A Comparison of Menu Configurations and Pointing Devices for Use with Wearable Computers while Mobile and Stationary

Wearable computing technology offers tremendous possibilities to support users in performing a variety of tasks that go beyond traditional desk-based computer interaction. Recent wearable systems share many capabilities with desk-based workstations, but often differ in the way user input is acquired and processed. This paper investigates four commercially available pointing devices and four on-screen menu configurations to assess which are most appropriate for performing menu selection tasks using a wearable computer system in a mobile and stationary scenario. We conducted a controlled user study to compare a trackball, touchpad, gyroscopic mouse and Twiddler2 in combination with pull-down, linear (fixed and pop-up) and pie pop-up menus. Our results indicate that pie pop-up menus are the most effective menu structure irrespective of the input device used, and that the trackball device outperforms the remaining devices in terms of speed and error rate.