A methodology for generating virtual user models of elderly and disabled for the accessibility assessment of new products

Abstract

The paper presents a highly novel user modeling framework for the detailed description of geometric, kinematic, physical, behavioral and cognitive aspects of users affected by disabilities and elderly. Several aspects of the user's interaction behavior are examined, while user models are quantified, in terms of their kinematics and dynamics parameters, in tests with disabled users through a multisensorial platform, in order to develop accurate and realistic virtual user models. Hierarchical Task and Interaction Models are introduced, in order to describe the user's capabilities in multiple scales of abstraction. The use of al-ternative ways of a user task's execution, using different modalities and assistive devices, are also supported by the proposed task analysis. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.