This is a simple test environment for logging cyclical pointing task trials, as described in the ISO 9241-9 standard. The provided configuration file sets up a reciprocal (cyclical) task with nine targets. Mouse movement and clicks as well as information about the used (randomized) test setup are logged in a timestamped, uniquely named log file.
All targets in the trial are drawn on screen at the beginning of the trial. Targets are highlighted in succession. The next target always highlights after a mouseclick.
(Written for a research project at Helsinki Institute for Information Technology.)
- Python 2.7
- installed libraries: Tkinter, pygame
- should work on Linux, Windows and OS X (Ubuntu and Windows 7 tested)
Usage: run main.py (e.g. python main.py on Linux)
Test setups are pre-defined in config. The comment lines in the config file assist in editing test setups if required. The test environment passes through all D, W combinations in a randomized order. After all combinations have been used, the test setups are randomized again.
A trial with nine targets always ends after 27 left mouseclicks (three rounds are done). Logging only starts after the first mouseclick is registered.
| D / W | 100 | 80 | 60 | 40 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 700 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.2 |
| 600 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.9 |
| 500 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| 400 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
| 300 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
(D values approximate and ID values calculated using the MacKenzie formulation.)
Log files will be written into a subdirectory named logs. Test setup data and the name of the test subject (filled in at the startup prompt) are logged at the beginning of the file. The rest of the lines consist of a timestamp (in seconds after the start of logging), x and y coordinates of the mouse cursor and x and y coordinates of the center of the current target. Current target gets updated after a mouseclick. Mouseclick lines are otherwise identical to normal position lines but have a CLICK identifier at the end of the line. The sampling rate is roughly 100 fps.
# Subject name: Test Subject
# Target width: 20
# Target distance: 689
0.0000 636 48 520 729
0.0102 636 48 520 729
0.0204 636 48 520 729
0.0306 635 49 520 729
0.0408 635 49 520 729
0.0510 635 49 520 729
...
1.2612 516 731 520 729
1.2714 515 731 520 729
1.2815 515 731 520 729
1.2917 515 731 520 729
1.2918 515 731 520 729 CLICK
1.3019 515 731 865 132
1.3121 515 731 865 132
...
On OS X and Linux systems filenames are timestamps in the following format:
yyyy-mm-dd-hh:mm:ss.microsec.log
On Windows systems, colon symbols (:) are replaced with full stops (.):
yyyy-mm-dd-hh.mm.ss.microsec.log
On Windows, log files also use CR + LF newlines instead of the simple LF newlines used on Unix based systems.