Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

We developed a handrail which can provide functional assistance. The result of basic experiment shows the force on the handrail could be used to expect the center of gravity of the user. And also, the handrail could assist the moving ability of a subject who cannot stand up even if using the normal handrail. In future, establish the human standing up modeling and adaptive handrail controlling for the handrail.

A communication support interface controlled by eye movements and voluntary eye blink has been developed for disabled individuals with motor paralysis who cannot speak. Horizontal and vertical electro-oculograms were measured using two surface electrodes attached above and beside the dominant eye and referring to an earlobe electrode and amplified with AC-coupling in order to reduce the unnecessary drift. Four directional cursor movements —up, down, right, and left— and one selected operation were realized by logically combining the two detected channel signals based on threshold settings specific to the individual. Letter input experiments were conducted on a virtual screen keyboard. As a result, operatablility, accuracy, and processing speed were improved using our method.

Exact calibration in real time is critical for gaze control systems. Usually measurements are mapped to points on screen using coefficients obtained from calibration data. The mathematical model of pupil centre/ eye corner gaze tracking system was proposed. 6 parameters were used to describe both eyes movement on image sensor. Experimental results show good correspondence with model over all screen area. As some parameters are user specific and other can be measured independently, the number of calibration points could be reduced drastically, keeping nonlinear mapping.

The purpose of this study is to systematically investigate the effects of keyboard adaptations for children with cerebral palsy. Twelve children aged from 7 to 15 years old participated in this study. Keyboard adaptation strategies were developed based on the individualized assessments. A group comparison experimental design was selected to examine the effectiveness of keyboard adaptations. Speed and accuracy of typing Chinese were compared before and after keyboard adaptations. The results indicated that children with cerebral palsy did increase their typing performance after implementing keyboard adaptation strategies. The results of this study can provide health and educational profession a reference when serving children with physical disabilities.

The purposes of this study were to design an alternative on-screen keyboard for people with physical impairments and to evaluate the efficacy of the chorded input method. The approach of the on-screen keyboard is based on the human computer interface. It gives visual guide and instant feedback to show users where they can find the characters they need. The system has been designed with the principles of universal design. Three factors including the learning ability, efficiency of using and subjective satisfaction are considered as the usability evaluation. According to a preliminary study, the participant felt mastered the text input method quickly. An experimental evaluation on the typing performance of the subjects with muscular dystrophy will be measured under both scanning input mode and chorded input mode in the future.

This paper presents a software concept to allow severely physically disabled people to enter the information age. The software concept consists of a software framework which can be used to reduce the cost of adapting applications to special input devices. The software framework in particular allows different types of input devices for severely disabled people to be subsumed into one software interface. Thus if an application is extended to support this framework, the application automatically supports all current and future input devices for severely physically disabled people. It turns out that several software challenges need to be mastered in order for the framework to satisfy the tremendous need for adaptability of severely physically disabled people.

Being autonomous is one of the biggest challenges for many people with disabilities. While wheelchairs enable individuals to move freely, computers allow them to communicate, work, etc. by their own. In many cases both devices are controlled by two different interfaces of the same kind -two joysticks- and people need the assistance of a second person to switch between them. In this article we describe how any person that drives a wheelchair using a joystick, can control the pointer of any computer using the same driving joystick and without being helped by anyone. This device, NIBLUM, uses Bluetooth to get a wireless and transparent connection with the computer. As it is not necessary to modify the wheelchair, its manufacturer’s guaranty is not voided, something essential to enable NIBLUM’s real usage.

In the framework of the EU funded MOVEMENT Project a novel modular robotic system is being developed which aims at supporting the mobility of elderly citizens and persons with disabilities. This paper outlines some of the use cases which were developed for the envisaged system with focus on assisting severely disabled children and their carers in an institutional environment. Six scenarios were developed and commented by nine professional carers. The paper presents and discusses the qualitative and quantitative data gained from user panel discussion. It was found that the concept and the use cases of MOVEMENT system were very well rated regarding utility which confirms the work of the consortium up to now. The future development activities towards the roll out and evaluation of the first MOVEMENT prototype platform are described.

For over ten years human-computer interface, blind interaction and integration of visually impaired users with sighted users are the key issues of equal access to information and service. The vast research on alternative visualization, augmented communication, user-centered design and usability has been done, and much more projects and solutions are under development. However, several generations of graphical interfaces (Xerox, Apple, Microsoft) have brought less or no benefits for the blind users. Some elderly people still recall the times of DOS and command line, when both the system and application software levels were almost equally accessible. Nowadays, multi-processor operating systems are extremely complex and perform hundreds of routine tasks which are not necessary to be supervised or adapted for the user control at all.

A basic device combining a tactile display function and a touch position sensing function is proposed. The trial device consists of two major components, a tactile graphic display and a six–axis force/torque sensor. The force sensor measures six dynamic values generated by touch action on the display surface and a PC estimates the touch position based on the data. Since the defects of the first trial production are the weakness of the touch surface, an assembly error, and the measurement error of six–axis force/torque sensor, they are solved in the second trial production. The effect of a contact force on the estimated position are examined respectively by a vertical component and a horizontal component. It is shown from the above experimental results that the second trial production is practically sufficient estimated position accuracy.