OVERVIEW
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Senior Research Project
“Initialization Settings of a Force Feedback Device:
Analysis of User Preferences”
Spring 2005
Blind and visually impaired users often find themselves limited by the availability and accessibility of usable maps. A digital 3D software environment designed for spatial exploration with a force feedback device will enhance map usage for such users. One such device, the Logitech Force Feedback Mouse, can be programmed to provide a user with different levels of navigational guidance. My research explores the effects of different initialization settings for navigational forces. Since such programmed settings are subjective to the needs of individual users, usability tests were designed to determine the average force settings preferred by a set of tested users. Results are based on both the analysis of the usability tests and reaction surveys. The complied results define a default standard that is recommended for the initialization settings of forces programmed specifically for Logitech Force Feedback Mouse.