QB-Gest: Qwerty Bimanual Gestural Input for Eyes-Free Smartphone Text Input

We developed QB-Gest, a bimanual text entry method based on simple gestures where users drag their thumbs in the direction of the desired letter while visualizing the Qwerty-layout. In an experiment with four sessions of testing, 20 users achieved text entry rates of 11.1 wpm eyes-free and 14.1 wpm eyes-on. An expert user achieved an eyes-free rate of 24.9 wpm after 10 rounds of entering the-quick-brown-fox phrase. The method holds potential for users with low vision and certain types of reduced motor function.

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