Efficient web browsing with a single-switch

This paper presents a new approach to web browsing in situations where the user can only provide the device with a single input command device (switch). Switches have been developed for example for people with locked-in syndrome and are used in combination with scanning to navigate virtual keyboards and desktop interfaces. Our proposed approach leverages the hierarchical structure of webpages to operate a multi-level scan of actionable elements of webpages (links or form elements). As there are a few methods already existing to facilitate browsing under these conditions, we present a theoretical usability evaluation of our approach in comparison to the existing ones, which takes into account the average time taken to reach any part of a web page (such as a link or a form) but also the number of clicks necessary to reach the goal. We argue that these factors contribute together to usability. In addition, we propose that our approach presents additional usability benefits.