Defining acceptable interaction for universal access

Many new assistive input systems developed to meet the needs of users with functional impairments fail to make it out of the research laboratory and into regular use by the intended users. This paper examines some of the reasons for this and focuses particular on whether the developers of such systems are focusing on the correct metrics for evaluating the functional attributes of the new input technologies. In particular, the paper focuses on the issue of benchmarking new assistive input systems against a baseline measure of interaction rate that takes allowance of factors such as input success/recognition rate, error rate, correction effort and input time. By addressing each of these measures, a more complete understanding of whether an input system is functionally acceptable can be obtained

Robotic assistants for universal access

Much research is now focusing on how technology is moving away from the traditional computer to a range of smart devices in smart environments, the so-called Internet of Things. With this increase in computing power and decrease in form factor, we are approaching the possibility of a new generation of robotic assistants able to perform a range of tasks and activities to support all kinds of users. However, history shows that unless care is taken early in the design process, the users who may stand to benefit the most from such assistance may inadvertently be excluded from it. This paper examines some of those historical missteps and examines possible ways forward to ensure that the next generation robots support the principles of universal access

Designers and manufacturers’ perspectives on inclusive/universal design

Inclusive design in the U.K. and its U.S. counterpart, universal design, present opportunities and challenges to industry. In order to encourage manufacturers and design companies to adopt more inclusive design practices, the research has been carried out to gain an understanding of why and how companies adopt inclusive design practices, what are the barriers when implementing them and what are the key strategies for facilitating inclusive/universal design in an industrial context. Based on interviews with a number of U.K. design consultancies and an investigation among manufacturers in the U.S., a comparison between U.K. consultant designers and U.S. consumer product manufacturers’ perspectives on inclusive/universal design was made. It was found that designers are reluctant to sacrifice the aesthetics of the brand to design for inclusion, but nevertheless would like to have practical tools to help them develop more inclusive solutions. For manufacturers, the key motivation for such practices is that of government regulation and legislation requiring the accessibility of products and services

When Universal Access does not go to plan: Lessons to be learned

While the theory of designing for Universal Access is increasingly understood, there remain persistent issues over realising products and systems that meet the goal of being accessible and usable by the broadest possible set of users. Clearly products or service that are designed without even considering the needs of the wider user base are implicitly going to struggle to be universally accessible. However, even products that have been designed knowing that they are to be used by broad user bases frequently still struggle to achieve the ambition of being universally accessible. This paper examines a number of such products that did not achieve, at least initially, the desired level of universal accessibility. Principal recommendations from each case study are presented to provide a guide to common issues to be avoided

The role of simulation in designing for universal access

It is known that the adoption of user-centred design processes can lead to more universally accessible products and services. However, the most frequently cited approach to user-centred design, i.e. participatory design, can be both problematic and expensive to implement., particularly over the difficulty of finding and recruiting suitable participants. Simulation aids offer a potentially cost-effective replacement or complement to participatory design. This paper examines a number of the issues associated with the use of simulation aids when designing for Universal Access. It concludes that simulation aids can play an effective role, but need to be used with due consideration over what insights they provide

Subdivision surface fitting to a dense mesh using ridges and umbilics

Fitting a sparse surface to approximate vast dense data is of interest for many applications: reverse engineering, recognition and compression, etc. The present work provides an approach to fit a Loop subdivision surface to a dense triangular mesh of arbitrary topology, whilst preserving and aligning the original features. The natural ridge-joined connectivity of umbilics and ridge-crossings is used as the connectivity of the control mesh for subdivision, so that the edges follow salient features on the surface. Furthermore, the chosen features and connectivity characterise the overall shape of the original mesh, since ridges capture extreme principal curvatures and ridges start and end at umbilics. A metric of Hausdorff distance including curvature vectors is proposed and implemented in a distance transform algorithm to construct the connectivity. Ridge-colour matching is introduced as a criterion for edge flipping to improve feature alignment. Several examples are provided to demonstrate the feature-preserving capability of the proposed approach

The future of universal access? merging computing, design and engineering

Technology is advancing at a fast pace while the shape and nature of computers continues to evolve, with tablets and smartphones illustrating the move away from the traditional notion of a laptop or desktop computer. Similarly, networking and sensing technologies are also developing rapidly and innovatively. All of these technologies have the potential to enfranchise users with severe functional impairments to be better able to control and interact with other people and their surroundings. However, this is only possible if those designing the novel systems based upon these new technologies consider such users’ needs explicitly. This paper examines how these technological advances can be employed to support these users in the near future. The paper further discusses issues such as the need for security as systems evolve from control of specific environments to a potential model for interaction in any location

eHealth and the Internet of Things

To respond to an ageing population, eHealth strategies offer significant opportunities in achieving a balanced and sustainable healthcare infrastructure. Advances in technology both at the sensor and device levels and in respect of information technology have opened up other possibilities and options. Of significance among these is what is increasingly referred to as the Internet of Things, the interconnection of physical devices to an information infrastructure. The paper therefore sets out to position the Internet of Things at the core of future developments in eHealt

Augmenting Graphical User Interfaces with Haptic Assistance for Motion-Impaired Operators

Haptic assistance is an emerging field of research that is designed to improve human-computer interaction (HCI) by reducing error rates and targeting times through the use of force feedback. Haptic feedback has previously been investigated to assist motion-impaired computer users, however, limitations such as target distracters have hampered its integration with graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In this paper two new haptic assistive techniques are presented that utilise the 3DOF capabilities of the Phantom Omni. These are referred to as deformable haptic cones and deformable virtual switches. The assistance is designed specifically to enable motion-impaired operators to use existing GUIs more effectively. Experiment 1 investigates the performance benefits of the new haptic techniques when used in conjunction with the densely populated Windows on-screen keyboard (OSK). Experiment 2 utilises the ISO 9241-9 point-and-click task to investigate the effects of target size and shape. The results of the study prove that the newly proposed techniques improve interaction rates and can be integrated with existing software without many of the drawbacks of traditional haptic assistance. Deformable haptic cones and deformable virtual switches were shown to reduce the mean number of missed-clicks by at least 75% and reduce targeting times by at least 25%

Engineering Design for Mechatronics – A pedagogical perspective

Here we examine how innovative and challenging Mechatronics programmes structured to meet future needs must still incorporate the basic principles of Engineering Design. However, Mechatronics remains a fundamentally innovative field and simple instruction in the basic mechanics of putting the components together is missing an educational opportunity to push students to develop their creative engineering thinking. Mechatronics, being such a diverse field, allows students and teachers to explore genuinely innovative questions and solutions. As such, it is well suited to allowing teachers to set tasks and projects for students that break new ground and explicitly support the creation of the new concepts and solutions required to take mechatronics forward