Light pen use and practice minimize age and hand performance differences in pointing tasks.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Gerontology
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Older adults often experience performance declines with traditional input devices like the mouse.
• Understanding age-related differences in device performance is crucial for inclusive technology design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance of mouse and light pen input devices across different age groups.
• To investigate the impact of hand preference on device performance in younger, middle-aged, and older adults.
• To analyze the usability and cost-effectiveness of different input devices for older users.

Main Methods:

• A menu target selection task was administered to 72 participants (younger, middle-aged, older adults) using both preferred and non-preferred hands.
• Performance metrics included speed and accuracy for mouse and light pen interaction.
• Usability ratings and handedness tests were also conducted.

Main Results:

• The light pen significantly reduced age-related performance differences compared to the mouse.
• Older adults showed greater hand lateralization and reduced efficiency with their non-preferred hand.
• Older adults demonstrated greater improvement with practice, and the light pen showed a favorable cost-benefit analysis for older users.

Conclusions:

• Light pens offer a performance advantage for older adults, particularly when using their non-preferred hand.
• Despite lower initial usability perceptions, the long-term efficiency of light pens can justify their cost.
• Recommendations include encouraging practice with new devices and considering direct positioning devices for non-preferred hand use.