Math Boxes: A Pen-Based User Interface For Writing Difficult Mathematical Expressions

Keywords

Handwritten mathematics; Mathematical sketching; Sketch recognition; Sketch-based user interfaces

Abstract

We present math boxes, a novel pen-based user interface for simplifying the task of hand writing difficult mathematical expressions. Visible bounding boxes around certain subexpressions are automatically generated as the system detects specific relationships including superscripts, subscripts, and fractions. Subexpressions contained in a box can then be extended by adding new terms directly into its given bounds. Upon accepting new characters, box boundaries are dynamically resized and neighboring terms are translated to make room for the larger box. Feedback on structural recognition is given via the boxes themselves. We also provide feedback on character recognition by morphing the user's individual characters into a cleaner version stored in our ink database. To evaluate the usefulness of our proposed method, we conducted a user study in which participants write a variety of equations ranging in complexity from a simple polynomial to the more difficult expected value of the logistic distribution. The math boxes interface is compared against the commonly used offset typeset (small) method, where recognized expressions are typeset in a system font near the user's unmodified ink. In our initial study, we find that the fluidness of the offset method is preferred for simple expressions but as difficulty increases, our math boxes method is overwhelmingly preferred.

Publication Date

3-18-2015

Publication Title

International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, Proceedings IUI

Volume

2015-January

Number of Pages

87-96

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1145/2678025.2701400

Socpus ID

84939616576 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84939616576

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