The Influence of Angle Size in Navigation Applications Using Pointing Gestures

Abstract:
One factor which can be expected to influence performance in applications where the user points a device in some direction to obtain information is the angle interval in which the user gets feedback. The present study was performed in order to get a better understanding of the influence of this angle interval on navigation performance, gestures and strategies in a more realistic outdoor setting. Results indicate that users are able to handle quite a wide range of angle intervals, although there are differences between narrow and wide intervals. We observe different gestures and strategies used by the users and provide some recommendations on suitable angle intervals. Finally, our observations support the notion that using this type of pointing gesture for navigation is intuitive and easy to use.