The gest-rest

Abstract

Interacting with touch screen-based computing devices can be difficult for individuals with mobility impairments that affect their hands, arms, neck, or head. These problems may be especially difficult for power wheelchair users, as the frame of their wheelchair may obstruct the users' range of motion and reduce their ability to reach objects in the environment. The concept of chairable input devices refers to input devices that are designed to fit with the form of an individual's wheelchair, much like wearable technology fits with an individual's clothing. In this paper, we introduce a new chairable input device, the Gest-Rest, which provides a pressure-sensitive input surface that fits over a standard power wheelchair armrest. The Gest-Rest enables users to perform traditional touch screen gestures, such as press and flick, as well as pressure-based gestures such as squeezing and punching. The Gest-Rest enables multiple inputs, unlike most switches, and does not substantially change the shape of the wheelchair armrest. We present a formative evaluation in which nine wheelchair users and three clinicians tested multiple gestures using the Gest-Rest prototype, and provided recommendations for integrating the Gest-Rest with computing applications. Our study showed that our motor impaired participants were each able to perform multiple gestures using the prototype, but had some difficulty with the pre-set sensitivity settings, and would thus benefit from a more robust gesture recognizer.

Designing and implementing accessible wearable interactions for people with motor impairments

“…Three studies closest to the goals of this dissertation come from McNaney et al [88] and Carrington et al [21,22]. McNaney et al [88] investigated the applicability of Google Glass for users with Parkinson's disease and found potential benefits with Glass like support for self-management.…”

“…Furthermore, the first study by Carrington et al [21] employed participatory design to explore input-output mechanisms on and around the wheelchair for mobile computing. In a follow-up, Carrington et al [22] proposed a pressure-based touchpad input device mounted on the wheelchair's armrest that could be used to control a mobile device. As with the earlier design investigations, Carrington et al's focus was not on controlling information on a head-mounted display; however, the approach could be used in that context.…”

“…While these techniques are only a few potential solutions to make existing wearables accessible by instrumenting the wearable itself, other techniques may also be explored. Some examples include 3-D gestures (e.g., [54,116]) or interactions utilizing the space around the wheelchair [21,22]. Exploring speech input can also be a possibility (e.g., [8,9,23,51,83,90,106,141]) but speech has its own limitations: it can be awkward in public places, it needs trigger phrases to activate which that can potentially be used by anyone, and speech also has privacy issues as anyone in the environment can hear.…”

“…Some examples include utilizing the physical edges of the device [38,140] for better gesture stability, or touching and sliding the finger (called swabbing) [135] for target selection or analyzing touchscreen gestures to better understand the input preferences for people with motor impairments [35,45]. Particularly for wheelchair users and more closely related to my dissertation, Carrington et al [21] explored alternative input/output spaces on and around the wheelchair for accessible mobile computing and later, built a pressure-sensitive input technique on the armrest of the wheelchair to help people with motor impairments interact with mobile computing devices [22]. As mobile computing expands to devices that can be worn on the body, clothing or wheelchair, people with motor impairments may experience similar and new challenges related to input and output.…”

“…Though participants in their study did not use a head-mounted display, several felt that it would be a useful output modality. In a follow-up to [21], Carrington et al [22] proposed a pressure-based touchpad input device mounted on the wheelchair's armrest that could be used to control a mobile device. As with the earlier design investigations [21], the focus here was not on controlling information on a head-mounted display;…”