Title: Fun and efficiency of the Wii balance interface

Authors: Wim Fikkert, Niek Hoeijmakers, Paul Van der Vet, Anton Nijholt

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, Faculty of EEMCS, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands. ' Department of Computer Science, Faculty of EEMCS, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands. ' Department of Computer Science, Faculty of EEMCS, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands. ' Department of Computer Science, Faculty of EEMCS, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands

Abstract: Balance input in human-computer interfaces can be beneficial, enjoyable and entertaining. Users can navigate a virtual (game) world or an (empirical) dataset while having their hands free to issue other commands. A new low-cost balance interface, the Nintendo balance board, offers widespread use of this form of input. We performed two experiments that explore the fun and efficiency of this interface for navigating simple virtual worlds. Our first study showed that the users completed 2D navigation tasks slower with the balance input method. The second study showed that a standard self-centreing joystick outperforms balance-based interfaces. However, the users in both studies enjoyed the balance input methods despite it being less efficient. The board interfaces performed similarly for easier navigation tasks, leaving the hands free for manipulation tasks while coarse navigation can be performed by the shifting body mass.

Keywords: user interfaces; evaluation; input devices; input strategies; human-computer interface; HCI; balance interface; balance boards; virtual worlds; navigation tasks; joysticks; enjoyment; efficiency; manipulation tasks; Wii.

DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2010.035827

International Journal of Arts and Technology, 2010 Vol.3 No.4, pp.357 - 373

Published online: 05 Oct 2010 *

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