Disabled 'R' all: bridging the gap between health and situational induced impairments and disabilities

Abstract

More and more people interact with mobile devices whilst walking. This new interaction paradigm imposes a novel set of challenges and restrictions to mobile users, denominated Situationally-Induced Impairments and Disabilities. The tremor originated of such contexts results in inaccurate movements and erroneous actions. These difficulties are particularly visible in recent touch interfaces that lack the tactile cues and physical stability provided by their keypad-based counterparts. Nevertheless, these difficulties are not new to the accessibility community, particularly for those studying motor impaired users. In fact, both user populations (situationally and physically impaired) seem to share similar interaction problems. This work aims to thoroughly understand to what extend technology can be transferred between those domains. Unlike the embryonic stage of mobile research, the accessibility community has the accumulated knowledge of more than two decades of research. Building a relationship between these domains will contribute towards a more inclusive and universal design approach, which will benefit and bring closer two distinct research communities.

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