Investigating Single-Handed Microgesture Scrolling Techniques

Scrolling is ubiquitous in our daily computing experience. We explore how single-handed microgestures can be used for scrolling. Based on an analysis of the basic components necessary for scrolling, we selected 3 microgestures: Tap, Hold and Drag. Considering both rate and position controls, we designed 4 microgesture-based scrolling techniques adapted to these 3 microgestures. We contrasted these 4 techniques in a laboratory experiment with 24 participants who performed 2 tasks: a reciprocal selection task, where participants scrolled the view to reach and select a target; and a counting task, where participants scrolled the view to count image occurrences. Our results suggest that the technique based on Drag microgestures with rate control is the most effective for scrolling operations, regardless of the task. This work demonstrates that microgestures, with their advantages for frequent everyday tasks, offer a promising approach to continuous and efficient scrolling control.