Increasing independence through access to technology

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The Principles of Universal Design were introduced in the 1970s to ensure equal access for people with impairments. However, these principles focused primarily on mobility issues and they lack guidelines for development of computer access tools to engage individuals with planning and motor disabilities. I intend to fill this gap by developing a framework to support assistive technology design that enables effective computer access. This will allow individuals with disabilities greater participation in society. My research will include development of a model that accounts for physical, planning and motor control aspects of human movement. We will further develop a universally designed algorithm that improves point and click computer access for people with motor control impairment.****Research into computer access mechanisms can provide fundamental insights into the sources of movement differences among people, devices, conditions, and impairment levels. We propose to develop a gamified testing environment that allows us to collect information about movement times, strategies, and trajectories from people with and without impairment. Gamified environments are designed to motivate participants to achieve specific goals, in this case, quick, accurate movements towards a target. We have shown that simple movement models are not representative for individuals with disability and more complex models are required. These models will provide the basis for understanding complex coordination patterns of individuals with disability and may contribute to more fundamental research regarding dynamic systems theory.****Given different mechanisms and modes of access, we can create models of human movement that include characteristics common to users with impairments (erroneous clicking, target slip-offs, large ballistic movements). These models will serve to identify specifications and requirements for which a universally applicable algorithm can be developed to enhance computer use, for example, one that may decrease cursor speed as the cursor gets closer to a target.****HQP training of five undergraduate (UG) students, two MASc students and four PhD students will occur. Each will become skilled in communicating with stakeholders and evidence-based research. The UG students will be trained in research protocols, ethics, motion analysis systems, and will assist in collecting data. The MASc students will develop a gamified testing protocol and evaluate the current state of the art. The PhD students will develop models of human movement based on computer access.****While many researchers develop systems and algorithms to increase access to computers, this is the first to model the movements to better understand what human effects contribute to movement difficulties before developing an algorithm. A truly universally designed system can enhance access for differing population groups and access modes.**