Author ORCID Identifier
Shital Desai: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1851-0597
Abstract
Emerging technologies such as Mixed Reality Technologies (MRTs) could offer possibilities to support People with Dementia (PWD). This study examined interactions of PWD with two MRTs - HoloLens and Osmo. Ten participants (MoCA = 18 to 23, Age= 63 to 88 years) played a game of Tangram on Osmo. Six of these participants played Young Conker on HoloLens. The study found that PWD used gestural actions in the physical world more correctly than speech. Audio prompts in human voice were more correctly perceived than visual prompts. Physical affordances, embodied actions and familiarity to verbal instructions contribute to this success. Visual prompts such as text present promising opportunities to complement with audio prompts. Interaction with MRTs require prompts to direct PWD towards physical or virtual worlds. The research outcomes are significant as the focus on interactions of PWD could open up avenues for further research on actions and perceptions with emerging technologies.
Keywords
Mixed Reality, Assistive technologies, Dementia
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.266
Citation
Desai, S., Blackler, A., Fels, D., and Astell, A. (2020) Supporting people with dementia- Understanding their interactions with Mixed Reality Technologies, in Boess, S., Cheung, M. and Cain, R. (eds.), Synergy - DRS International Conference 2020, 11-14 August, Held online. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.266
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Supporting people with dementia- Understanding their interactions with Mixed Reality Technologies
Emerging technologies such as Mixed Reality Technologies (MRTs) could offer possibilities to support People with Dementia (PWD). This study examined interactions of PWD with two MRTs - HoloLens and Osmo. Ten participants (MoCA = 18 to 23, Age= 63 to 88 years) played a game of Tangram on Osmo. Six of these participants played Young Conker on HoloLens. The study found that PWD used gestural actions in the physical world more correctly than speech. Audio prompts in human voice were more correctly perceived than visual prompts. Physical affordances, embodied actions and familiarity to verbal instructions contribute to this success. Visual prompts such as text present promising opportunities to complement with audio prompts. Interaction with MRTs require prompts to direct PWD towards physical or virtual worlds. The research outcomes are significant as the focus on interactions of PWD could open up avenues for further research on actions and perceptions with emerging technologies.