Exploring an Ambiguous Technique for Eyes-Free Mobile Text Entry

Mobile text entry has become an increasingly important part of many peoples' daily lives. While most input occurs through individual letters being tapped on a virtual QWERTY keyboard, this does not have to be the case. We explore how well users are able to learn an ambiguous keyboard that is modeled after a standard QWERTY layout but does not require users to tap specific keys. We show that this keyboard is a plausible text entry technique for users with little or no vision, with users achieving 19.09 Words per Minute (WPM) and 2.08% Character Error Rate after 8 hours of practice.