Speeder Reader: An experiment in the future of reading

Speeder Reader is an interactive reading station built around two primary ideas: dynamic text (especially RSVP, that is, rapid serial visual presentation), and the interface metaphor of driving. As words flash one at a time on a screen in front of the reader, he or she controls the rate of speed of the words with a gas pedal (up to 1850 words per minute in the current instance). Text stream selection is performed with a steering wheel. Thus, one can "drive through a book." We leverage people's knowledge of the familiar activity of driving an automobile (or, in the case of children, operating a speed-racing video game) to allow comfortable and intuitive access to a possibly less familiar world of interactive text. We emphasize the power and ease of the familiar driving metaphor as a navigation device. Speeder Reader was first installed at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, as part of a larger exhibit on the impact of digital technologies on reading. K...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: CG
• Authors: Maribeth Back, Jonathan Cohen, Steve R. Harrison, Scott L. Minneman
• Keywords: CG 2002, Computer Graphics, Dynamic Text, Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, Speeder Reader