TITLE: Dictionary Management Techniques for Text Entry on Mobile Phones

SUPERVISOR: Professor Scott MacKenzie

OUTLINE: A standard mobile phone keypad is ambiguous for text entry because each 
key encodes three or four letters.  Dictionary-based text entry uses a built-in 
dictionary to disambiguate key presses and thereby allow one-key-press-per-letter input.  
For example, HELLO is entered as

   4 3 5 5 6 0
   H E L L O

with the final 0 representing the SPACE.  Unfortunately dictionary-based 
disambiguation has a few problems, such as occasional collisions (more than one 
word mapping the same key sequence) and the inputting of non-dictionary words.  
This project is concerned with the latter.

When the user attempts to enter a word that is not in the dictionary, the system 
typically alerts the user that the key sequence does not map to a word.  
The user then must switches to the traditional multitap mode of input and 
proceeds to enter the word.  Many systems then add the new word to the 
dictionary; however, there is great inconsistency in the way this is done and 
managed.  For example, the space for new words is limited and, so, old words are 
sometimes dropped to make room for new words.

This project involves the following.

(a) Critique and review current mobile phone systems in the way they afford and 
manage the input of non-dictionary words.

(b) Propose, develop, and evaluate a new interaction method for managing the 
input of non-dictionary words.

(c) Write a paper on parts (a) and (b).

(d) Give a presentation on the project.

COMPUTER LANGUAGE: 
   - Java

PREREQUISITES: 
   - CSE 3461 or equivalent
   - mobile phone text messaging experience

READINGS:
   - to be provided