iFree: design and evaluation of a pointing method for disabled users on mobile devices

Abstract

We present the design and evaluation of a pointing method for disabled people, called iFree, which can run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The method is based on face recognition and supports target selection (click) in two different modes: by opening and closing the mouth (mouth click) and by making a sound (sound click).The method was experimented on a smartphone with 14 non-disabled participants in order to evaluate its performance and to compare the two above mentioned modes. In particular, we measured its performance using ISO 9241-411 standard task. The throughput grand mean was 0.86 bit/s. The sound click mode had a greater throughput and accuracy, a lower movement time and was preferred by participants.