Study on the Effect of Key-to-Key Distance on Touch-Sensitive Key Operation

The current study investigated the key-to-key distance, which was defined as the distance between the margin points of two adjacent keys transversally and vertically. In view of forefinger operation, the combination of subjective measurement and objective measurement was used in the ergonomics assessment of key-to-key distance effects on the performance. 30 participants are recruited to attend the tests. One-way ANOVA is used to analyze operational performance at different key-to-key distance and then the S-N-K-hoc is conducted for pairwise comparison, α = 0.05. The results were obtained: when a reasonable key size is decided, key-to-key distance has no effect on the accuracy and efficiency of touch-sensitive key operation. Therefore, considering the user experience satisfaction, the recommended transverse key-to-key distances range for rounded corner key is from 6 mm to 12 mm, while lengthways key-to-key distances range is from 6 mm to 14 mm; the recommended transverse key-to-key distances range for round key is from 6 mm to 12 mm, while lengthways key-to-key distances range is from 6 mm to 16 mm. This research can provide a basis for the design of key size of enterprise electronic products, and has important guiding significance.