Going Short: The Effects of Short-Travel Key Switches on Typing Performance, Typing Force, Forearm Muscle Activity, and User Experience

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coppola SM ; Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Dixon PC ; Hu B ; Lin MYC
• Description:
  This study examined the effects of 4 micro-travel keyboards on forearm muscle activity, typing force, typing performance, and self-reported discomfort and difficulty. A total of 20 participants completed typing tasks on 4 commercially available devices with different key switch characteristics (dome, scissors, and butterfly) and key travels (0.55, 1.3, and 1.6 mm). The device with short-travel (0.55 mm) and a dome-type key switch mechanism was associated with higher muscle activities (6%-8%, P < .01), higher typing force (12%, P < .01), slower typing speeds (8%, P < .01), and twice as much discomfort (P < .05), compared with the other 3 devices: short-travel (0.55 mm) and butterfly switch design and long travel (1.3 and 1.6 mm) with scissor key switches. Participants rated the devices with larger travels (1.3 and 1.6 mm) with least discomfort (P = .02) and difficulty (P < .01). When stratified by sex/gender, these observed associations were larger and more significant in the female participants compared with male participants. The devices with similar travel but different key switch designs had difference in outcomes and devices with different travel were sometimes not different. The results suggest that key travel alone does not predict typing force or muscle activity. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Computers Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Biomechanics Biomechanics Computer Equipment Keyboard Keyboards Mobile Computing Mobile Equipment Muscle Function Notebook Tablet Upper Extremities

  More +
• ISSN:
  1065-8483
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  149-156
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068625
• Citation:
  J Appl Biomech 2019 Apr; 35(2):149-156
• Contact Point Address:
  Jack T. Dennerlein, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
• Email:
  j.dennerlein@northeastern.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070301
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• End Date:
  20120228
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f3e7f03d1aefc197b8c0cdb14655231be8f92502378058622c5848407c71ea52a5c60080f2a1e0c33719c0d1ecb98f622fe5fdf524c418f5140bc23af3cfb41a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207227/cdc_207227_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.07 KB ]