Physical Control

An interaction paradigm where the user directly manipulates on-screen objects or controls by pointing to them and acting on them, as with a mouse click or touch screen tap. In physical control, the focus or cursor moves among all visible interface elements, and the user must navigate to the desired target before selecting it. While physical control offers maximum flexibility, it requires higher input bandwidth because the user must be able to reach any position on screen. For users with severe motor impairments who can only produce a few signals, physical control is often impractical and must be replaced or supplemented with logical control approaches.