A subjective evaluation of multimodal notifications

Abstract

The primary users of home care technology often have significant sensory impairments. Multimodal interaction can make home care technology more accessible and appropriate, but most research in the field of multimodal notifications is aimed at office or high-pressure environments instead of the home. Two experiments were carried out that evaluated the subjective workload of responding to visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory notifications (simulating home care reminders) while carrying out a primary task (a card matching memory game). The subjective measurements and observations revealed that participants were open-minded about the possibilities and applications of these modalities, suggesting that home care technology should embrace a much wider range of interaction methods than are currently used.