Hands Coordination in Data Entry with a Two-Hand Chord Typewriter

摘要

This paper describes the results of an experiment conducted to investigate the process of acquisition and operation of a data entry skill based upon a newly designed two-hand chord keyboard. This keyboard represents an effort to identify effective alternatives to the existing typewriter. It consists of two separate 5-key panels (one for each hand), and characters on each panel are entered by typing chords composed of one to five fingers. Each panel is capable of producing the full dictionary of characters, and hence can be considered to be an independent typewriter. Three important questions raised by this design are the best coding principle represent identical letters on the left and right panels, the duration of the initial acquisition period, rate of progress, and final levels of performance of this system, the nature of coordination between hands in simultaneous chord production. The paper reviews the results of an experiment conducted to examine these questions. (Author)