15 research outputs found

    Augmented reality for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - A systematic review

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    This article collects and analyzes information from various authors dedicated to the investigation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and in particular Augmented Reality (AR) in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). RA has ventured into the generation of different cognitive and emotional skills in children diagnosed with this disorder. Descriptive research was used for this study, through bibliographic review.Laboratorio de Investigación en Nuevas Tecnologías Informática

    Exploring whole body interaction and design for museums

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    Museums increasingly use digital technology to enhance exhibition experiences for families, notably in relation to physically mediated installations for young children through natural user interfaces. Yet little is known about how families and children engage with such installations and the kinds of interactive experiences they engender in museum spaces. This paper addresses a pressing need for research to adopt an analytical focus on the body during such digitally mediated interactions in order to understand how bodily interaction contributes to meaning making in the museum context. It reports an observation study of families and children interacting with a whole-body interface (using Kinect) in the context of an installation in a museum exhibit on rare Chinese paintings. The study shows how the installation design engenders particular forms of bodily interaction, collaboration and meaning making. It also contributes design insights into whole-body interaction installations in museums and public spaces

    Exploring whole body interaction and design for museums

    Get PDF
    Museums increasingly use digital technology to enhance exhibition experiences for families, notably in relation to physically mediated installations for young children through natural user interfaces. Yet little is known about how families and children engage with such installations and the kinds of interactive experiences they engender in museum spaces. This paper addresses a pressing need for research to adopt an analytical focus on the body during such digitally mediated interactions in order to understand how bodily interaction contributes to meaning making in the museum context. It reports an observation study of families and children interacting with a whole-body interface (using Kinect) in the context of an installation in a museum exhibit on rare Chinese paintings. The study shows how the installation design engenders particular forms of bodily interaction, collaboration and meaning making. It also contributes design insights into whole-body interaction installations in museums and public spaces

    Enhancing touchless interaction with the Leap Motion using a haptic glove

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    XR, music and neurodiversity: design and application of new mixed reality technologies that facilitate musical intervention for children with autism spectrum conditions

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    This thesis, accompanied by the practice outputs,investigates sensory integration, social interaction and creativity through a newly developed VR-musical interface designed exclusively for children with a high-functioning autism spectrum condition (ASC).The results aim to contribute to the limited expanse of literature and research surrounding Virtual Reality (VR) musical interventions and Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) designed to support individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. The author has developed bespoke hardware, software and a new methodology to conduct field investigations. These outputs include a Virtual Immersive Musical Reality Intervention (ViMRI) protocol, a Supplemental Personalised, immersive Musical Experience(SPiME) programme, the Assisted Real-time Three-dimensional Immersive Musical Intervention System’ (ARTIMIS) and a bespoke (and fully configurable) ‘Creative immersive interactive Musical Software’ application (CiiMS). The outputs are each implemented within a series of institutional investigations of 18 autistic child participants. Four groups are evaluated using newly developed virtual assessment and scoring mechanisms devised exclusively from long-established rating scales. Key quantitative indicators from the datasets demonstrate consistent findings and significant improvements for individual preferences (likes), fear reduction efficacy, and social interaction. Six individual case studies present positive qualitative results demonstrating improved decision-making and sensorimotor processing. The preliminary research trials further indicate that using this virtual-reality music technology system and newly developed protocols produces notable improvements for participants with an ASC. More significantly, there is evidence that the supplemental technology facilitates a reduction in psychological anxiety and improvements in dexterity. The virtual music composition and improvisation system presented here require further extensive testing in different spheres for proof of concept

    Playful E-textile Sonic Interaction for Socially Engaged and Open-Ended Play Between Autistic Children

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    Research on the potential benefits of technology for autistic children is an emergent field in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), especially within the Child-Computer Interaction Community. This thesis contributes a design approach grounded in theories of play, cognitive development, and autism to expand the discourse on methodological guidelines for performing empirical studies with non-verbal autistic children and to extend the design space to cater to the socio-emotional and sensory needs of this population. The thesis reveals how sonic e-textile Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) can be used effectively to mediate children’s social participation in playful activities. This is demonstrated through developing three explorative field-studies conducted at a specialist school based in North-East London where two sonic e-textile playful TUIs, namely Mazi and Olly, have been created and tested with three groups of autistic children aged between 5-10. The three studies ran over the period of three years and were designed to investigate the potentials of TUIs as shareable toys during leisure and recreational activities to a) support social and playful interactions among peers and b) provide opportunities for self-regulation. The key contributions of this thesis are the designs of two tangible user interfaces, which offer a set of design approaches to guide researchers through creating shareable and playful tangibles for non-verbal autistic children; a framework for analysis and a thorough evaluation process that other researchers could use to assess the efficacy of playful TUI designs for nonverbal autistic children; and an in-depth discussion about the research process, which offers a new perspective about holistic designs and evaluation of technologies that aim to scaffold play in groups non-verbal autistic children

    Human-computer interaction in ubiquitous computing environments

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    Purpose &ndash; The purpose of this paper is to explore characteristics of human-computer interaction when the human body and its movements become input for interaction and interface control in pervasive computing settings. Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The paper quantifies the performance of human movement based on Fitt\u27s Law and discusses some of the human factors and technical considerations that arise in trying to use human body movements as an input medium. Findings &ndash; The paper finds that new interaction technologies utilising human movements may provide more flexible, naturalistic interfaces and support the ubiquitous or pervasive computing paradigm. Practical implications &ndash; In pervasive computing environments the challenge is to create intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. Application domains that may utilize human body movements as input are surveyed here and the paper addresses issues such as culture, privacy, security and ethics raised by movement of a user\u27s body-based interaction styles. Originality/value &ndash; The paper describes the utilization of human body movements as input for interaction and interface control in pervasive computing settings. <br /

    Serious games for the rehabilitation of disabled people: results of a multilingual survey

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    The paper reports the results of an original mixed-methods survey on the experiences and attitudes of disabled people to digital games in rehabilitation. Serious games are very widely used, but there is currently no research from the perspective of disabled people on their use in rehabilitation. A majority of participants were found to consider games in rehabilitation useful or very useful, with particular interest in games with a camera and sensors. Some statistically significant differences were found between the experiences and attitudes of blind and other disabled people and under and over 40s, but the results were found to be male-female gender independent. Several theories of technology use were applied to interpret the findings. The results were used to provide recommendations for the development and implementation of serious games in rehabilitation and suggestions for further work

    The use of a Kinect-based technology within the school environment to enhance sensory-motor skills of children with autism

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    This research explored the effect of Pictogram Room, a Kinect-based technology, on the sensory-motor skills of children with autism in a school setting. It focused on the overall development of sensory-motor skills, how these skills developed in different environments, and which of the sensory-motor subdomains improved the most. Theoretically, the study drew upon gaming theory and embodied cognition. It was a mixed methods study, with the quantitative data being the dominant method of data collection and the qualitative data having a more supportive role. During the first year, the intervention was implemented with the intervention group (n=5), twice a week for 15 minutes, over the course of nine weeks. The following year, a wait-list control group was recruited (n=5). The findings from the researcher’s checklist, as well as those from the standardised assessments, showed that sensory-motor skills in the intervention group were significantly improved, and there was also generalisation of these skills to other environments. Finally, as a result of the teachers’ interviews, social play and adaptive behaviours were also evaluated, with positive results for the intervention group
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