Toward achieving universal usability for older adults through multimodal feedback

Abstract

This experiment examines the effect of combinations of feedback (auditory, haptic, and/or visual) on the performance of older adults completing a drag-and-drop computer task. Participants completed a series of drag-and-drop tasks under each of seven feedback conditions (3 unimodal, 3 bimodal, 1 trimodal). Performance was assessed using measures of efficiency and accuracy. For analyses of results, participants were grouped based on their level of computer experience. All users performed well under auditory-haptic bimodal feedback and experienced users responded well to all multimodal feedback. Based on performance benefits for older adults seen in this experiment, future research should extend investigations to effectively integrate multimodal feedback into GUI interfaces in order to improve usability for this growing and diverse user group.