Interactive Public Displays and Wheelchair Users: Between Direct, Personal and Indirect, Assisted Interaction

Abstract

We examine accessible interactions for wheelchair users and public displays with three studies. In a first study, we conduct a Systematic Literature Review, from which we report very few scientific papers on this topic and a preponderant focus on touch input. In a second study, we conduct a Systematic Video Review using YouTube as a data source, and unveil accessibility challenges for public displays and several input modalities alternative to direct touch. In a third study, we conduct semi-structured interviews with eleven wheelchair users to understand their experience interacting with public displays and to collect their preferences for more accessible input modalities. Based on our findings, we propose the “assisted interaction” phase to extend Vogel and Balakrishnan’s four-phase interaction model with public displays, and the “ability” dimension for cross-device interaction design to support, via users’ personal mobile devices, independent use of interactive public displays.