Projects in the hardware research group of the department of computer science of the University of Illinois,

Illustrations, p. 30-52, numbered as leaves.

The Computer Input/Output Subsystem Education in an undergraduate introductory course: a Multiperspective Study

240 p.

Using cursor measures to determine appropriate computer input assistance for motion-impaired users

People with motion-impairments can often have difficulty with accurate control of standard pointing devices for computer input. The nature of the difficulties may vary, so to be most effective, methods of assisting cursor control must be suited to each user's needs. The work presented here involves a study of cursor trajectories as a means of assessing the requirements of motion-impaired computer users. A new cursor characteristic is proposed that attempts to capture difficulties with moving the cursor in a smooth trajectory. A study was conducted to see if haptic tunnels could improve performance in "point and click" tasks. Results indicate that the tunnels reduced times to target for those users identified by the new characteristic as having the most difficulty moving in a smooth trajectory. This suggests that cursor characteristics have potential applications in performing assessments of a user's cursor control capabilities which can then be used to determine appropriate methods of assistance.

A slide scanner input for paramatrix,

"Supported in part by the Office of Naval Research. Contract no.N00014-67-A-0305-0007."

Supplement to CAMAC (computer automated measurement and control) standards and reports /

Issued Mar. 1978.

The human factors of computer input using a mouse device

This thesis investigates how people select items from a computer display using the mouse input device. The term computer mouse refers to a class of input devices which share certain features, but these may have different characteristics which influence the ways in which people use the device. Although task completion time is one of the most commonly used performance measures for input device evaluation, there is no consensus as to its definition. Furthermore most mouse studies fail to provide adequate assurances regarding its correct measurement.Therefore precise and accurate timing software were developed which permitted the recording of movement data which by means of automated analysis yielded the device movements made. Input system gain, an important task parameter, has been poorly defined and misconceptualized in most previous studies. The issue of gain has been clarified and investigated within this thesis. Movement characteristics varied between users and within users, even for the same task conditions. The variables of target size, movement amplitude, and experience exerted significant effects on performance. Subjects consistently undershot the target area. This may be a consequence of the particular task demands. Although task completion times indicated that mouse performance had stabilized after 132 trials the movement traces, even of very experienced users, indicated that there was still considerable room for improvement in performance, as indicated by the proportion of poorly made movements. The mouse input device was suitable for older novice device users, but they took longer to complete the experimental trials. Given the diversity and inconsistency of device movements, even for the same task conditions, caution is urged when interpreting averaged grouped data. Performance was found to be sensitive to; task conditions, device implementations, and experience in ways which are problematic for the theoretical descriptions of device movement, and limit the generalizability of such findings within this thesis.

Graphical remote-access simulation system (GRASS), the communication and monitor components (GASP/GLASP).

"Supported in part by contract U.S. AEC AT(11-1)1469."

DEC PDP-8 interface to IBM 2701 PDA

"C00-1469-0153."

A failure tolerant filing system,

"COO-1469-0200."

RASER: random to serial converter.

"COO 1469-0209."

DEC PDP-7 Interface to IBM 2701-PDA,

"C00-1469-0116"

The pattern articulation unit of Illiac III: simulation,

"COO-1018-1154."

Semantrix : a semantically guided digital electronic machine /

Thesis (M. S.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Memory-processor connection networks.

Vita.