System, method, and computer-readable medium for facilitating adaptive technologies

• US 9,304,601 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2009
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Open Invention Network LLC
• Inventors: Usey, Matthew Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Sam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fletcher, Jerry-Daryl
• Application Number:
  US12/499,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20110010646A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,463 Days
• Field of Search: 434/112, 434/236, 434/322, 434/323, 434/350, 715/865
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 4/00 Methods or devices enabling patients or disabled persons to operate an apparatus or a device not forming part of the body operating or control means for prostheses A61F2/48, A61F2/68
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00514 for individual users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/366 using viewer tracking

Abstract

A system, method, and computer-readable medium that facilitate software configuration of assistive computer devices by automatically assessing a user'"'"'s capabilities through questions and tasks are provided. The analysis results of the user'"'"'s capabilities are then available to assistive computer software applications which may subsequently update their interfaces accordingly. A mapping mechanism from an external input device into a target software application is facilitated for software applications that do not include assistive technology features.

Claims

1. A method of adapting data processing system operational characteristics to a user, comprising:

receiving, by the data processing system, a discrete user input from an input device;

assessing whether the user is able to utilize one or more other input devices;

for each input device able to be utilized by the user, performing a proficiency test for the respective input device;

using the results of the proficiency tests performed for each input device by the data processing system for automatically modifying, by the data processing system, an operational characteristic of an interface of the data processing system;

periodically evaluating a user proficiency of the input device by a background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device; and

adjusting the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface based on the background assessment;

wherein the background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device comprises;

receiving at least one signal from the input device for non-accessibility enhanced target software that is unable to perform the background assessment;

determining, from the at least one signal, by an adaptation module, the proficiency of the user with the input device and that an adjustment of the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface is required;

wherein adjusting the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface comprises;

adjusting the at least one signal; and

providing the adjusted at least one signal to the non-accessibility enhanced target software.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the proficiency test evaluates a quality of user input supplied to the respective input device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the data processing system, an input signal from an input device channel, wherein the input signal comprises a variable level input signal.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining, by the data processing system, a number of stable input signal levels that are derived from the variable level input signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the user is proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device;

determining that a system user interface was previously simplified for the user; and

returning the user interface to an operational state utilized prior to simplification of the interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the user is non-proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising simplifying a user interface of the data processing system responsive to determining the user is non-proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for execution by a processing system, the computer-executable instructions for adapting data processing system operational characteristics to a user, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to:

receive, by the data processing system, a discrete user input from an input device;

assess whether the user is able to utilize one or more other input devices;

for each input device able to be utilized by the user, perform a proficiency test for the respective input device, wherein the proficiency test evaluates a quality of user input supplied to the respective input device; and

modify an operational characteristic of a system user interface to modify how the data processing system responds to input from at least one of;

the input device; and

the one or more other input devices, based on results of the proficiency tests performed for each input device, wherein the modified operational characteristic of the system user interface provides an analysis of the results of the proficiency test to an assistive application;

periodically evaluate a user proficiency of the input device by a background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device; and

adjust the modification of the operational characteristic of the interface based on the background assessment;

wherein, for the background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device, the processing system is caused to;

receive at least one signal from the input device for non-accessibility enhanced target software that is unable to perform the background assessment;

determine, from the at least one signal, by an adaptation module, the proficiency of the user with the input device and that an adjustment of the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface is required; and

wherein, to adjust the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface, the processing system is caused to;

adjust the at least one signal; and

provide the adjusted at least one signal to the non-accessibility enhanced target software.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to receive, by the data processing system, an input signal from an input device channel, wherein the input signal comprises a variable level input signal.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to determine a number of stable input signal levels that are derived from the variable level input signal.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to:

determine that the user is proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device;

determine that the system user interface was previously simplified for the user; and

return the user interface to an operational state utilized prior to simplification of the interface.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to determine that the user is non-proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to simplify the system user interface of the data processing system responsive to determining the user is non-proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device.

14. A data processing system for modifying operational characteristics for a user, comprising:

a processing module;

a memory device including an adaptive software module; and

an input device, wherein the processing module receives a discrete user input from the input device, assesses whether the user is able to utilize one or more other input devices, for each input device able to be utilized by the user, performs a proficiency test for the respective input device, wherein the proficiency test evaluates a quality of user input supplied to the respective input device, and wherein the processing module uses results of the proficiency test to convert a signal from at least one of the input device or the one or more other input devices into a converted signal necessary to interact with a non-assistive application and provides the converted signal to the non-assistive application;

wherein the processing module periodically evaluates a user proficiency of the input device by a background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device; and

adjusts the modification of the operational characteristic of the interface based on the background assessment;

wherein, for the background assessment of the user'"'"'s activities with the input device, processing system is configured to;

receive at least one signal from the input device for non-accessibility enhanced target software that is unable to perform the background assessment;

determine, from the at least one signal, by an adaptation module, the proficiency of the user with the input device and that an adjustment of the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface is required; and

wherein to adjust the automatic modification of the operational characteristic of the interface, the processing system is configured to;

adjust the at least one signal; and

provide the adjusted at least one signal to the non-accessibility enhanced target software.

15. The data processing system of claim 14, wherein the processing module receives an input signal from an input device channel, wherein the input signal comprises a variable level input signal.

16. The data processing system of claim 15, wherein the processing module determines a number of stable input signal levels that are derived from the variable level input signal.

17. The data processing system of claim 14, wherein the processing module determines that the user is proficiently skilled at utilizing the input device, determines that a system user interface was previously simplified for the user, and returns the user interface to an operational state utilized prior to simplification of the interface.