Meanwhile, there are more types and growing numbers of computing devices in play than ever before, from wearables to VR headsets, so interface researchers are finding additional reasons to optimize keyboard-based usability kinks.
To wit: a group of researchers, led by postgraduate student Hui-Shyong Yeo at the University of St Andrews, has come up with a tilt-based typing technique designed — at first glance — to be an alternative for users of larger smartphones (phablets) or tablets; to enable one-handed typing, i.e. when your palm won’t easily stretch across the full span of glass. And many a cracked smartphone screen can surely be blamed on an unfortunate typing accident.
The researchers have called their tilt-based entry keyboard SWiM for short: aka ‘Shape Writing in Motion’. To begin and end words using the tilt method — which utilizes accelerometer/gyroscope tech embedded into modern mobiles — the researchers came up with an additional on-screen button they call the “chat head”. This is a semi translucent bubble-like object that can be user-positioned on the screen.
Thus, a simple controller that supports tilt (e.g., Google VR controller, Oculus Touch) can use SWiM for text input.
[Source]
