Trade-offs in the design of multimodal interaction for older adults. Issue 5 (4th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schiavo, Gianluca; Mich, Ornella; Ferron, Michela; Mana, Nadia
• Is Part Of: Behaviour & information technology. Volume 41:Issue 5(2022)
• Page Start: 1035
• Page End: 1051
• Publication Date: 2022-04-04
• Subjects: Multimodal interaction -- mid-air gestures -- vocal commands -- older adults -- design trade-offs -- user-centred design; Electronic data processing -- Periodicals; Human engineering -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Periodicals; 303.4833
• DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2020.1851768
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0144-929X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper presents key aspects that designers and Human–Computer Interaction practitioners might encounter when designing multimodal interaction for older adults, focusing on the trade-offs that might occur as part of the design process. The paper gathers literature on multimodal interaction and assistive technology, and describes a set of design challenges specific for older users. Building on these main design challenges, four trade-offs in the design of multimodal technology for this target group are presented and discussed. To highlight the relevance of the trade-offs in the design process of multimodal technology for older adults, two of the four reported trade-offs are illustrated with two user studies that investigate mid-air and speech-based interaction with a tablet device. The first study explores the design trade-offs related to redundant multimodal commands in older, middle-aged and younger adults, whereas the second one investigates the design choices related to the definition of a set of mid-air one-hand gestures and voice input commands for older adults. Further reflections highlight the design trade-offs that such considerations bring in the process, providing an overview of the design choices involved and of their potential consequences.