Search

BackgroundVoice assistants allow users to control appliances and functions of a smart home by simply uttering a few words. Such systems hold the potential to significantly help users with motor and cognitive disabilities who currently depend on their caregiver even for basic needs (eg, opening a door). The research on voice assistants is mainly dedicated to able-bodied users, and studies evaluating the accessibility of such systems are still sparse and fail to account for the participants’ actual motor, linguistic, and cognitive abilities. ObjectiveThe aim of this work is to investigate whether cognitive and/or linguistic functions could predict user performance in operating an off-the-shelf voice assistant (Google Home). MethodsA group of users with disabilities (n=16) was invited to a living laboratory and asked to interact with the system. Besides collecting data on their performance and experience with the system, their cognitive and linguistic skills were assessed using standardized inventories. The identification of predictors (cognitive and/or linguistic) capable of accounting for an efficient interaction with the voice assistant was investigated by performing multiple linear regression models. The best model was identified by adopting a selection strategy based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC). ResultsFor users with disabilities, the effectiveness of interacting with a voice assistant is predicted by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Robertson Dysarthria Profile (specifically, the ability to repeat sentences), as the best model shows (AIC=130.11). ConclusionsUsers with motor, linguistic, and cognitive impairments can effectively interact with voice assistants, given specific levels of residual cognitive and linguistic skills. More specifically, our paper advances practical indicators to predict the level of accessibility of speech-based interactive systems. Finally, accessibility design guidelines are introduced based on the performance results observed in users with disabilities.

Physical inactivity is a plague for public health, especially in Western Countries. Among the countermeasures, mobile applications promoting physical activity seem particularly promising, thanks to the spread and adoption of mobile devices. However, the dropout rates of users are high, thereby calling for strategies to increase retention rates. Moreover, user testing can be problematic, because it is typically conducted in a laboratory, leading to a limited ecological validity. In the present research, we developed a custom mobile app to promote physical activity. Three versions of the app were implemented, each featuring a different pattern of gamification elements. Moreover, the app was designed to work as a self-managed experimental platform. A remote field study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the different versions of the app. Behavioral log data of physical activity and interaction with the app were collected. Our results show the feasibility of using a mobile app running on personal devices as an independently managed experimental platform. Moreover, we found that gamification elements per se do not ensure higher retention rates, rather it emerged that the richer combination of gamified elements was effective.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a popular technology to recreate reality-like scenarios, including dangerous ones, in a realistic but safe way. Because of this potential, VR based research has been applied in psychology studies to provide training and education about how to behave in emergencies such as fires, earthquakes, floods, or typhoons. All these different virtual scenarios have been built to observe how people react to emergencies, what behaviors they adopted, what level of stress is generated, and finally, how to increase citizens' safety. However, there is still little research that shows how Virtual Environment (VE) should be designed to convey appropriate social and psychological "cues" to participants. In this work, we present the result of a series of co-design sessions aiming to bring experts to collaborate in setting up virtual scenarios to increase the quality of life, safety perception, and risk awareness in people living in the proximity of a river. Floods are one of the most threatening climate events, and because of climate change, they are expected to become even more frequent. These disasters have a devastating impact on communities, increasing anxiety and stress levels in citizens living close to rivers. We involved relevant stakeholders to design "Safer Water," an immersive, interactive, virtual experience to support citizens in psychologically and behaviorally managing pre and post riverbank breakdown situations. HCI experts, hydrogeological and hydraulic engineers, psychologists, and VEs designers took part in affinity diagram and brainstorming activities. Results show how the adopted method was able to generate suitable virtual scenarios, to highlight and classify relevant design requirements, and to find strategies that could improve the quality of life and psychological well-being in "risk-exposed citizens." The discussion includes a set of open-access guidelines derived from the co-design activities, to support the design of VE for the purposes discussed in the paper., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Gamberini, Bettelli, Benvegnù, Orso, Spagnolli and Ferri.)

Augmented reality based applications have been experimented with in various contexts. Typically, the interaction is supported by handled devices, which, in specific scenarios, may hinder the interaction and spoil the experience of use, as the user is forced to hold the device and to keep her eyes on it at all times. The recent launch on the market of light-weight, unobtrusive head-mounted displays may change this circumstance. Nevertheless, investigations are needed to understand if such head-worn devices effectively outperform handheld devices in terms of comfort and pleasant experience of use. Here we present two experiments aimed at assessing the comfort of wearing a head-worn, see-through AR viewer in both a controlled and a natural setting. Besides the comfort of wearing the device, aspects related to the user experience were also investigated in the field evaluation. Our findings suggest that the head-mounted display examined is comfortable to wear regardless of the context of use. Interestingly in the field trails, participants did not express concern for the impression they would have made on other people and the experience of use was overall pleasant. Possible issues related to visual fatigue emerged.

Introduction: Epidemiological studies have shown laterality in clavicle fractures, such that the left side is more frequently fractured. The present study had the aim of evaluating whether the clavicle on the dominant side is denser and thus explaining the greater incidence of fractures on the non-dominant side., Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study on 52 healthy patients, who were classified according to age, sex and whether the dominant or non-dominant side was affected., Results: The participants comprised 28 women (53.8%) and 24 men (46.2%). Regarding the dominant side, 30 were right-handed (57.7%) and 22 were left-handed (42.3%). The mean age was 25 years. In this study, it could be seen that the non-dominant side had greater bone mass than the dominant side. It was also observed that the bone density was greater in the middle and distal thirds on the non-dominant side, with a statistically significant difference. In the women, the density was also greater on the non-dominant side; this difference was not significant in relation to the dominant side, but there were significant differences between the middle thirds (p < 0.001) and the distal thirds (p < 0.006)., Conclusion: Variations in bone density, toward higher and lower bone mass, may have been responsible for the fractures. According to the findings from this study, fractures occur more in the middle third of the non-dominant clavicle, as a result of greater bone mineral mass, which gives rise to lower flexibility and fractures in the region.

SeniorChannel is a European project that explores the potential of using an Interactive Digital Television (IDTV) to turn elderly people at home into an active audience. Techniques to involve elderly users in the requirement collection during the design phase should take into account the decrease in perception, cognition and motor abilities associated with aging. The paper describes the specific solutions adopted here to elicit users' contribution, as well as the contributed preferences in terms of IDTV content and interaction modalities.