Augmented and Alternative Communication System Based on Dasher Application and an Accelerometer

This paper describes a system composed by predictive text input software called “Dasher” and a hardware used to connect an accelerometer to the computer. The main goal of this work is to allow people with motor disabilities to have a flexible and cheap way to communicate. The accelerometer can be placed on any body part depending on user preferences. For this reason calibration functionality has been added to dasher software. The calibration process is easy and requires only some minutes but it is necessary in order to allow system can be used in different ways. Tests have been carried out by placing the accelerometer on the head. A rate of 26 words per minute is reached.Junta de Andalucía p08-TIC-363

Journal of Accessibility and Design for All

This volume 2, number 1 of the Journal of Accessibility and Design for All comprises a selection of papers presented at the IV International Congress on Design, Research Networks, and Technology for all held in Madrid, June, 27 - 29, 2011. This congress is promoted by the ONCE Foundation for cooperation and social inclusion of persons with disabilities and intends to monitor the progress of assistive technologies for people with disabilities. Therefore, papers here presented cover different areas related to learning, health, communication and social life, which are also in line with the philosophy of the journal and complement some of the five research areas of this journal.Peer Reviewe

Optimizing Human Performance in Mobile Text Entry

Although text entry on mobile phones is abundant, research strives to achieve desktop typing performance "on the go". But how can researchers evaluate new and existing mobile text entry techniques? How can they ensure that evaluations are conducted in a consistent manner that facilitates comparison? What forms of input are possible on a mobile device? Do the audio and haptic feedback options with most touchscreen keyboards affect performance? What influences users' preference for one feedback or another? Can rearranging the characters and keys of a keyboard improve performance? This dissertation answers these questions and more. The developed TEMA software allows researchers to evaluate mobile text entry methods in an easy, detailed, and consistent manner. Many in academia and industry have adopted it. TEMA was used to evaluate a typical QWERTY keyboard with multiple options for audio and haptic feedback. Though feedback did not have a significant effect on performance, a survey revealed that users' choice of feedback is influenced by social and technical factors. Another study using TEMA showed that novice users entered text faster using a tapping technique than with a gesture or handwriting technique. This motivated rearranging the keys and characters to create a new keyboard, MIME, that would provide better performance for expert users. Data on character frequency and key selection times were gathered and used to design MIME. A longitudinal user study using TEMA revealed an entry speed of 17 wpm and a total error rate of 1.7% for MIME, compared to 23 wpm and 5.2% for QWERTY. Although MIME's entry speed did not surpass QWERTY's during the study, it is projected to do so after twelve hours of practice. MIME's error rate was consistently low and significantly lower than QWERTY's. In addition, participants found MIME more comfortable to use, with some reporting hand soreness after using QWERTY for extended periods

Proceedings of the 2nd IUI Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects

These are the Proceedings of the 2nd IUI Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects. Objects that we use in our everyday life are expanding their restricted interaction capabilities and provide functionalities that go far beyond their original functionality. They feature computing capabilities and are thus able to capture information, process and store it and interact with their environments, turning them into smart objects

Multimodal, Embodied and Location-Aware Interaction

This work demonstrates the development of mobile, location-aware, eyes-free applications which utilise multiple sensors to provide a continuous, rich and embodied interaction. We bring together ideas from the fields of gesture recognition, continuous multimodal interaction, probability theory and audio interfaces to design and develop location-aware applications and embodied interaction in both a small-scale, egocentric body-based case and a large-scale, exocentric `world-based' case. BodySpace is a gesture-based application, which utilises multiple sensors and pattern recognition enabling the human body to be used as the interface for an application. As an example, we describe the development of a gesture controlled music player, which functions by placing the device at different parts of the body. We describe a new approach to the segmentation and recognition of gestures for this kind of application and show how simulated physical model-based interaction techniques and the use of real world constraints can shape the gestural interaction. GpsTunes is a mobile, multimodal navigation system equipped with inertial control that enables users to actively explore and navigate through an area in an augmented physical space, incorporating and displaying uncertainty resulting from inaccurate sensing and unknown user intention. The system propagates uncertainty appropriately via Monte Carlo sampling and output is displayed both visually and in audio, with audio rendered via granular synthesis. We demonstrate the use of uncertain prediction in the real world and show that appropriate display of the full distribution of potential future user positions with respect to sites-of-interest can improve the quality of interaction over a simplistic interpretation of the sensed data. We show that this system enables eyes-free navigation around set trajectories or paths unfamiliar to the user for varying trajectory width and context. We demon- strate the possibility to create a simulated model of user behaviour, which may be used to gain an insight into the user behaviour observed in our field trials. The extension of this application to provide a general mechanism for highly interactive context aware applications via density exploration is also presented. AirMessages is an example application enabling users to take an embodied approach to scanning a local area to find messages left in their virtual environment

Multimodal, Embodied and Location-Aware Interaction

This work demonstrates the development of mobile, location-aware, eyes-free applications which utilise multiple sensors to provide a continuous, rich and embodied interaction. We bring together ideas from the fields of gesture recognition, continuous multimodal interaction, probability theory and audio interfaces to design and develop location-aware applications and embodied interaction in both a small-scale, egocentric body-based case and a large-scale, exocentric `world-based' case. BodySpace is a gesture-based application, which utilises multiple sensors and pattern recognition enabling the human body to be used as the interface for an application. As an example, we describe the development of a gesture controlled music player, which functions by placing the device at different parts of the body. We describe a new approach to the segmentation and recognition of gestures for this kind of application and show how simulated physical model-based interaction techniques and the use of real world constraints can shape the gestural interaction. GpsTunes is a mobile, multimodal navigation system equipped with inertial control that enables users to actively explore and navigate through an area in an augmented physical space, incorporating and displaying uncertainty resulting from inaccurate sensing and unknown user intention. The system propagates uncertainty appropriately via Monte Carlo sampling and output is displayed both visually and in audio, with audio rendered via granular synthesis. We demonstrate the use of uncertain prediction in the real world and show that appropriate display of the full distribution of potential future user positions with respect to sites-of-interest can improve the quality of interaction over a simplistic interpretation of the sensed data. We show that this system enables eyes-free navigation around set trajectories or paths unfamiliar to the user for varying trajectory width and context. We demon- strate the possibility to create a simulated model of user behaviour, which may be used to gain an insight into the user behaviour observed in our field trials. The extension of this application to provide a general mechanism for highly interactive context aware applications via density exploration is also presented. AirMessages is an example application enabling users to take an embodied approach to scanning a local area to find messages left in their virtual environment

Beginners Performance with MessagEase and QWERTY

With the increased use of mobile phones, interest in text entry with them has also amplified. Many new mobile phones are equipped with a QWERTY keypad; new methods to surpass the QWERTY performance are also being developed. This thesis compares user performance of virtual QWERTY keypad to MessagEase. MessagEase uses 9 keys and can therefore be used even on very small touch displays. 9 characters are entered with tapping and the rest with a tap-and-slide gesture. An experiment was conducted with 10 participants transcribing text with both text entry techniques. The experiment consisted of three sessions. In each session, the participants transcribed 30 phrases in total - 15 phrases using each text entry technique. Responses to the System Usability Scale (SUS) for each text entry technique and informal interview data were also collected. From a Repeated-measures analysis of variance a significant effect of the text entry method on text entry rate was seen (F1,19= 47.140, p < 0.0001). The effect of the session (i.e. learning) was also statistically significant (F2,18= 3.631, p = 0.047).The interaction of the session and method was also statistically significant (F2,18= 10.286, p = 0.001) indicating different learning rates. Average text entry speed with MessagEase was 7.43 words per minute (wpm) in the first session and 10.96 wpm in the third session. Likewise, text entry speed with the QWERTY soft keyboard was 17.75 wpm in the first session and 17.16 wpm in the third session. No significant difference was found in the error rates. Keywords: text entry method, MessagEase, QWERT

Development of a framework to enhance communication practice for site-based construction workers in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Construction projects are information intensive. A typical project generates tens of thousands of documents in the form of drawings, change orders, requests for information, specifications, etc. To ensure effective construction communication and coordination, it is essential to manage this information flow efficiently. Recent improvements to IT technologies have enabled construction companies to overcome some of the communication and co-ordination challenges they face. For example, the increased acceptance and widespread use of mobile computing and wireless technologies creates an opportunity to improve productivity and lower costs, by improving information flows to allow greater collaboration and information sharing between on-site personnel. The Construction industry in Saudi Arabia is experiencing rapid growth, with many huge infrastructure projects that are government financed. These projects are subject to delays and poor productivity and faces the challenge of remaining competitive or risk being overtaken by multinational companies who are reaping the benefits of up to date technologies. However, the construction industry in Saudi Arabia has peculiar characteristics, such as its multi-cultural workforce, high level of fragmentation, low level of employee education, extreme natural environment, and the transient nature of the construction workforce. These factors complicate the implementation of new technologies and other improvements to construction processes and practices. The literature is in broad agreement that digital communication technologies will have a positive impact on reducing costs and raising productivity; however, there is less understanding of why these technologies have not been more widely adopted. This study examined the general context and condition of mobile computing, and then explored the circumstances peculiar to Saudi construction projects. It then analysed the characteristic patterns, relationships, work processes and communication tools at Saudi construction sites, and discussed this information in reference to the literature to enable the researcher to develop and validate an implementation framework strategy for mobile computing by using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) methodology. This framework strategy would enable any Saudi construction company to implement a mobile computing solution that meets its needs

Musical Gesture through the Human Computer Interface: An Investigation using Information Theory

This study applies information theory to investigate human ability to communicate using continuous control sensors with a particular focus on informing the design of digital musical instruments. There is an active practice of building and evaluating such instruments, for instance, in the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) conference community. The fidelity of the instruments can depend on the included sensors, and although much anecdotal evidence and craft experience informs the use of these sensors, relatively little is known about the ability of humans to control them accurately. This dissertation addresses this issue and related concerns, including continuous control performance in increasing degrees-of-freedom, pursuit tracking in comparison with pointing, and the estimations of musical interface designers and researchers of human performance with continuous control sensors. The methodology used models the human-computer system as an information channel while applying concepts from information theory to performance data collected in studies of human subjects using sensing devices. These studies not only add to knowledge about human abilities, but they also inform on issues in musical mappings, ergonomics, and usability