Optimal Scroll Method to Browse Web Pages Using an Eye-Gaze Input System

Abstract

Recently, there are a lot of studies on eye-gaze input interfaces. Because the eye-gaze input interface enables users to operate PC by eye movements, even disabled persons with deficiency on the upper limb can easily interact with a computer. However, many problems remain to be overcome so that the eye-gaze input systems can be put into practical use. The scroll method that changes the scroll velocity nonlinearly as a function of scroll location has not yet been proposed. It has also not been explored how the scroll location on Web browsers affects the performance. Although a few scroll methods have been proposed, these are not assumed to be used on Web pages. In this study, an attempt was made to determine empirically the optimal one among the four types of scroll method (improved scroll-icon, auto-scroll and improved auto-scroll method (quadratic and quadratic combination)). As a result, it was found that the improved auto-scroll methods (quadratic and quadratic combination) with nonlinear relationship between the scroll location and the scroll velocity were optimal from the viewpoints of the task completion time, the error rate and the subjective evaluation on usability.