Information Visualization Techniques for Motion Impaired People

Several alternative input techniques have been proposed in order to make computers more accessible to motion impaired people. They include brain computer interaction (BCI), eye movement detection, and speech/sound interaction techniques. Even if these alternative techniques partially compensate the reduced capabilities of the end-users, the overall interaction can become slow and convoluted since the number of commands required to complete a single task can increase significantly, even for the most common computer applications. In this position paper we describe a novel Human-Computer Interaction paradigm for motion impaired people based on sophisticated diagrammatic interfaces. The main idea is to use Information Visualization approaches to overcome the limited interaction capabilities of the alternative input devices typically used by individuals with motor disabilities. Our idea is that the limited information bandwidth of the input devices can be compensated by the broad bandwidth of the adopted diagrammatic interfaces, capable of conveying large amounts of information at once.