Last year, I was approached by Jim Foley to transform my dissertation on the challenges facing pen computing into an article for the IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications magazine. This was a very interesting experience, especially when it came time to distill an entire thesis down into a few pages! The process of disseminating my work in a venue that doesn’t commonly focus on HCI or pen computing was a very good exercise, as it made me reflect on why my work was important to the body of research knowledge as a whole, and the importance of articulation and conciseness when writing.

The article is available here.

Abstract:

The ubiquity and mobility of contemporary computing devices has enabled users to consume content, anytime, anywhere. Yet, when we need to create content, touch input is far from perfect. When coupled with touch input, the stylus should enable users to simultaneously ink, manipulate the page, and switch between tools with ease, so why has the stylus yet to achieve universal adoption? The author’s thesis sought to understand the usability barriers and tensions that have prevented stylus input from gaining traction and reaching widespread adoption. This article in particular explores the limits of human latency perception and evaluates solutions to unintended touch.