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Intelligent physiological navigation and control of web-based applications

Objective

The IPCA project aims to develop a new intelligent interaction mechanism that will enable people with severe motor and speech disabilities to control standard and especially web-based applications. The system will be based on a flexible combination of existing non-invasive sensors and encoders able to control different physiological parameters (EEG, EMG, RR/RA, etc.), and a set of software tools that will allow the user to interact with existing computer applications. IPCA will also develop a Smart Web Browser, based on top of existing web clients, that will facilitate the user interaction with different Internet applications and services by tapping into their semantics and optimising the interaction mode to the user preferred mode. IPCA will explore its applicability to other devices, context-based handicapping situations and ambient intelligence tools. IPCA will analyse the influence of emotional response to increase user satisfaction.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK
The IPCA consortium is composed by four members including an international user group of people with disabilities, a commercial company with expertise in the area and two research centres with a wide experience in interface design and ergonomics issues for people with special needs (D&E).
The IPCA project is divided in two components:
* Development of a Multi-channel Monitoring System (MMS), based on non-invasive sensors able to control several physiological parameters from the user such as: Electro-encephalography, Electromyography, Respiration rate and amplitude, etc. The MMS will allow multiple sensor combinations tailoring the input parameters to different user characteristics. Furthermore, the system will be able to integrate other physiological parameters (e.g. heart rate) that give indications of the user attentive and emotional state to adapt the pace of interaction.
* Development of an Ambient Navigation Toolkit (ANT), that will interface between the MMS and:
1) A standard Operative System (MS Windows) and applications, by providing keyboard (including an on-screen keyboard) and/or mouse emulation functions.
2) A Smart Web Browser that will facilitate user interaction with web services. The project will not develop a new web browser, but will extend existing functionalities of Open Source browsers to allow the user a faster, customisable and smart interaction with web-based applications. The system will be able to tap into the semantics of the application to create new interaction paradigms. The ANT system will be composed by the following modules: a training system, a personal profile manager and control system, an on-screen keyboard with scanning and word prediction capabilities, a Smart Web Browser, and an Emotional Response Monitoring module. The work plan includes a thoroughly validation and evaluation by end-users in three different test-settings distributed in the EU.

MILESTONES
M1: Project management established (M3). Establish the basic consortium management structure.
M2: Requirements and specifications completed (M8). Analysis of user requirements and technical specifications. User requirements analysis perspectives: interface evaluation and ergonomics.
M3: Preliminary evaluation finished (M18). First prototypes of the IPCA system. Initial evaluation by the user group.
M4: End of the project \(M24\). An additional evaluation will be performed. IPCA demonstrator.

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
EU contribution
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Address
HANSASTRASSE 27C
80686 MUENCHEN
Germany

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Total cost
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Participants (3)