The effects of encumbrance on mobile interactions

The popularity of touchscreen mobile devices gives users a variety of useful apps and functionality on the move. As a result, mobile devices are being used in a range of different contexts. One common scenario that has received little attention from researchers is the effects of encumbrance carrying objects (for example, shopping bags and personal gear) and interacting with mobile devices at the same time. This is a frequent everyday situation and one that can cause interaction difficulties [3]. There is a lack of knowledge of the impact encumbrance has on interaction therefore the usability issues in these physically and mentally demanding contexts are unknown. Prior to the start of our research, there was only one related study that has examined input performance with handheld devices while multitasking with different types of objects [7]. A better understanding of the interaction problems caused by encumbrance would allow researchers to develop more effective input techniques on touchscreen mobile devices.