Perceived Workload between the Keybowl and the Qwerty Keyboard

Abstract

The Keybowl alphanumeric input device was designed and developed to totally eliminate finger movement and drastically reduce wrist motion. Typing without finger movement requires a typist to adapt to a new method of key activation. This new method requires new mental, physical, and temporal demands, associated with new levels of performance, effort, and frustration. Together these requirements are measured to produce an overall measure of workload. Keybowl workload requirements are somewhat different than QWERTY keyboard workload requirements. With the significant reduction of finger and wrist motion comes concern over how much workload is expected in re-learning to type with the Keybowl. Typing workload was analyzed via the NASA Task Load Index. Typing workload analyses were performed to determine how the two groups of subjects (Keybowl and QWERTY) compared in terms of overall workload.

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