鲍鱼tv

Project from 2011 - 2012

How existing technology could be used to control home media players

Project from 2011 - 2012

What we are doing

This research involved us working collaboratively with members of our audience with visual, cognitive or motor impairments to find out what level of control and interaction with a TV and set-top box they required.

Why it matters

We want everyone to be able to enjoy our programmes, but a lack of suitable and adaptable devices means that something as simple as changing the channel is impossible for people with certain disabilities.

We also wanted to see if Universal Control, a web API that allows direct and open access to the controls on all home media players, could provide the means to connect a device customised to their needs and the technology they were already using (a mobile app using voice control for blind people, for instance).

Outcomes

The partnership with Beaumont College has been particularly instructive, and we hope the students at continue to use the prototypes we developed.

The college's support meant the design process was inclusive from start to finish, allowing us to work iteratively and in close participation with the students. It also meant we benefitted from a huge amount of design work done by each student and their Occupational Therapist, to work out where a single switch should be placed to make it easily accessible.

The process so far has allowed us to identify and define the issues involved, not to mention to trial innovative research methods suitable for participants who cannot communicate verbally. We have also been able to verify that the Universal Control protocol supports customised as well as standard devices, giving users a transformative and unprecedented level of control.

How it works

First we teamed up with Beaumont College in Lancaster, a SCOPE-supported FE college for students with a range of physical and learning disabilities.

Our researcher observed them while they watched television after lessons in the evening, making notes when they needed assistance in using the standard interfaces supplied with the TV, an infrared remote control and on-screen Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

Based on this research, we built prototypes of television controllers that can be used with a variety of inputs, from a single switch - a big red button - on a wheelchair-mounted Alternative and Augmentative Communication (ACC) device, to a web page on a screen that can be controlled using a head-mouse.

We tested these a number of times with the students, each time noting the their limitations and the room for development, until we came up with a prototype they were happy with.