Human-computer multimodal interface to internet navigation

Experimental Evaluation of EMKEY: An Assistive Technology for People with Upper Limb Disabilities

Assistive technology can help people with disabilities to use computers more effectively and can enable them to access the same information and resources as people without disabilities. To obtain more insight into the factors that can bring about the design of an Emulator of Mouse and Keyboard (EMKEY) to higher levels of user satisfaction, an experimental study was conducted in order to analyse its effectiveness and efficiency. The experimental study involved 27 participants (M_age = 20.81, SD = 1.14) who performed three experimental games under different conditions (using the mouse and using EMKEY with head movements and voice commands). According to the results, the use of EMKEY allowed for the successful performance of tasks such as matching stimuli (F_(2,78) = 2.39, p = 0.10, η² = 0.06). However, the execution times of a task were found to be higher when using the emulator to drag an object on the screen (t_(52,1) = -18.45, p ≤ 0.001, d = 9.60). These results indicate the effectiveness of technological development for people with upper limb disabilities; however, there is room for improvement in terms of efficiency. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and are based on future studies aimed at improving the operation of the EMKEY emulator.

Low-Cost Human-Machine Interface for Computer Control with Facial Landmark Detection and Voice Commands

Nowadays, daily life involves the extensive use of computers, since human beings are immersed in a technological society. Therefore, it is mandatory to interact with computers, which represents a true disadvantage for people with upper limb disabilities. In this context, this work aims to develop an interface for emulating mouse and keyboard functions (EMKEY) by applying concepts of artificial vision and voice recognition to replace the use of hands. Pointer control is achieved by head movement, whereas voice recognition is used to perform interface functionalities, including speech-to-text transcription. To evaluate the interface's usability and usefulness, two studies were carried out. The first study was performed with 30 participants without physical disabilities. Throughout this study, there were significant correlations found between the emulator's usability and aspects such as adaptability, execution time, and the participant's age. In the second study, the use of the emulator was analyzed by four participants with motor disabilities. It was found that the interface was best used by the participant with cerebral palsy, followed by the participants with upper limb paralysis, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy. In general, the results show that the proposed interface is easy to use, practical, fairly accurate, and works on a wide range of computers.

Developing a health education comic book: the advantages of learning the behaviours of a target audience

The objective of this study was to determine the positive and negative coping mechanisms practiced by parents of paediatric inpatients and outpatients in order to prepare a health educational comic aimed at improving these response mechanisms. Data were collected from parents visiting general paediatric outpatient clinics or hospitalisation units, at a children's hospital in a metropolitan city. Data analysis was based on 258 completed surveys received from 308 (83.77%) respondents. Each parent completed a survey that included the Brief-COPE-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced questionnaire that encompassed 14 subscales of positive and negative coping mechanisms. Parents used both positive and negative coping mechanisms in outpatient clinics and hospitalisation units. Scores involving negative coping mechanisms were increased and associated with the severity of a child's reason for visiting a children's hospital. The lowest scores were reported by parents whose children were seen at outpatient clinics, whereas the highest scores were reported by parents whose children were treated in critical care units. Learning about parents' coping mechanisms provided key information for preparing an electronic health education comic book (electronically distributed free of charge) and can be used to teach and promote the reinforcement of positive rather than negative coping mechanisms.