TouchModifier: enriched multi-touch gestures for tablet browsers

Touch-based web browsing with tablet devices is not yet utilizing its full potential. This paper introduces an asymmetric bimanual interaction technique that makes browser-based multi-touch gestures more expressive. In the proposed TouchModifier technique, a semi-transparent panel with modifier controls is docked to the side of the screen. The non-dominant hand operates the side panel, while the dominant hand interacts with the application content as usual. The controls on the side panel operate as fluid mode selectors that enrich and override the semantics of the dominant hand gestures. This opens novel interaction possibilities in browser applications, while remaining interoperable with existing web pages. In this paper, we describe the proposed concept and present its prototype implementation with a use case.