Validating State-of-the-Art Virtual Keyboard Simulators with Empirical Data

Recent research in the field of mobile text entry aims to address the need for faster and more generalisable evaluation by introducing computational models that simulate human behavior.In this paper, we examine a state-of-the-art open-source simulator of text entry with virtual keyboards (RoboType), and present a comparison between empirical data of human text entry performance and the data generated under the same conditions by RoboType.We find that while the simulator does indeed generate realistic behaviours, metrics derived from it deviate from real data on a like-for-like comparison basis.We conclude by reflecting on potential corrective actions to better approach true human typing behavior.