Universal Design Principles PDF

chapter 10 universal design universal design principles - NCSW 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 Multi-Sensory Systems...

chapter 10 universal design universal design principles - NCSW 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 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 Will cover – general terminology – speech – non-speech sounds – handwriting considering applications as well as principles 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 (sometimes) 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 Speech Human beings have a great and natural mastery of speech – makes it difficult to appreciate the complexities but – it’s an easy medium for communication Structure of Speech Phonemes phoneme, in linguistics, smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word (or word element) from another, as the element p in “tap,” which separates that word from “tab,” “tag,” and “tan.” Allophones allophone, one of the phonetically distinct variants of a phoneme Morphemes morpheme, in linguistics, the smallest grammatical unit of speech; it may be a word, like “place” or “an,” or an element of a word, like re- and -ed in “reappeared.” Speech (cont’d) Other terminology: prosody prosody, the study of all the elements of language that contribute toward acoustic and rhythmic effects, chiefly in poetry but also in prose. co-articulation – the effect of context on the sound – transforms the phonemes into allophones syntax – structure of sentences semantics – meaning of sentences Speech Recognition Problems Different people speak differently: – accent, intonation, stress, idiom, volume, etc. The syntax of semantically similar sentences may vary. Background noises can interfere. People often “ummm.....” and “errr.....” Words not enough - semantics needed as well – requires intelligence to understand a sentence – context of the utterance often has to be known – also information about the subject and speaker e.g. even if “Errr.... I, um, don’t like this” is recognised, it is a fairly useless piece of information on it’s own The Phonetic Typewriter A phonetic typewriter is a device that converts spoken words into typed letters. The Phonetic Typewriter (ctd) a a a ah h æ æ ø ø e e e o a a h r æ l ø y y j i o o a h r r r g g y j i o o m a r m n m n j i i l o u h v vm n n h hj j j l u v v p d d t r h hi j.. u v tk k p p p r k s.. v k pt t p t p h s s 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 Speech Synthesis The generation of speech Useful – natural and familiar way of receiving information Problems – similar to recognition: prosody particularly Additional problems – intrusive - needs headphones, or creates noise in the workplace – transient - harder to review and browse Speech Synthesis: useful? Successful in certain constrained applications when the user: – is particularly motivated to overcome problems – has few alternatives Examples: screen readers – read the textual display to the user utilised by visually impaired people warning signals – spoken information sometimes presented to pilots whose visual and haptic skills are already fully occupied Non-Speech Sounds Non-speech sounds are any audio elements that are not spoken text, such as sound effects, pauses, or inaudible whispers. 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 Additional information can also be presented: – muffled sounds if object is obscured or action is in the background – use of stereo allows positional information to be added Earcons Earcons, also known as audio icons, are brief, distinctive sounds that convey a specific meaning or event Earcons (ctd) family earcons similar types of earcons represent similar classes of action or similar objects: the family of “errors” would contain syntax and operating system errors Earcons easily grouped and refined due to compositional and hierarchical nature Harder to associate with the interface task since there is no natural mapping touch haptic interaction – cutaneous perception tactile sensation; vibrations on the skin – kinesthetics movement and position; force feedback information on shape, texture, resistance, temperature, comparative spatial factors example technologies – electronic braille displays – force feedback devices e.g. Phantom resistance, texture Handwriting recognition Handwriting is another communication mechanism which we are used to in day-to-day life Technology – Handwriting consists of complex strokes and spaces – Captured by digitising tablet strokes transformed to sequence of dots – large tablets available suitable for digitising maps and technical drawings – smaller devices, some incorporating thin screens to display the information PDAs such as Palm Pilot tablet PCs Handwriting recognition (ctd) Problems – personal differences in letter formation – co-articulation effects Breakthroughs: – stroke not just bitmap – special ‘alphabet’ – Graffeti on PalmOS Current state: – usable – even without training – but many prefer keyboards! gesture applications – gestural input - e.g. “put that there” – sign language technology – data glove – position sensing devices e.g MIT Media Room benefits – natural form of interaction - pointing – enhance communication between signing and non- signing users problems – user dependent, variable and issues of coarticulation Users with disabilities visual impairment – screen readers, SonicFinder hearing impairment – text communication, gesture, captions physical impairment – speech I/O, eyegaze, gesture, predictive systems (e.g. Reactive keyboard) speech impairment – speech synthesis, text communication dyslexia – speech input, output autism – communication, education … plus … age groups – 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 etc. on interpretation of interface features – e.g. interpretation and acceptability of language, cultural symbols, gesture and colour