Design and Evaluation of Model-based Optimized Touchscreen Keyboard for Older Adults with Dyslexia

In this work, we focus on developing touchscreen text-entry interfaces, specifically focusing on finding the optimal touchscreen keyboard interface which can capture variation among the older adults with dyslexia. The major contributions of this work are: (1) development of a design space for text-entry interfaces, (2) design and initial evaluation (including model-based simulation) of the keyboard interface suitable for older adults having dyslexia, and (3) observe the effect of the proposed keyboard on able-bodied older adults’ performance compare to the QWERTY layout. In a broader sense, our work serves as an initial attempt to build a psychological foundation that could support the touchscreen text-entry interface design

Rethinking mobile interfaces for older adults

This SIG advances the study of mobile user interfaces for the aging population. The topic is timely, as the mobile device has become the most widely used computer terminal and at the same time the number of older people will soon exceed the number of children worldwide. However, most HCI research addresses younger adults and has had little impact on older adults. Some design trends, like the mantra “smaller is smarter”, contradict the needs of older users. Developments like this may diminish their ability to access information and participate in society. This can lead to further isolation (social and physical) of older adults and increased widening of the digital divide. This SIG aims to discuss mobile interfaces for older adults. The SIG has three goals: (i) to map the state-of-art, (ii) to build a community gathering experts from related areas, and (iii) to raise awareness within the SIGCHI community. The SIG will be open to all at CHI

Designing interactions for the ageing populations – addressing global challenges

We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: digital devices are becoming ubiquitous, and older people are becoming a very large demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publications, older adults continue to be underrepresented in HCI research as well as commercially. Therefore, the overarching aim of this workshop is to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnology. For this, we plan to create a space for discussing and sharing principles and strategies to design interactions and evaluate user interfaces (UI) for the ageing population. We thus welcome contributions of empirical studies, theories, design and evaluation of UIs for older adults. Building on the success of last two year’s workshops, we aim to grow the community of CHI researchers across borders interested in this topic by fostering a space to exchange results, methods, approaches, and ideas from research on interactive applications in support of older adults that are reflective of international diversity that is representative of CHI

Designing mobile interactions for the ageing populations

We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: mobiles are becoming the most used computing device; and older people are becoming the largest demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publication, older adults continue to be underrepresented in HCI research as well as commercially, further widening the digital divide they face and hampering their social participation. This workshop aims to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnology. We plan to create a space for discussing and sharing principles and strategies to design and evaluate mobile user interfaces for the aging population. We thus welcome contributions to empirical studies, theories, design and evaluation of mobile interfaces for older adults

Inclusive Augmented and Virtual Reality: A Research Agenda

Augmented and virtual reality experiences present significant barriers for disabled people, making it challenging to fully engage with immersive platforms. Whilst researchers have started to explore potential solutions addressing these accessibility issues, we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of research areas requiring further investigation to support the development of inclusive AR/VR systems. To address current gaps in knowledge, we led a series of multidisciplinary sandpits with relevant stakeholders (i.e., academic researchers, industry specialists, people with lived experience of disability, assistive technologists, and representatives from disability organisations, charities, and special needs educational institutions) to collaboratively explore research challenges, opportunities, and solutions. Based on insights shared by participants, we present a research agenda identifying key areas where further work is required in relation to specific forms of disability (i.e., across the spectrum of physical, visual, cognitive, and hearing impairments), including wider considerations associated with the development of more accessible immersive platforms

Voice Snapping: Inclusive Speech Interaction Techniques for Creative Object Manipulation

Voice input holds significant potential to support people with physical impairments in producing creative visual design outputs, although it is unclear whether well-established interaction methods used for manipulating graphical assets within mainstream creative applications (typically operated via a mouse, keyboard, or touch input) also present benefits for speech interaction. We present three new voice controlled approaches utilizing interface snapping techniques for manipulating a graphical object’s dimensions: NoSnap, UserSnap, and AutoSnap. A user evaluation with people who have physical impairments (N=25) found that each method enabled participants to successfully control a graphical object’s size across a series of design tasks, although the automated snapping approach utilized within AutoSnap was found to be more efficient, accurate, and usable. Subjective feedback from participants also highlighted a strong preference for AutoSnap over the other techniques in terms of efficiency and ease of use