Applications and Usability of Interactive Television

Abstract

User identification in interactive Television (iTV) is an enthusiastic research area that aims to find the most reliable and non-invasive solution allowing viewers to enjoy a truly personalized TV experience. However, usability and efficiency of recognition methods depend upon users’ cognitive and psychomotor characteristics, scenario even more complex when elderly viewers are at stake, since they present a great variety of combinations of those parameters. In this framework, the paper depicts the process that led to a methodology to identify the most suited recognition technique to each specific profile of elderly iTV users. The considered recognition methods were associated to an iTV system designed to promote comfort and sociability among elderly. In the final setup a Wizard of Oz prototype was used, being participants interviewed at their homes and characterized based on International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). A decision matrix was implemented, enabling to find the best trade-off between elderly’s profile and recognition method.