Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
lead to usability problems (Jameson, 2003), and a balance between system pro-activity and
transparency must be maintained. Also, the delicate balance between user-perceived
benefit and user-perceived complexity (Vastenburg, 2008) should be constantly kept in
mind; as end users tend to be hesitant towards adopting new technology.
R
oadmap 11.
Interacting.
Short term (2015)
Mid term (2020)
Long term (2025)
User initiative,
adaptable interfaces
Mixed initiative, self-
adaptive interfaces
Autonomous intelligent
agents and service robots
Initiative
Design process
Co-creation of Portable
Intentional Interfaces
Awareness
Predefined factors and
reasoning
Adaptation and
Learning, Profiling and
Stereotyping
Social and emotional
awareness
Modalities
Local (touch) screen-
based
Rich interaction through
distributed objects
Avatar robots, brain-
computer interfaces
Standalone devices,
Wireless charging
Federated devices,
Scalable content, Robust
media
Automatic Adaptation
Connectivity
To ensure that the interaction configuration at each moment is optimal for the user
and current context, four enabling technology areas need to be addressed: estimating
the changing goals of the user and system, correctly identifying the current user context,
estimating and applying user and system related interaction constraints, and to
adaptively configure the interaction to match content complexity with user capabilities.
5.4.1.
User and System Goal Estimation
Initiative
The user goals relate to the real world and are determined by the user's values,
perceived needs in the current situation and also perceived risks in health, privacy and
other safety and security areas. AAL systems can also have built-in rules for active
behaviour, and agents may exist that have been configured by the user to act
automatically according to set goals. Autonomous service robots may take initiative to
physically interact with the environment.
The pro-active behaviour of AAL systems (and its agents and robots) must blend
well with the strong user preference for transparency, that the user should hardly notice
that the AAL system gives suitable assistance and interaction possibilities in the current
situation.
Over time, the initiative is expected to migrate towards the AAL system
determining what is the most suitable interaction configuration in each situation, and
also more pro-active services and autonomous agents will appear.
Design process
The interaction-design process, which results in user interfaces for the AAL services,
should be structured. This was traditionally performed through sequential stages of
analysis, specification, implementation and testing - the “waterfall approach”. End
users are generally involved throughout the specification and implementation stages,
but the level of involvement varies. Whereas the analysis and specification stages tend
to be paper based (using for example paper mock-ups), implementation and testing
stages are based on working prototypes. The development of prototypes and stable
systems can be facilitated by providing common interface standards, design guidelines
