Gerry Prokopowicz wrote:
 
>Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits of joysticks
>and touchscreens for interactive computer exhibits?
 
Except for things like driving/flying simulators, a joystick is a
miserable tool for navigating in a graphical interface.  Not only that,
but in an exhibit environment, the extra time that it takes the user to
feel out the joystick, and compensate for over- or under-navigation,
may be more than the interest in the exhibit itself.
 
Touchscreens, while not a 'natural' interface, are the best for
immediate comprehension and use of the controls, though you may find
that you need to allow both single and double taps on on-screen buttons,
as users of different computer systems employ their own object
activation sequence.  Think of the difference between Mac/Windows
navigation and selection with a mouse and some DOS programs that
use a mouse in their own way, and the fact that these users will
bring their own preconceptions of how the device should work to
your exhibit.
 
For an useful discussion of mice, keys, and joysticks for navigation,
read S.K. Card's "Human Limits and the VDT Computer Interface."  Or, for
those designing exhibits involving computers, a good general-purpose
reference would be a current edited collection of computer science/industry
articles on Human-Computer Interaction.  Several such books exist.
 
>or compromising on the software in order to afford touchscreens.
 
I find this to be an interesting statement.  Touchscreens that fit over
normal Mac or Intel 13" monitors are in the $500 range, have a useful
lifetime of at least a year in a high traffic area, and are easily
replaceable.  An issue you may not have thought of with the joysticks
is that young children applying all of their weight onto it (using it as a
handle to lift themselves up to the screen, or simply being rough
with it) will destroy joysticks at a fast rate in a public area, and
even at $12/ea, those costs, plus labor, will add up quickly.
 
So, considering the costs of joystick replacement, downtime on the
exhibit, and time lost to the user struggling with navigation with
a joystick, I would think that your software costs would NOT need
to be compromised in order to accomodate a touch screen.  You may
even find that you save money, and gain more user participation, in
the long term.
 
Greg Trimper
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