A virtual user model describes in detail the physical, cognitive and behavioral user characteristics, including potential disabilities, functional limitations, and the affected / problematic tasks (due to the disabilities). It is commonly used in behavioural and medical studies to represent a set of users who share common characteristics to a simulation system, in order to produce experimental results.
Published in Chapter:
Enabling Accessibility Features in Enhanced VR Environments for Supporting Spatial Abilities and Social Interaction in Elderly and MCI Patients
Sofia Segkouli (Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece & Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, Greece), Ioannis Paliokas (Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece), Thanos Tsakiris (Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece), Konstantinos Votis (Greece Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece), and Dimitrios Tzovaras (Informatics and Telematics Institute, Greece)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8234-4.ch008
Abstract
This chapter addresses the critical issue of usability evaluation of interfaces by elderly users and the accessibility limitations concerning the infotainment domain of virtual spaces. The main idea behind this research is to achieve a shift in more adaptive HCI used in infotainment applications and in particular in socially aware 3D Virtual Environments (Metaverses) like Second Life. Among the main goals of the present work is to examine the ability of older persons and users with Mild Cognitive Impairments (MCI) that are familiarized with computers and VR environments, to access and navigate effectively through realistic scenarios based on daily simple activities. Findings propose better design practices for industrial HCI engineers to enhance the quality of interaction with Metaverses by customizing both the immersive and 2D interfaces to the needs and preferences of the special user groups mentioned before.