Mid-Air Gesture interaction for mobile map-making: design and comparative evaluation with Touchscreen interaction

Mobile map-making on touchscreens remains constrained by interface occlusion and limited input accuracy. This study designs a Mid-Air Gesture interaction for mobile map-making by combining a viewport-first interface scheme (Viewport-Preserving Peripheral Layout, VPPL) with a constrained elicitation-based gesture-set design method (Restricted Gesture Elicitation Study, RGES). A within-subjects comparative evaluation (n = 15) contrasts Mid-Air Gesture interaction with Touchscreen interaction on two dimensions: usability and utility. Usability is measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS) after a map-making task. Utility is measured via point-placement precision (Euclidean spatial error) and map-view visibility (Map-View Visible Area Ratio and UI Occlusion Area). Results show lower point-placement error for Mid-Air Gesture interaction than Touchscreen interaction (9.33 px vs. 16.14 px) and a higher Map-View Visible Area Ratio (92.2% aggregated), whereas SUS scores are higher for Touchscreen interaction (85.33 vs. 70.83). These findings suggest that Mid-Air Gesture interaction is advantageous when precision and viewport visibility are critical, whereas perceived usability currently favors Touchscreen interaction. Future work will broaden scenarios, improve Mid-Air Gesture usability, and assess efficiency and energy use. Contact-free Mid-Air Gesture interaction reduced mean point-placement error by 6.81 px (9.33 px vs. 16.14 px; n = 15) compared with Touchscreen interaction, improving overall accuracy.Viewport-Preserving Peripheral Layout (VPPL) places controls at the periphery and preserved 92.2% of the map viewport on average, compared with approximately 66–81% under Touchscreen interfaces during complex tasks.Restricted Gesture Elicitation (RGES) yielded a compact, one-handed gesture set with high observed agreement (ρa = 0.61), supporting learnability and consistent deployment. Contact-free Mid-Air Gesture interaction reduced mean point-placement error by 6.81 px (9.33 px vs. 16.14 px; n = 15) compared with Touchscreen interaction, improving overall accuracy. Viewport-Preserving Peripheral Layout (VPPL) places controls at the periphery and preserved 92.2% of the map viewport on average, compared with approximately 66–81% under Touchscreen interfaces during complex tasks. Restricted Gesture Elicitation (RGES) yielded a compact, one-handed gesture set with high observed agreement (ρa = 0.61), supporting learnability and consistent deployment.