On Automated Generation of Keyboard Layout to Reduce Finger-Travel Distance

TheQWERTYkeyboardlayoutcanbeveryinefficientforone-fingertypingonvirtualkeyboards sincethelettersinmanycommondigramsareplacedonoppositesidesofthekeyboard,resultingina longfingertravel.Thispaperreportsonuseofsimulatedannealingforfindingalternatearrangements ofthelettersoftheEnglishalphabetonkeyboardswithdifferentnumberofrows,toreducefingertraveldistanceforenteringtext.Theuseofsimulatedannealingledtoarrangementsoftheletterson 3×10,4×7,and5×6layoutswithalowerweightedsumoffinger-traveldistancesforalldigrams (denotedbyd)comparedtotheQWERTYlayout(lowerbyabout40%).Thelayoutwiththeleast valueofdamongthosefoundinthisworkisa5×6layoutforwhichthevalueofdisonly1.78key widthscomparedto3.31keywidths(thevalueofdforQWERTY).Alternateautomatedmethods tosolve thisproblem,connectionsbetweenkeyboard layoutsandfacility layouts,andmanynew applicationsoftheideasinthisworkarediscussed. KeywORDS Finger Distance, Human-Centered Computing, Intelligent User Interfaces, Keyboard Optimization, Pain, Personalization, Simulated Annealing, Text Entry, Typing Speed, Usability

[1]  Mark D. Dunlop,et al.  Multidimensional pareto optimization of touchscreen keyboards for speed, familiarity and improved spell checking , 2012, CHI.

[2]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  Optimizing Touchscreen Keyboards for Gesture Typing , 2015, CHI.

[3]  Shari Trewin.  Automating accessibility: the dynamic keyboard , 2003, Assets '04.

[4]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  Quasi-qwerty soft keyboard optimization , 2010, CHI.

[5]  Ibrahim H. Osman,et al.  A mixed integer programming formulation for solving operating theatre layout problem: A multi-goal approach , 2013, Proceedings of 2013 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Systems Management (IESM).

[6]  Kyrre Glette,et al.  Using pareto-optimality for solving multi-objective unequal area facility layout problem , 2011, GECCO '11.

[7]  A. Land,et al.  An Automatic Method for Solving Discrete Programming Problems , 1960, 50 Years of Integer Programming.

[8]  Nils Klarlund,et al.  Word N-Grams for Cluster Keyboards , 2003 .

[9]  Per Ola Kristensson,et al.  Improving two-thumb text entry on touchscreen devices , 2013, CHI.

[10]  Keisuke Nakano,et al.  Computing the Cost of Typechecking of Composition of Macro Tree Transducers , 2009 .

[11]  Ana Tajadura-Jiménez,et al.  Motivating people with chronic pain to do physical activity: opportunities for technology design , 2014, CHI.

[12]  Koji Yatani,et al.  The 1line keyboard: a QWERTY layout in a single line , 2011, UIST '11.

[13]  Mark D. Dunlop,et al.  QWERTH: an optimized semi-ambiguous keyboard design , 2012, Mobile HCI.

[14]  Shari Trewin,et al.  A model of keyboard configuration requirements , 1998, Assets '98.

[15]  Xinchao Zhao,et al.  A MOEA/D based approach for hospital department layout design , 2016, 2016 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC).

[16]  Ying-Chao Tung,et al.  FlickBoard: Enabling Trackpad Interaction with Automatic Mode Switching on a Capacitive-sensing Keyboard , 2015, CHI.

[17]  Jan Krüger,et al.  A reduced QWERTY keyboard for mobile text entry , 2004, CHI EA '04.

[18]  Dennis C. Turk,et al.  IASP taxonomy of chronic pain syndromes: preliminary assessment of reliability , 1987, Pain.

[19]  Nan Yang,et al.  Modifying Keyboard Layout to Reduce Finger-Travel Distance , 2016, 2016 IEEE 28th International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI).

[20]  Jochen Rick,et al.  Performance optimizations of virtual keyboards for stroke-based text entry on a touch-based tabletop , 2010, UIST.

[21]  Shumin Zhai,et al.  IJQwerty: What Difference Does One Key Change Make? Gesture Typing Keyboard Optimization Bounded by One Key Position Change from Qwerty , 2016, CHI.

[22]  Kin Fun Li,et al.  Keysurf: a character controlled browser for people with physical disabilities , 2008, WWW.

[23]  Howie Choset,et al.  Principles of Robot Motion: Theory, Algorithms, and Implementation ERRATA!!!! 1 , 2007 .

[24]  Ana de Almeida,et al.  A genetic algorithm application for automatic layout design of modular residential homes , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC).

[25]  Ariel Shamir,et al.  Filling Your Shelves: Synthesizing Diverse Style-Preserving Artifact Arrangements , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[26]  Mathieu Raynal,et al.  Genetic algorithm to generate optimized soft keyboard , 2005, CHI Extended Abstracts.