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Providing universally accessible interactive services through TV sets: implementation and validation with elderly users

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Abstract

One of the challenges that Ambient Intelligence (AmI) faces is the provision of a usable interaction concept to its users, especially for those with a weak technical background. In this paper, we describe a new approach to integrate interactive services provided by an AmI environment with the television set, which is one of the most widely used interaction client in the home environment. The approach supports the integration of different TV set configurations, guaranteeing the possibility to develop universally accessible solutions. An implementation of this approach has been carried out as a multimodal/multi-purpose natural human computer interface for elderly people, by creating adapted graphical user interfaces and navigation menus together with multimodal interaction (simplified TV remote control and voice interaction). In addition, this user interface can also be suited to other user groups. We have tested a prototype that adapts the videoconference and the information service with a group of 83 users. The results from the user tests show that the group found the prototype to be both satisfactory and efficient to use.

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Notes

  1. PATE stands for A Production Rule System based on Typed Feature Structures.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially funded by the EU 6th Framework Program under grant FP6-030600 (VITAL). The opinions herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vicomtech-ik4, Mikeletegi Pasealekua, 57, Parque Tecnológico, 20009, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

    Gorka Epelde, Xabier Valencia, Eduardo Carrasco & Jorge Posada

  2. Department of Computer Architecture & Technology, School of Informatics, University of the Basque Country, Manuel Lardizabal 1, 20018, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

    Julio Abascal

  3. Ingema, Mikeletegi Pasealekua, 1-3–Parque Tecnológico, 20009, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

    Unai Diaz-Orueta

  4. DFKI GmbH, Campus D3 2, Stuhlsatzenhausweg 3, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Ingo Zinnikus & Christian Husodo-Schulz

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  1. Gorka Epelde
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  2. Xabier Valencia
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Correspondence to Gorka Epelde.

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Epelde, G., Valencia, X., Carrasco, E. et al. Providing universally accessible interactive services through TV sets: implementation and validation with elderly users. Multimed Tools Appl 67, 497–528 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-011-0949-0

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