Week 10 - The Future of Usability Flashcards
What are the 6 different types of technology?
1) Virtual reality
2) Bio/neurofeedback
3) Neural prosthetics - sensory
4) Neural prosthetics - motor
5) AI - Avatars and social robots
6) Robotics
What is VR?
is an immersive technology which includes software and helmet-mounted visual display that blocks the person view of the real world, three-dimensional (3-D) sound effects, and an input device the subject uses to interact with the environment.
What are the clinical applications of VR?
Physiotherapy: 12 weeks of VR rehabilitation in Parkinson’s resulted in greater improvements in balance and gait compared to conventional physical therapy (Feng et al., 2019).
Anxiety Disorders: Meta analysis of VR applications for anxiety disorders indicated that VR exposure therapy has a comparable impact to real life exposure therapy (Carl et al., 2018).
Cognitive Rehabilitation: 12 weeks of VR or standard combined physical and cognitive training. Looked at cognition, brain activity and IADL. Both improved on cognition, but VR improved on more measures and had transfer to IADL. Hemodynamic data revealed decreased activation in PFC indicating greater neural efficacy (Liao et al., 2020).
How can the 5 E’s be used here?
Effective - Diverse set of goals. Has been found to be effective for many different end goals. Practice of skills in virtual world, that can transfer applies to many different settings, clinical, professional and other.
Efficient - Gaining in efficiency, but may allows goals to be achieved sooner than if acquired in real life due to less constraints and time limits. There can be time lags in the programs impacting efficiency and user experience.
Engaging - Evokes strong sense of presence and emotional response.
People want faster, smoother and lifelike scenarios. There has to be a balance between hyperrealism and production time.There can be a lag that contributes to cybersickness impacting on user experience.
Error tolerant - Dependent on input devices (e.g. joystick verses, gloves).
Easy to learn - VR systems are becoming increasing user friendly. However the development of games is still technically advanced, taking time and money.
What are some examples of bio/neuro feedback?
Heart rate and sleep quality: Smart watches and phone apps
Neurofeedback at home: EEG bands to help feedback during meditation or track sleep
Home based testing kits and genetic analysis: Continuous glucose monitors, home kit to send off for your own genetic profiling.
What are some applications of Bio/Neuro Feedback?
Health and Prevention:
- Through individualised health care or self experimentation you can track your own health metric and reactions (e.g. what foods spike your glucose, Zeevi et al., 2015). Through understanding your genetic predispositions you can make lifestyle changes to prevent progression (e.g. AD prevention, Berkowitz et al., 2018).
Meditation and neural training:
- Access to EEG neurofeedback can help you learn how to access different states of consciousness faster or detect unhelpful states quicker (e.g. mind wandering) due to more explicit and immediate feedback (e.g. Brandmeyer & Delome et al., 2013).
Therapeutic application and neurofeedback:
- Access to direct feedback of mental states has demonstrated is helpful in emotional regulation (Liu et al., 2020) and cognitive training (e.g. sustained attention, Pamplona et al., 2020). It has also be demonstrated as promising in the treatment of different psychiatric and cognitive disorders (e.g. Markiewicz et al., 2017).
How can the 5 E’s be used in relation to Bio/neuro feedback?
Effective - Biofeedback: Sleep Apps are reaching a level of accuracy which is okay for general tracking (although not precise enough for research purposes).
Neurofeedback:
Accessibility of the software – could mean end goal not reached (although many usable open source platforms have become available now!).
Could not have access to the raw data – or lack option to update software to meet your own needs.
Non- responders: Some people do not learn how to modulate their brain activity (e.g. like drug trials).
Efficient - Introduction of applications which are fast and accessible means there is normally good speed in terms of achieving end goals. However, ineffective or inefficient algorithms impact on the precision of the information. Training goals very much depend on the quality of the software so vary.
Engaging - Engaging apps that make tracking easy and visually pleasing and emotionally engaging.
Error tolerant - Electrode or sensor location positioning may impact usability, although this is improving with newer models.
Easy to learn - Introduction of open source software with GUIs is improving usability. However this is very device/software specific (e.g. Huawei watch was very intuitive).
What are neuroprosthetics?
Are devices that can either act as a substitute for a motor, sensory or cognitive modality that might perhaps have been damaged as a result of an injury or disease, or they can add new modalities
A connection needs to made directly between the human brain or nervous system and the technology involved
How can a person control a computer cursor with brain waves?
Kennedy (2002) developed a system allowing individuals with paralysis to spell words by modulating their brain activity.
It uses neurotrophic electrodes that have been implanted into two areas in the motor cortex to move and select with a cursor.
When the patient thinks about moving their fingers the cursor can move. Based on the visual feedback of seeing the cursor they can decide when to stop and select each letter in order to spell out different words (Kennedy et al., 2004).
What are some examples of motor prosthetics?
Many advancements have not transitioned well to clinical use (e.g. Upper-limb rejection rates at between 23-26%). Users generally prefer less advanced devices due to the low practicality and durability, unwieldiness, and lack of nonvisual or tactile feedback in more advanced prostheses (Adewolea et al., 2016).
Prosthesis adoption does not appear driven by mechanical design or dexterity, but instead due to the quality of the neuroprosthetic interface (NI) - defined as any platform designed to facilitate communication between the nervous system and a prosthetic device (Adewolea et al., 2016). User-system interaction and learnability.
Agonist-antagonist myoneural interface
What is an ideal interface in terms of motor neuroprosthetics?
An ideal interface would allow the user to directly control the output behaviour of the prosthesis whilst also receiving relevant sensory information from the device to create a control feedback loop.
The nervous system propagates information via electrical signals in the body, the signals control muscle contractions and input feedback from sensory information such as position, texture etc.
“Creating a bidirectional pathway through which we explore and manipulate our environment”.
It has been suggested that introducing this input–output behavior in prosthetic devices would result in more natural integration and improve user experience and adoption rates!
What are some applications of neuroprosthetics?
1) Reinstating lost capabilities: Including complex sporting activities
2) Use in rehabilitation: For example, use of an exoskeleton and feedback stimulation in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury.
3) Human augmentation: Has the potential to benefit humanity in unprecedented ways. Not only can we enhance our sense we may even be able to add new ones
How can the 5 E’s be applied to neuroprosthetics?
Effective - User end goals have substantially changed. Moving away from basic functionality into more complex goals, such as playing an instrument or returning to complex sports. End goals are now beginning to change from return of function to enhancement of function.
Efficient - Speed and accuracy is developing quickly both in terms of dexterity and also in terms of user-prosthetic interface. Movement is becoming more fluid and in most recent advancements has even moved to reflexive control. But this depends on whether you have access to more expensive models!
Engaging - Neuronal embodiment (“the robot became part of me”).
Moving away from merely looking “natural” and instead looking at making individual aesthetically pleasing. Moving towards self expression and enhancement.
Error tolerant - Varies substantially, but improving as integrated more effectively with the body.
Easy to learn - Moving from difficult and time consuming to immediate reflexive control due to better integration with biology. Using integration of sensory feedback to help learning experience become more natural.
What is ATLAS?
The world’s most dynamic humanoid robot, Atlas is a research platform designed to push the limits of whole-body mobility. Atlas’s advanced control system and state-of-the-art hardware give the robot the power and balance to demonstrate human-level agility
