1. Human Computer Interaction
Chapter 7 - Universal Design

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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)

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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!

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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
, instant messaging
Gesture recognition
Textual captions for multimedia presentations which contains auditory narrative

26. 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

27. … 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)

28. 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