At the Clever Dog Lab in Vienna, researchers use a "computer-automated touchscreen testing procedure for studying learning, social, and physical cognition in the dog."

I learned about this in a radio documentary called King Solomon's Ring from CBC's Ideas show (you can find the audio here: Ideas podcast or on iTunes). The documentary was about ethology -- the study of animal behavior, and about Konrad Lorenz, one of the field's founders. King Solomon's Ring is also the name of a classic book by Lorenz.

The dogs use their noses to activate the touchscreen, and apparently dogs do it well but it takes some instruction. I'm guessing it's a little like touchscreen usability studies with humans, but with more screen wipes. From the page for dog owners interested in participating:

We employ the computer-automated touch-screen testing procedure to study physical cognitive abilities (knowledge of how the physical world works). But first of all, it is necessary to find out whether dogs behave similarly when they are confronted with a similar problem in reality and on the screen.

From previous studies we know that dogs are able to find a hidden object even if considerable time has passed since they witnessed the hiding event. Dogs also show typical errors in their searching behaviour when a human experimenter hides the object. Thus, in this project, we want to investigate whether dogs can solve a hide-and-seek task on the touch-screen and whether they have similar error patterns on the touch-screen as in reality. I test the dogs’ performance in ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ (Touch-screen) conditions. In the virtual condition, I test them either with or without the presence of a hiding agent.

Dogs need a considerable amount of time to learn to work with the touch-screen. For optimal learning performance they and they owners should visit the lab at least once a week. A training occasion consists of 2-4 sessions. Each session has 29 trials. The auto feeder gives a dog a dry food pellet for every correct trial so a dog gets maximum 120 pellets per training occasion (altogether a small cup of dry food). A training occasion for a dog last from half an hour to one hour.

You can see a video of a dog doing a test at LiveScience, from a 2007 article: Dogs Do Well On Computers.

The lab has a web page showcasing some of their most enthusiastic study participants: Computer Freaks.

More back-of-device touch interaction: Wacom's Cintiq tablet has touch-sensitive strips that let you control brush size, zooming, scrolling and canvas rotation.

Link: product page (via Gizmodo).

I love this idea and expect we'll be seeing a lot more like it soon.

This reminds me of steering wheel radio controls. I had a 2002 Mini Cooper that had the volume and tuning rocker switches on the back of the two spokes. You couldn't see them but you could easily operate them with your fingertips while your hands were on the wheel. I think the newer Minis have all the buttons on the front. I wonder if there was a discoverability problem. Do other cars have that back-of-the-wheel design for these buttons?

In May I'll be giving a 30-minute presentation at UPA 2010 about evaluating (touch) gesture usability. It'll be based somewhat on material that I posted here previously -- part 1, part 2. If you're interested in this topic, I'd be grateful if you'd take a minute and send me your thoughts on what you'd like to see in such a presentation. What would be most useful? What questions do you have about evaluating gestures? I'll do my best to incorporate any suggestions. Thanks.

Jakob Nielsen's latest article is about iPhone usability: iPhone Apps Need Low Starting Hurdle. The summary:

Most mobile applications are used only intermittently, so they must be especially easy during initial use. In particular, upfront registration shouldn't be required before users experience an app's benefits.

The Nielsen Norman Group is also offering an iPhone app design seminar.

MOTO labs has posted a good article discussing touchscreen accuracy. They describe a simple line-drawing test you can do on touchscreens: DIY Touchscreen analysis. The basic ideas is to slowly draw diagonal lines in a drawing program, and then watch how linear the result is. They also look at edge performance.

Of course this is just one part of the picture -- there are other measures of accuracy and responsiveness (this doesn't say much about touch-down/lift-off accuracy, for instance). And as MOTO points out, the touch sensor is just one factor among many that contributes to quality. They sum up with some dos and don'ts:

MOTO has worked with capacitive touch interfaces for more than 15 years, and here are some essential dos and don’ts for anyone entering the field:

• Don’t skimp on materials. With touchscreen hardware, manufacturers get what they pay for — and consumers will notice the difference.
• Allow ample time to develop your algorithms. Don’t treat touchscreen algorithms as an element of component sourcing; for best results, create a distinct touch development track under your own roof to make sure your products are both responsive and accurate.
• Closely integrate touchscreen hardware, software, and user interaction development, and do so as early as possible in the product development process. Never treat them as separate tasks.

Link: DIY Touchscreen analysis (via Engadget).