Human Computer Interaction Chapter 7 - Universal Design

Learning Outcomes To understand the universal design concept To understand how the chosen design may affect the user To describe the components of universal design process

Introduction What is Universal Design (UD)? The process of designing products so that they can be used by as many people as possible in as many situations as possible. E.g. designing interactive systems that are usable by anyone, with any range of abilities, using any technology platform.

Introduction Definitions “Universal design makes things more accessible, safer, and convenient for everyone. Also called “Design for All” or “Inclusive Design,” it is a philosophy that can be applied to policy, design and other practices to make products, environments and systems function better for a wider range of people. It developed in response to the diversity of human populations, their abilities and their needs.” - The Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center) “Universal Design is a framework for the design of places, things, information, communication and policy to be usable by the widest range of people operating in the widest range of situations without special or separate design. Most simply, Universal Design is human-centered design of everything with everyone in mind.” - The Institute for Human Centered Design

Introduction Universal design has two major components: Designing products to be flexible enough and can be directly used Designing products to be compatible with the assistive technologies - those who cannot efficiently access and use the products directly. example- plug and play device

Universal Design Principles Is it possible to design anything so that anyone can use it? If possible, how practical would it be? Seven UD Principles equitable use flexibility in use simple and intuitive to use perceptible information tolerance for error low physical effort size and space for approach and use Useful to people with a range of abilities and appealing to all Allows for a range of ability and preference, through choice of methods of use and adaptivity to the user’s pace, precision and custom Support user’s expectations and accommodate different language, literacy, academic skills Presentation should be presented in effectively; represented in different forms/modes Minimize the impact/damage caused by mistakes/unintended behavior Comfortable to use, minimizing physical effort and fatique Placement of system should be within reach & can be used by any user regardless of body size, posture or mobility

UD -Multi-Sensory Systems More than one sensory channel in interaction e.g. sounds, text, hypertext, animation, video, gestures, vision Used in a range of applications: particularly good for users with special needs, and virtual reality

UD using Usable Senses The 5 senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) are used by us every day each is important on its own together, they provide a fuller interaction with the natural world Computers rarely offer such a rich interaction Can we use all the available senses? ideally, yes practically – no We can use • sight • sound • touch) but we cannot (yet) use • taste • smell

Multi-modal vs. Multi-media Multi-modal systems use more than one sense (or mode ) of interaction e.g. visual and aural senses: a text processor may speak the words as well as echoing them to the screen Multi-media systems use a number of different media to communicate information e.g. a computer-based teaching system: may use video, animation, text and still images: different media all using the visual mode of interaction; may also use sounds, both speech and non-speech: two more media, now using a different mode

Sound in the Interface Sound is one of the IMPORTANT contributor to usability Research shown; With audio as confirmation modes, it reduces errors Allows users to pick up vital clues and information from sound while concentrating their visual attention on different things Allows to access in poorly lit or noisy environments Able to convey transient information and does not take up screen space (useful for mobile applications) Types of Sound can be divided into two; Speech Non-speech

Speech phonemes allophones morphemes Human beings have a great and natural mastery of speech – learnt by listening to and mimicking the speech around us Structure of Speech (ENGLISH) phonemes Made up of 40 basic atomic elements of speech Each represents distinct sound (24 consonants & 16 vowel sounds) Prosody – alteration in tone, pitch, pauses, emphasis These resulted in.. allophones Represents all different sounds in the language between 120 and 130 of them these are formed into … morphemes smallest unit of language that has meaning Basic building blocks of language (words, whole words, sentences)

Speech (cont’d) Other terminology: • syntax – structure of sentences • semantics – meaning of sentences *people are more aware and concentrating on extracting the meaning from the sentences, rather than focusing on the complex structure of speech

Speech Recognition Problems Benefits Complexity of language Different people speak differently: accent, intonation, stress, idiom, volume, etc. Pauses or using continuation noises (“ummm.....” and “errr.....”) Background noises can interfere with input (masking/distorting the information) Benefits Offers another mode of communication – supplement existing methods/be the primary method. Eg., if user’s hand occupied, speech might be ideal as input medium Doesn’t need keyboard, thus useful in mobile situations Alternative means of input for users (with visual, physical, cognitive impairment)

Speech Recognition: useful? Single user or limited vocabulary systems e.g. computer dictation Open use, limited vocabulary systems can work satisfactorily e.g. some voice activated telephone systems general user, wide vocabulary systems … … still a problem

boings, bangs, squeaks, clicks etc. Non-Speech Sounds boings, bangs, squeaks, clicks etc. commonly used for warnings and alarms Language/culture independent, unlike speech Have to be learned

Non-Speech Sounds: useful? To provide transitory information – indications of network/system changes or of errors To provide status information on background processes To provide second representation of actions and objects in the interface. To be used as navigation round a system – esp. for visually impaired Types of non-speech sounds Using sounds that occur naturally in the world (auditory icons) Using abstract generated sounds (earcons)

Auditory Icons Use natural sounds to represent different types of object or action Natural sounds have associated semantics which can be mapped onto similar meanings in the interaction e.g. throwing something away ~ the sound of smashing glass Problem: not all things have associated meanings

Example - SonicFinder for the Macintosh items and actions on the desktop have associated sounds folders have a papery noise moving files – dragging sound copying – a problem … sound of a liquid being poured into a receptacle rising pitch indicates the progress of the copy big files have louder sound than smaller ones

Earcons Synthetic sounds used to convey information Structured combinations of notes (motives ) represent actions and objects They vary according to rhythm, pitch, timbre, scale, volume Two types of Earcons; compound earcons – combine different motives to build up a specific action. E.g., combining the motives for ‘create’ and ‘file’ Family earcons – represent compound earcons of similar types. E.g., OS errors and syntax errors would be in the ‘error’ family It can be hierarchically structured to represent menus Easily grouped But, requires learning to associate with specific tasks in the interface

Touch Touch is the only sense that can be used to send and receive information The use of touch in the interface is known as haptic interaction Types of haptic interaction cutaneous perception tactile sensation through the skin (e.g. vibration) kinesthetics movement and position (e.g., resistance, texture, friction or force feedback) information on shape, texture, resistance, temperature, comparative spatial factors example technologies electronic braille displays force feedback devices e.g. PHANTOM range from SensAble Technologies It provides 3-D force feedback allowing users to touch virtual objects by using an optical sensory –mouse

Handwriting recognition Handwriting is another communication mechanism which we are used to in day-to-day life – a natural form of communication Technology Handwriting consists of complex strokes and spaces Captured by digitizing tablet Free-flowing strokes (using a pen) transformed to sequence of coordinates Depending on pressure and movements; Rapid movements – wide spaced dots/ Slow movements – narrowed dots Information written onto tablets can be displayed, stored, or redisplayed

Handwriting recognition Problems Variation between handwriting co-articulation effects (letter formation) Breakthroughs: stroke not just bitmap special ‘alphabet’ – Graffeti on PalmOS Current state: usable – even without training but many prefer keyboards!

Gesture Recognition Control of movements by the hand applications gestural input - e.g. “put that there” sign language technology Computer vision data glove – special lycra glove position sensing devices benefits natural form of interaction – pointing Easily interpreted by speech recognition system – using short, simple verbal statements enhance communication between signing and non-signing users problems user dependent – variation and co-articulation expensive

Designing for Diversity Generally, it is understood that, human capabilities are different. Users have different needs and limitations. Normally interface is designed for ‘average’ users, excluding not-so average users. People are diverse, thus it is important to consider many factors when we want to apply universal design Factors to consider; Disability Age Culture

Users with disabilities visual impairment Nowadays, the standard interface is graphical. The use of this reduces the possibilities for them How to help? Peripherals - screen readers, braille output Sound – speech, earcons, auditory icons Touch – tactile interaction, force feedback devices hearing impairment Less impact on graphical interface compared to visual impairment. Computers enhance communication opportunities for them Email, instant messaging Gesture recognition Textual captions for multimedia presentations which contains auditory narrative

Users with disabilities physical impairment vary in control and movement abilities. Difficulty in mouse control How to help? Speech input and output Eyegaze system – tracks eye movements to control cursors Predictive systems (e.g. Reactive keyboard – anticipate the commands to be typed and executed) speech impairment Synthetic speech, text-based communication, conferencing systems Dyslexia difficulty with learning to read fluently  Severe - speech input & output Non-severe – spelling correction facilities Consistent navigation structure, clear signposting cues Color coding information, graphical information Autism  impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication Communication – computer-mediated communication, virtual environments, graphical information, graphical input Education – virtual environments, games for social situations and appropriate responses

… plus … age groups cultural differences older people e.g. disability aids, memory aids, communication tools to prevent social isolation children e.g. appropriate input/output devices, involvement in design process cultural differences influence of nationality, generation, gender, race, sexuality, class, religion, political persuasion Be extra careful of; Language – translations, layouts (reading patterns) cultural symbols Gestures – movement of bodies use of colors – red (life-India, happiness-China, royalty-France); green (fertility-Eqypt, youth-China, safety-USA)

Summary UD A process of embedding choice for all type of users in the things we design. Choice -flexibility, and multiple alternative People -age, ability, sex, economic status, etc. Things - spaces, products, information systems and any other things that humans manipulate or create. A user-centered process Designers and users use their understanding, perspectives and experience in a variety of environments The more we learn about people and the choices they may wish as they interact with the environments, the better we become. Because of this, no one knows it all. We can all learn from each other about how to better design things for all people