Dynamic Adaptation of Touch Screen Target Size to Compensate for Hand Tremor

Abstract Touch screens have become ubiquitous in modern life. Smartphones, e-readers, and pad computers are the obvious examples. There are also millions of self-service kiosks providing everything from banking, ticketing, US Customs, and retail services. All are based on touch interaction. More than ten million Americans, and millions more worldwide, live with Essential Tremor (ET). A significant portion of these people find it difficult, if not impossible, to interact with touch screens. This points to the need for some innovation in touch screen interaction paradigms to make touch screens more approachable and usable for individuals who suffer the effects of ET. In the proposed project, we will address this need by demonstrating the feasibility of dynamically increasing the size of touch targets on the screen in proportion to the amount of hand tremor, determined automatically during the userandapos;s hand-pointing gesture toward the touch screen. This novel interaction paradigm will dramatically increase the likelihood that the user will tap the desired target on the touch screen on the first attempt.Project Narrative Touch screens have become ubiquitous in modern life. Yet, more than ten million Americans who live with Essential Tremor (ET) find it difficult, if not impossible, to interact with touch screens. In the proposed project, we will address this need by demonstrating the feasibility of dynamically increasing the size of touch targets on the screen in proportion to the amount of hand tremor, increasing the likelihood that the user will tap the desired target on the touch screen on the first attempt.