Google TouchBot: Testing Touch Lag So You Don't Have To

Everyone hates a laggy interface, but not everyone has the capability to scientifically quantify and measure lag in order to fix it. Google, however, isn't like everyone and has the resources, not to mention the need, to measure the lag between a touch gesture and the interface or program's response. It looked to Finland for answers, where OptoFidelity, a company specializing in test automation, gave birth to Chrome TouchBot, a robot that does exactly what its name says: run a series of touch-based tests on Android and Chrome OS devices.

If you are in any way going to measure end-to-end latency, as Google calls it, in a scientific manner, it makes sense to automate the process as best as possible. It not only takes less work overall, it also leaves little margin for error caused by humans. When it comes to automation, robots and software are kings, but it is only until recently that robots have attained the necessary finesse and accuracy to perform tests on mobile devices without breaking them.

We've seen Samsung's denim-clad robotic butt (robutt?) perform stress tests on the Galaxy Note 4 to prove that it isn't as bendable as an iPhone. Now Google has its own tester, this time using a different body port. Simulating a finger, TouchBot goes through a test suite involving several touch-based gestures in order to measure the response time for each. It also goes through different devices, ranging from Android smartphone and tablets as well as touch-enabled Chromebook screens.

If you doubt Google's methods or algorithms, you can check it out yourself, provided you have a similar robot, of course. Google has released the source code for TouchBot itself and has also made available the same latency tests that it uses for everyone to try out.

SOURCE: +François Beaufort