Expansion cursor: a zoom lens that can be voluntarily activated by the user at every individual click

Both situational handicaps and motor impairments can make small targets difficult to acquire accurately when using a mouse. The expansion cursor was designed to make accurate movements easier to perform. For every click of the mouse, users can choose whether to zoom in on the target. This fluid and user controlled activation method is our key point of difference compared to other mouse-based zoom lenses. Surprisingly, such a method has not already been investigated for people with motor control difficulties. Modeless fluidity helps avoid the assistive technology paradox of needing to segregate users (into groups of those who need assistance, and those who do not) whilst aiming to bring them together (by improving full participation in society). In our evaluation, both participants with and without motor impairments chose to make use of the zoom, albeit for differing target sizes. This suggests participants made this choice based on the subjective difficulty of the task. It also shows there is no need to segregate users into groups of those who need the zoom, and those who do not.