Using all your fingers, Multi-touch as apparatus in experiments

MARIANO SEMELMAN; CALERO CECILIA I; DIEGO FERNÁNDEZ SLEZAK; MARIANO SIGMAN

Huerta Grande, Córdoba

Congreso; XXVI Reunión Anual de la SAN; 2011

SAN

Nowadays many of the tasks being done by subjects during experiments involve a computer, this is a hard restriction, because not every subject is capable of using it (ie: toddlers, …, etc). Furthermore mouse/keyboard interfaces does not allow multiple input from one or even many subjects at the same time. That is why we started developing a multi-touch user interface, it is software based on a ReacTiVision table which is much more approachable and usable (Zack, 2009). This UI is being implemented with a novel software framework that enables us to measure movement path and precision, response time, multi-agent input among others in real time and with high fidelity. The experiments are implemented as computer games, which allow to display stimuli and interact with them in many ways. This system is in continuous growth, so we are considering the possibility to include video recording capability in order to recognize different players and their interaction around the table. Right now this system is being used in experiments with young children, aged between 3 and 8 years old, in an attempt to reproduce casual learning games (Gopnik, 2000).