touch Interaction Techniques for

The adjustment of multidimensional abstract parameter spaces, used in human-in-the-loop systems such as simulations and visualizations, plays an important role for multitouch interaction. We investigate new natural forms of interaction to manipulate such parameter spaces. We develop separable multi-touch interaction techniques for abstract parameter space manipulation. We investigate using the index and thumb to perform the often-repeated sub-task of switching between parameters. A user study compares these multi-touch techniques with mouse-based interaction, for the task of color selection, measuring performance and efficiency. Our findings indicate that multi-touch interaction techniques are faster than mouse based interaction. ACM Classification: H5.2 [Information interfaces and presentation]: User Interfaces. Graphical user interfaces. General terms: Design, Human Factors, Measurement, Performance, Experimentation.