Circular displays with thumbwheels : Hong Kong Chinese preferences

Direction-of-motion stereotypes for circular displays and thumbwheels were tested with a computer display. The influence of pointer position, instruction of turn, and control plane on the direction-of-motion stereotype was investigated. For both horizontal and vertical thumbwheels, strong response preferences and reversible stereotypes were found for clockwise and anticlockwise turn instructions when the pointer was perpendicular to the motion axis. The results provided significant implications for the design and selection of thumbwheels and check reading displays in the man-machine interface of facilities used in industries. In a check reading display, we should use a horizontal thumbwheel when the normal pointer position is at 6 or 12 o'clock; a vertical thumbwheel should be used when the normal pointer position is at 3 or 9 o'clock. Analysis on response times showed that the average values of the majority responses were found shorter and more narrowly dispersed than that of the minority responses. The results of this study provide recommendations for interface design with circular displays and thumbwheels on control panels used in manufacturing systems.