No abstract

In this paper, we describe a first step towards the development of a solution to support the movement and repositioning of an individual's limbs. Limb repositioning is particularly valuable for individuals with physical disabilities who are either bed or chairbound, to help reduce the occurrence of contractures and pressure ulcers. A data gathering study has been performed examining attitudes towards using BCI and gestural devices to control a robotic aid to assist with the repositioning process. Findings from a preliminary study evaluating a controller interface prototype suggest that while BCI and gestural technologies may play a valuable role in limiting fatigue from interacting with a mouse or other input device, challenges are faced accurately identifying specific facial expressions (e.g. blinks). Future work would aim to refine algorithms to detect gestures, with a view to augmenting the experience when using a BCI and gestural device to control a robotic aid.

Augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies offer new ways of interacting with digital media. However, such technologies are not well explored for people with different ranges of abilities beyond a few specific navigation and gaming applications. While new standardization activities are investigating accessibility issues with existing AR/VR systems, commercial systems are still confined to specialized hardware and software limiting their widespread adoption among people with disabilities as well as seniors. This proposal takes a novel approach by exploring the application of user model-based personalization for AR/VR systems to improve accessibility. The workshop will be organized by experienced researchers in the field of human computer interaction, robotics control, assistive technology, and AR/VR systems, and will consist of peer reviewed papers and hands-on demonstrations. Keynote speeches and demonstrations will cover latest accessibility research at Microsoft, Google, Verizon and leading universities.

With robotics technology, services can be provided to care for individuals with disabilities. This paper describes an effort to improve path planning performance for a robotic arm, resulting in faster user response in real-time. For a robotic arm, particularly with multiple degrees of freedom, path planning is computationally expensive. We propose that it is possible to achieve rapid response times with an assistive robotic arm by caching frequent arm trajectories and creating a "roadmap" of arm movements. By calculating trajectories to possible target goals in advance, we anticipate an improvement in user response times.

No abstract