Current Theoretical Developments and Applications of Fitts’ Law: A Literature Review

Abstract

Fitts’ law is a performance model of human movement especially the act of pointing which is widely used in Ergonomics and Human-Computer Interaction. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the discussions and extensions of Fitts’ law as well as the relevant applications in recent years (2013–2018). The present paper shows that the related discussions mainly focus on the theoretical basis and performance of Fitts’ law. In addition, several new predictive models are proposed to improve accuracy or extend the law to three-dimensional space. The applications apply Fitts’ law into different input methods and user populations to explore the feasibility of it in specific conditions. The review shows that despite the theoretical and practical development about this topic, differences of views still remain and further research is needed.