Claudia Loitsch

Viable haptic UML for blind people

We investigate tactile representations and haptic interaction that may enable blind people to utilize UML diagrams by using an industry standard editor. In this paper we present a new approach to present tactile UML diagrams by preserving spatial information on a touch-sensitive tactile display. Furthermore we present the results of a fundamental evaluation showing that blind people retain orientation during exploration of tactile diagrams and which problems are associated with the usage of ideographs. We compared our new developed representation with the common method blind people utilize sequence diagrams: non-visually through verbalization. We indicate problems for both representations.

Accessibility through Preferences: Context-Aware Recommender of Settings

A proposal for merging context-awareness and user preferences in the same software system is provided. Several modules from the on-going CLOUD4All project (European Commission Seventh Framework Programme) are enhanced with Context Awareness, including the Semantic Matching Framework, the RuleBased Matchmaker (with new rules) and the Statistical Matchmaker (with new features to be used as predictors). Some other components are created exclusively to deal with context features, as the Context Aware Server (to add context from motes) and the Minimatchmaker (to save computation and network resources for well-known situations)

Tailored versus Prioritized Configuration towards Accessibility – A Study on Weighted Preferences

We present the results of a user study on human factors towards personalization and accessibility which was conducted with 97 participants (cognitive impaired, dyslexic, low digital literacy, visual impaired and elderly). Amongst others, the presented results gave insights on user weightings of requirements as well as on difficulties in customizing accessibility features of ICT products.

Teaching Accessibility with Personas

Personas are widely applied in Human-computer interaction and beneficial to understand the target users of a product. We use personas in the MOOCAP project to impart knowledge on Digital Accessibility. This paper presents selected course material of the MOOC Digital Accessibility. The proposed educational concept uses personas repetitively to build foundations of knowledge on accessibility. Additionally, an evaluation of the course material is presented.

A knowledge-based approach to user interface adaptation from preferences and for special needs

Moving between devices is omnipresent, but not for people with disabilities or those who require specific accessibility options. Setting up assistive technologies or finding settings to overcome a certain barrier can be a demanding task for people without technical skills. Context-sensitive adaptive user interfaces are advancing, although migrating access features from one device to another is very rarely addressed. In this paper, we describe the knowledge-based component of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure that infers how a device shall be best configured at the operating system layer, the application layer and the web layer to meet the requirements of a user including possible special needs or disabilities. In this regard, a mechanism to detect and resolve conflicting accessibility policies as well as recommending preference substitutes is a main requirement, as elaborated in this paper. As the proposed system emulates decision-making of accessibility experts, we validated the automatic deduced configurations against manual configurations of ten accessibility experts. The assessment result shows that the average matching score of the developed system is high. Thus, the proposed system can be considered capable of making precise decisions towards personalizing user interfaces based on user needs and preferences.

Conflict Management in Multi-user Applications for People with Disabilities

This paper addresses the problem of personalizing user interfaces to individual needs and preferences of multiple users regarding accessibility. We present a study on conflicting configuration policies that need to be detected and resolved when devices and user interfaces are automatically adapted to multiple users to enable cooperative usage. 6 resolution strategies for setting conflicts are proposed and a validation with experts is described.

Position paper: accessible human-robot interaction (AHRI)

Assistive robots that address different impairments and continuously changing capabilities by providing manifold interactions based on profiles are not targeted in current research. Substantiated by a survey of human-robot interaction for assistive systems, we claim the need for establishing the innovative research topic of Accessible Human-Robot Interaction (AHRI). It is shown that limitations or loss of motoric, sensory, and mental capabilities as well as multiple impairments and resulting barriers regarding interaction, communication and perception are not sufficiently incorporated in designs of assistive robots. To achieve a design for all, fundamental research on varying needs, capabilities, and preferences along with derivation of profiles and developments of new adaptive and adaptable interaction concepts is necessary.

Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) – Personalisierte Benutzerschnittstellen / Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) – Towards Personal User Interfaces

Zusammenfassung. Moderne Desktop- und mobile Plattformen bieten dem Benutzer die Möglichkeit, Aspekte der Präsentation und der Interaktion individuell zu konfigurieren, um damit die Benutzerschnittstelle zu personalisieren. Allerdings gibt es dazu kaum plattformübergreifende Lösungen. Dies benachteiligt insbesondere Benutzer mit Behinderungen und ältere Benutzer, die oft eine Vielzahl von Anpassungen vornehmen müssen, um ein System ohne Barrieren bedienen zu können, und die sich meist nicht genügend auskennen, um die für sie optimale Konfiguration einzustellen. Die “Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure” (GPII), eine weltweite Open-Source-Initiative, möchte dieses Problem lösen. Dieser Artikel beschreibt den GPII-Ansatz zur Personalisierung von Benutzerschnittstellen, insbesondere die Verwendung von plattformübergreifenden Benutzerprofilen zur Einstellung der Benutzerschnittstelle, und regelbasierte und statistische Ansätze zum Matchmaking. Der GPII-Ansatz wurde in einem ersten Benutzertest vorläufig validiert. Summary Today’s desktop and mobile platforms allow for the user to individually configure presentation and interaction aspects, in order to experience a personal user interface. However, there are hardly any cross-platform solutions available. This is particularly cumbersome for users with disabilities and elderly users who often have to adjust many adaptation aspects for getting barrier-free access, and who mostly do not know their system well enough to be able to configure it in an optimal way. This article describes the GPII approach for personalization of user interfaces, in particular the use of cross-platform user profiles for user interface settings, and rule-based and statistical approaches for matchmaking. The GPII approach has been preliminarily validated in a first user test.