Multi-Touch Screens vs. Mouse-Driven Screens (RE WRITE PAPER)

Human Computer Interaction: CIS375

1/17/2018

Multi-Touch Screens vs. Mouse-Driven Screens

The adoption of multi-touch screens has increasingly become a norm to most organizations today. As Gray (2014) explains, the acceptance of multi-touch screens has especially been significant in restaurants due to their capacity to facilitate fast delivery of services to customers, while giving businesses a competitive edge over other institutions that deliver similar services. To establish efficiency of such screens, the specific features that make them unique, the key analogies that the system faces and some of the additional features that such screens may require should be evaluated.

Interaction Types and Styles That Apply to Multi-Touch Screens and Applications Running on Them

Multi-touch screens exist in three main forms: the bi-manual, multi-point, and multi-user screens. The differences between these screens arise from the nature of contact and the level of interaction that an individual may have with them. For example, a wide frame that makes it possible to maneuver on different parts of the screen at once characterizes the bi-manual screens. Having the ability to work on the screen in different times enables users to perform and execute commands on the system much faster since all the points of command entry are visible on the screen (Muir, 2015).

Multi-touch screens are preferred whenever an individual wants to make use of different points of contact to zoom in or out and to have a better view of the image or the contents of a screen. In restaurants, multi-touch screens are relied upon to enable the customer to have a better view of the company’s product and services allowing them to make a wise decision or to determine the next button that they should click in the system to complete their check out process. The nature of the multi-touch screens usually provides more points of contact, the system increases accuracy and faster execution of functions allowing a user to have more options. Multi-point screens are especially applied on devices such as phones, tablets, or computers.

The multi-user interaction screens combine collaborative interaction features of recent applications such as windows 8. With this type of screen, several individuals can carry out the same task at once on two different points of entry. Just as the name suggests multi-users, the system can accommodate several users who are working on one component, project or task allowing them to complete their allocated parts at different times. As Shelly et al. (2010) elaborate on the downsides of using the multi-user screens, the technique allows only several people to work on a similar project.

According to Muir (2015), several differences exist between the mouse-driven and the multi-touch screens. Multi-touch screens tend to provide a wide application in different environments in comparison to the mouse-driven screens, which tend to limit the application to a certain area or place. The multi-touch screens are not limited to peripheral devices and can allow a quick access to services in comparison to a computer, which may not always be mobile. In some cases, various multi-screens are attached on walls or tables due to their portability. At the same time, they allow different users to have access to the system from a single point of interaction.

Conceptual Model for Your Restaurant Application Design

In designing an application product, the organization can fashion its system based on addressing the aspects that they feel should be included. Ideas can be brainstormed or borrowed from the employees or competitors to identify the needs of the system. The system can then be coded based on the needs, while additional objectives and goals can be added to make the system futuristic. Once done the system can be tested in a smaller scale. Ideas reviewed can then be tested in the whole restaurant to determine whether they function as required. The process can then be reevaluated to determine all the steps have been covered as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Conceptual Model for Designing an Application for the Restaurant

Coding of the system

Development of additional Goals and Objectives

Creating room expansion and reuse of the system in the future

Testing the system in a small controlled environment

Solving issues raised

Testing of the system in the whole restaurant

Designing a product for your restaurant

Development of the model based on needs of the restaurant

Designing the system to address the problems

Reviewing competitors who have similar designs

Needs analysis – what the system will contain

Re-review of the System Functioning

Key Analogies and Concepts that Users are Exposed to

Different types of screens expose users to different activities, analogies and concepts, which are unique to the features that have been set on such systems. While the mouse-driven screens are limited to certain areas restricting their activities, the nature of the multi-touch screens allows users to carry out different activities. On touching the screen, a user is introduced to the concept of capacitive technology, which is the function that allows them to zoom or make choices for their purchase cart (Shelly & Vermaat, 2012).

Moreover, the multi-touch screens extensively use resistive technology. The resistive technology works depending on the pressure that has been applied on the screen; it consists several layers where a push on one layer pushes the pressure to the next layer all through to the set layers that have been included in the screen. The pressure that has been applied registers on the system as an input or as a command that requests the system to execute a specific function. Besides, the optical technology responds to the touch of a user reflecting the light on a camera allowing the specific commands on the system to input the command. Optical technology accommodates the zoom feature of the multi-touch screens enhancing the experience of the user both the experience of the user in deciding which elements of the system should be prioritized and sending of specific requests to the system.

A Tool in an Application for Touch-Based and Mouse-Driven Screens that should Be Designed with Memory Retention and Recall

According to Shelly and Vermaat (2012), most system designers recommend the installation of a utility program that facilitates recall on systems to help quick response and processing of services and activities. Installation of a recall in the restaurant above would facilitate the users of a system to determine whether they can proceed with a previously executed action or allow them to decide whether they can restart their processes afresh. Just like a phone, the systems inputting screens should be set up to accommodate and store data. The screen having a committed function to keep the data would allow the client to restore all their previous actions including all the information that they may have inputted. All the data should be available until canceled and confirmed to have been deleted or after checking out. In mouse-driven screen, the hibernate button would still facilitate a turn off the screen and enable the system to save all the session and the respective data.

Conclusion

The application of these screens can be customized to add onto specific elements that are unique to the needs of the organization. The internal system can be programmed to have several items to facilitate the system to address the needs of the clients, which may be unique depending on the service sector or the restaurants. At the same time, multi-touch screens can enable the system to store data and make abstractions from information on customer trends and patterns with ease.

References

Gray, L. (2014). How Does A Touch Screen Work? New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Muir, N. (2015). IPad All-in-One for Dummies. Hoboken: Wiley.

Shelly, G. & Vermaat, M. (2012). Discovering Computers: fundamentals: your interactive guide to the digital world. Boston, Mass: Course Technology.

Shelly, G., Vermaat, M., Quasney, J., Sebok, S. & Freund, S. (2010). Discovering computers 2010: living in a digital world: complete. Boston, MA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.