Project factsheet

UNIMOD ― Universal Design in Multimodal User Interfaces

Period

Jan. 2007 - Apr. 2009

Web site

www.unimod.no

NR contact

Ivar Solheim

Funding

Norges forskingsrådet / Norwegian Research Council

Norwegian partners

Project description

The main goal of the UNIMOD project was to improve the competence within multimodal, personalized user interfaces, and thus to improve the accessibility and use of electronic services. The project's solutions addressed different groups of users with different kinds of cognitive disabilities. These solutions simplify the use for all users, not only for the cognitively disabled, and will therefore contribute to increasing the data quality and efficiency of electronic services. The sub goals of the project was to develop middleware, knowledge and guidelines to make it possible for the different service providers to

improve the user interfaces in existing electronic services, and
develop new, accessible services in alternative channels.

The project's results were demonstrated in two different service areas:

Maps and geographic information (GIS),
and electronic forms, reporting, and dialogue.

NR's contribution

In-depth user studies that provided functional and technical specifications of cognitively accessible user interfaces.
Framework for profile indicators for personalization of cognitively accessible user interfaces.
User profiles encompassing various cognitive disabilities.
PC prototype for accessible login, developing best practices and design guidelines.
User testing and evaluation of prototypes.

Benefit for customers

Methods and approaches to be applied by developers of mainstream services to improve accessibility for all user groups, included the cognitively disabled.

A more accessible and user friendly functionality and look and feel, which in turn is expected to result in a larger number of the target group's individuals to use the services provided. It is stressed, however, that all users will benefit from the improvements.

Benefit for society

The results of UNIMOD provide a framework for improving the usability and accessibility of net based services for all, also people with disabilities. Universally designed and multimodal interfaces are instrumental as a means for including elderly and other groups into the information society.

Project results

There are two types of deliverables: Several software prototypes (for mobile and desktop platforms), and research publications. Among others, a leaflet on cognitive impairments in ICT was produced.

Riitta Hellman, Till Halbach, and Anne-Lise Nårstad. Log in if you can - the Brønnøysund case. In Proceedings of Verdiskapning i IKT (VERDIKT), Bergen (Norway), October 2008. Norwegian Research Council. [http://publ.nr.no/4834]

Till Halbach. Dokumentasjon av UNIMOD-innloggingsprototypen, April 2009. [http://publ.nr.no/4989]

Till Halbach. Towards cognitively accessible web pages. In Proceedings of Third International Conferences on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions (ACHI-2010), St. Maarten (Netherlands Antilles), February 2010. International Academy, Research, and Industry Association (IARIA), IEEE Computer Society. http://www.iaria.org/conferences2010/ACHI10.html. [http://publ.nr.no/5236]

Till Halbach, Riitta Hellman, Kristin Skeide Fuglerud, and Ivar Solheim. Designveileder for kognitiv tilgjengelighet av elektroniske tjenester og innhold. Online, August 2009. [http://publ.nr.no/5024]

Riitta Hellman, Kristin Skeide Fuglerud, Lasse Udjus, Till Halbach, Kjell Tore Guttormsen, and Harald K. Jansson. UNIMOD: Universell utforming i multimodale grensesnitt -- prosjektavslutningsforedrag. Presentasjon på seminar, March 2009. [http://publ.nr.no/4971]

Till Halbach Røssvoll and Ivar Solheim. Design of cognitively accessible web pages. International Journal on Advances in Intelligent Systems, 3(3&4):303–312, 2010. Last accessed 2011-04-04. [http://www.iariajournals.org/intelligent_systems/]