ARC-Pad: absolute+relative cursor positioning for large displays with a mobile touchscreen

Abstract

We introduce ARC-Pad (Absolute+Relative Cursor pad), a novel technique for interacting with large displays using a mobile phone's touchscreen. In ARC-Pad we combine ab-solute and relative cursor positioning. Tapping with ARC-Pad causes the cursor to jump to the corresponding location on the screen, providing rapid movement across large distances. For fine position control, users can also clutch using relative mode. Unlike prior hybrid cursor positioning techniques, ARC-Pad does not require an explicit switch between relative and absolute modes. We compared ARC-Pad with the relative positioning commonly found on touchpads. Users were given a target acquisition task on a large display, and results showed that they were faster with ARC-Pad, without sacrificing accuracy. Users welcomed the benefits associated with ARC-Pad.