The development and evaluation of the SmartAbility Android Application to detect users' abilities
This work addresses the need for accessible assistive technology recommendations to improve quality of life for people with reduced physical ability, but it is incremental as it applies existing sensor methods to a new application domain.
The paper tackled the problem of recommending assistive technology for people with reduced physical ability by developing an Android app that uses built-in sensors to detect user abilities like head movements and speech, achieving a System Usability Scale score of 72.5 indicating good usability.
The SmartAbility Android Application recommends Assistive Technology (AT) for people with reduced physical ability, by focusing on the actions (abilities) that can be performed independently. The Application utilises built-in sensor technologies in Android devices to detect user abilities, including head and limb movements, speech and blowing. The Application was evaluated by 18 participants with varying physical conditions and assessed through the System Usability Scale (SUS) and NASA Task Load Index (TLX). The Application achieved a SUS score of 72.5 (indicating 'Good Usability') with low levels of Temporal Demand and Frustration and medium levels of Mental Demand, Physical Demand and Effort. It is anticipated that the SmartAbility Application will be disseminated to the AT domain, to improve quality of life for people with reduced physical ability.