Computer Vision applied to improve interaction and communication of people with motor disabilities: A systematic mapping

BACKGROUND: The use of computers as a communication tool by people with disabilities can serve as an alternative effective to promote social interactions and the more inclusive and active participation of people in society. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents a systematic mapping of the literature that provides a survey of scientific contributions where Computer Vision is applied to enable users with motor and speech impairments to access computers easily, allowing them to exert their communicative abilities. METHODS: The mapping was conducted employing searches that identified 221 potentially eligible scientific articles published between 2009 and 2019, indexed by ACM, IEEE, Science Direct, and Springer databases. RESULTS: From the retrieved papers, 33 were selected and categorized into themes of this research interest: Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Machine Interaction, Human-Robot Interaction, Recreation, and surveys. Most of the chosen studies use sets of predefined gestures, low-cost cameras, and tracking a specific body region for gestural interaction. CONCLUSION: The results offer an overview of the Computer Vision techniques used in applied research on Assistive Technology for people with motor and speech disabilities, pointing out opportunities and challenges in this research domain.