Publications
論文誌 (国際) Understanding steering behaviors in paths with non-linear width changes
Shota Yamanaka, Koyo Motoe (Meiji University), Nobuhito Kasahara (Meiji University), Taiyu Homma (Meiji University), Homei Miyashita (Meiji University)
Ergonomics
2026.11.11
Steering through width-changing paths is fundamental in graphical user interface (GUI) tasks such as lasso selection. Researchers in human-computer interaction and ergonomics have modeled movement times by path shape, but most studies examined only linear width changes. We investigated the generalizability of the Steering Law by measuring movement times in paths where the width changes according to exponential, quadratic, and sigmoid functions. The global steering model yielded R-squared values ranging from 0.9304 to 0.9934, but for quadratic paths, a model that approximated the width change as linear showed improved goodness-of-fit indices. This is presumably because, according to speed profile and cursor trajectory analyses, participants were unable to effectively utilize the bulging part of the path for acceleration. Our work helps to clarify the behaviors in GUI operations and also offers the possibility of model simplification in applications using the Steering Law, such as difficulty setting in racing video games.
Paper :
Understanding steering behaviors in paths with non-linear width changes
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