Touchless text entry for all: Initial design considerations and prototypes

Abstract

In this paper, the foundations for a new touchless text entry method are set. The method in question is based on hand tracking for interacting with a novel virtual keyboard that has been designed to support adaptive text entry for all, including for users with disabilities or users of various assistive technologies. The virtual keyboard in question, which can be graphical or even imaginary (i.e., implied, but not visualised), implements a hierarchical selection approach for the act of writing, which involves character selection, text navigation and text modification. The proposed structure guarantees minimum keystrokes per character, and allows for user-friendly adaptations for offering accessibility, personalisation and increased performance rates for diverse input settings or display preferences. An implementation of the text entry method in question, using the LEAP, a novel 3D motion controller, is introduced here. Along with the fundamental specifications of the proposed keyboard and the required functionality of a software mechanism for initialising, personalising and interacting with it in any given context, this paper presents two prototypes currently under development for one- and ten-finger touchless text entry with LEAP, which are considered in view of developing a universal text input solution that could overshadow all past technologies.