Interactive Public Displays and Wheelchair Users: Between Direct, Personal and Indirect, Assisted Interaction

Title of the Paper

Interactive Public Displays and Wheelchair Users: Between Direct, Personal and Indirect, Assisted Interaction

Bibliographic Information

• Research Domain: Human-Computer Interaction and Accessibility Technology
• Keywords: wheelchair users, public displays, human-computer interaction, multimodal input, accessible design, systematic literature review, systematic video review, semi-structured interviews, assisted interaction, cross-device interaction

Research Background and Issues

• Problems and Challenges:
  • Public display designs typically target the "average user," neglecting the specific needs of individuals with mobility impairments, such as wheelchair users.
  • Wheelchair users encounter challenges when interacting with public displays, including content positioned too high, buttons that are too small, and pathways that are difficult to navigate.
  • There is a lack of systematic research in the academic literature addressing this user group.
• Significance:
  • Public displays are widely used in daily life (e.g., ticketing systems, street signage, kiosks), making their accessibility for wheelchair users critically important.
  • Addressing these accessibility issues will enhance technological inclusivity and improve the interaction experience for wheelchair users.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • Although there is substantial research on the accessibility of other interaction technologies (e.g., desktop computers, wearable devices), studies on public displays are relatively limited.
  • When direct interaction is inconvenient, wheelchair users often rely on alternative methods (e.g., external assistance or personal devices), highlighting the need for multimodal and cross-device interaction.

Proposed Solution

• Research Methods:

  1. Systematic Literature Review (SLR):
     • Conducted a search of relevant literature in ACM and IEEE Xplore databases, selecting 20 studies that met the criteria.
  2. Systematic Video Review (SVR):
     • Analyzed YouTube videos to collect real-world cases of wheelchair users interacting with public displays.
  3. Semi-Structured Interviews:
     • Conducted one-on-one interviews with 11 wheelchair users to understand their interaction experiences and preferences for improved input methods.

• Innovative Contributions:

  • Employed a multi-faceted approach (literature review, video analysis, and interviews) to comprehensively study the interaction challenges faced by wheelchair users.
  • Proposed a new interaction model by introducing the "assisted interaction" phase, expanding existing public display interaction models.
  • Defined "ability" as a new dimension for cross-device interaction design to better support accessibility through personal devices.

• Implementation Steps:

  1. Conducted literature searches and screening to extract comprehensive data on interaction technologies, input methods, and accessibility challenges.
  2. Systematically analyzed user interaction behaviors in videos, categorizing input methods and accessibility issues.
  3. Collected and analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from user interviews, performing correlation analysis.

Research Outcomes

• Key Findings:

  1. The systematic literature review confirmed a lack of research on wheelchair users' interactions with public displays.
  2. The systematic video review identified common challenges with touchscreens and reported the practicality of alternative input methods.
  3. Semi-structured interviews revealed specific needs of wheelchair users, such as a preference for smartphone-based interaction methods.
  4. Proposed two design implications:
     • Expanded Vogel and Balakrishnan's four-phase interaction model by adding an "assisted interaction" phase.
     • Extended Brudy et al.'s cross-device interaction design space to seven dimensions by introducing the "ability" dimension.

• Advantages Compared to Existing Work:

  • Unlike existing designs that primarily target the "average user," this study systematically addresses the unique needs of wheelchair users.
  • The new model and design dimension provide a theoretical framework and practical recommendations for future researchers, supporting more refined accessibility technology development.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Interviews revealed that 72.7% of participants reported that touchscreen content was positioned too high, and 81.8% required assistance from companions or passersby.
  • Users rated smartphone-related interaction methods the highest (e.g., projecting display content onto a smartphone: Mdn = 5).

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • The current study focuses solely on wheelchair users and does not include other mobility-impaired users or older adults.
  • Future research could explore other assistive technologies (e.g., wearable devices) and evaluate the practical application of improved designs.

This study centers on wheelchair users and innovatively proposes interaction models and design frameworks tailored to their needs, addressing a gap in the existing literature and providing a clear direction for the development of accessibility technologies.