Metrics for Multi-Touch Input Technologies

Multi-touch input technologies are becoming popular with the increased interest in touchscreen- and touchpad-based devices. A great deal of work has been done on different multi-touch technologies, and researchers and practitioners are frequently coming up with new ones. However, it is almost impossible to compare such technologies due to the absence of multi-touch performance metrics. Designers usually use their own methods to report their techniques' performances. Moreover, multi-touch interaction was never modeled. That makes it impossible for designers to predict the performance of a new technology before developing it, costing them valuable time, effort, and money. This article discusses the necessity of having dedicated performance metrics and prediction model for multi-touch technologies, and ways of approaching that.