GB2446651A

GB2446651A - User interface to enable mobile phones to be accessible by users with visual, cognitive, or physical impairment

Info

Publication number: GB2446651A
Application number: GB0703042A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Seal
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-16
Filing date: 2007-02-16
Publication date: 2008-08-20
Also published as: GB0703042D0

Abstract

A scalable menu for mobile communication devices that enables a varying number of options to be presented on a touch-screen at any one time, depending on the visual and motor-skill abilities of the user. The number of main options (7) shown at any one time could be set up per user to provide the optimum balance between size of option (for both visibility and selecting an option) and the number of selections necessary to achieve the desired functionality. The scalable menu may use photographs/images instead of - or as well as - text for choosing contacts to assist users with literacy/cognitive difficulties, and the menu itself can be set up to be text, images, or a combination of the two depending on user preference.

Description

8 2446651

PATENT SPECIFICATION

"User Interface to enable mobile phones to be accessible by users with visual, cognitive, or physical impairment" Mobile phones have revolution ised communication, but for many people they are either impossible or just plain awkward to use. Too often, these people are left isolated from the benefits that simple mobile telephony or SMS messaging could bring.

The population in the developed world is ageing, creating a large market of mobile device Consumers with particular requirements for input mechanism, menu structure, and display. Despite this trend mobile manufacturers and operators still design largely for dextrous fingers, optimal vision, and solid understanding of digital-age metaphors' -excluding many people who otherwise have the desire and means to be part of a connected world. In addition, there are millions of people with other relatively minor visual, cognitive, or motor impairments that effectively make normal mobile phones impractical or inaccessible.

For purposes of this document, the word phone' should be interpreted as any telephony device or mobile phone/PDA combination that is capable of making or receiving voice calls, and/or text messages.

This invention is a scalable menu that makes basic mobile phone functionality much more accessible to users with minor visual Impairments, cognitive problems, and / or motor skill problems. The invention consists of a specially constructed phone menu system which can be adjusted depending on visual ability and / or motor skill coordination by utilising a touchscreen interface Users with relatively poor eyesight and / or motor skills can have the phone set up for them in such a way that it becomes dramatically more usable than a standard mobile phone, while those moderately affected can tailor a set up that balances visual clarity with volume of data/options available on screen at any one time. A consistency of approach also benefits users with difficulty in comprehending complex menus to navigate successfully around the functionality available, as each screen is based on the same scaling menu principles.

Preferably, photographs and simple graphical symbols would be used as the primary means of making and receiving calls, allowing users with poor cognition or reading skills (or those who simply prefer an image-driven approach) to contact friends & relatives using the phone without having to understand complex menus or comprehend lists of contacts.

2 of 8 Preferably, contacts for which there is only one number stored -and therefore for which selecting the contact will immediately dial the contact -would be visually distinguishable in some way from contacts for which multiple numbers are stored.

Preferably, supporting screen text can optionally be switched on/off to replace or support the visual icons and act as supporting cues to assist navigation.

Preferably, hardware buttons already present on the phone would be integrated into the application to offer shortcuts for expert users, but can be switched off for users who might press hardware buttons accidentally and become confused when this affects the device.

The invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a generic touchscreen mobile phone device with various elements itemised FIGURES 2-5 show the invented scalable menu at the default setting and two other settings, plus an overview example of the three settings FIGURES 6-14 show an example process for phoning contacts utilising the scalable menu with the default 2x2 setting FIGURES 15-17 show the first part of the same process for phoning contacts with the scalable menu set at the lxi setting FIGURES 18-20 show the contacts gallery in different text presentation modes depending on user preference FIGURES 2 1-23 show the menu system in different text presentation modes depending on user preference Any styles or visual presentation are for illustrating the invention only and should not be construed as limiting the application of the invention across similar touchscreen communication devices.

3 of 8 A typical touchscreen phone (Figure 1) is composed of a housing (1) around a core touchscreen area (2) through which the user interacts with the applications running on the device. There is usually also a set of physical buttons which may be located at various points on the device (3) that effect various functions on the phone (e.g. turn phone on/off, directional' menu selectors, operate camera, record voice notes, volume up/down, send text etc...). In addition, the phone may have one or more ports or slot's (4) to enable the device to communicate with the external environment (e.g. memory card reader, infra-red or RF/wireless communication ports, power input to charge the internal battery, USB connection interface, a handsfree / headphones socket etc.... Additionally, the phone will have a microphone and speaker combination (5) to allow the phone to translate communicated speech into a digital signal and back again, and In most modern phones an aperture that allows the phone to act as a camera to capture digital images (6).

A touchscreen phone differs from a normal mobile phone in that there is either no physical numeric/alphanumeric keypad, or the keypad is hidden away through some slide/flip or other mechanism. This results in a design where it is possible for the main means of interaction between user and device to be tailored much more to the specific combination of user and context via the use of the touchscreeri display.

However, a review of typical phone and PDA interfaces suggests that no provision has been made when designing these user interfaces to enhance the usability of a phone to audiences who for reasons of poor cognition, failing eyesight, or limited motor skills experience problems with normal mobile phone devices.

The invention addresses this by introducing a scaling menu, which can be set by the user at different levels (depending on the visual and motor skills of the user) to assist them in seeing options and making selections (both of which are enhanced by increased size with a touchscreen device). This scaling menu trades off the number of options on screen at any one time against the size (and therefore visibility and ease of selection) of an individual option.

Figure 2 shows the default view of the touchscreen area from Figure 1 using the invention, with a 2 x 2 grid of options available to the user (7), each of which would be a graphical icon and/or text and represent a normal menu or sub-menu item (e.g. contacts, dial a number, phone settings etc...) selectable by touching the item with a stylus or finger. A number of global information items (8), which may or may not be selectable themselves (e.g. battery information, signal strength, time etc...), would be visible on-screen at all times, and a number of navigational options (9), may be present dependIng on context (e.g. next and previous if browsing a gallery of contacts, or backup if not at the top level of a menu structure). Information to support the user (e.g. "Main Menu" or "Calling...

Amy") could also be shown on the screen (10).

4 of 8 Figure 3 shows the same solution but with the menu set up for a user with poorer eyesight and/or motor skills, such that only one core option (7) is available to the user at any one time, with the others accessible through use of the navigational options (9), which may be enlarged in this view. As before, global options (8) would also be present.

Figure 4 shows the same solution but with the application set up for a user with better eyesight and motor skills than would be needed with the default setting.

In this scenario, a 3 x 3 grid of options is present, allowing 9 core options (7) to be shown at once, along with the standard global (8) and navigational (9) items.

This scaling menu is a key feature of the invention, and enables users with very different visual and motor skill abilities to have the phone set up so that it can be most usable for them. Figure 5 shows how the menu can be set up for users with relatively good eyesight / motor skills (3x3 grid) and conversely for users with more pronounced visual impairments / motor skills (lxi grid). The facility to change the presentation mode would form part of the menu structure of the application, and the limited number of grid options discussed here should not constrain the scope of application to more appropriate ratios depending on the touchscreen size and aspect ratio of a particular telephony device (e.g. 2x1, 3x2 etc...).

A highly modified menu structure designed for the application then works with the scaling menu to significantly simplify the process for basic phone operations.

Figures 6-14 show how a user could make calls using the application in the default (2x2 grid) mode. In these figures a shaded area represents a space used up in presenting information rather than an active menu option, and a dashed line indicates the option that is selected (i.e. touched by the user) in the described scenario. "Global elements" signify items like battery life remaining, time and signal strength that would be constantly visible on the screen.

In Figure 6 the main menu is shown, with the four core menu options available.

The user selects "Call Contact" and moves to Figure 7, where they are presented with a gallery of contacts arranged in sets of 2x2 grids. The "next" and "previous" navigational buttons are now available to scroll through these sets of contacts (although on this first view the previous option is hidden), and also go "back" to the main menu. The user selects to call Amy" and (because Amy only has one number stored against it) the phone calls that number immediately, presenting Amy with Figure 8, where the phone is calling Amy's home number.

Here the three surrounding in-call' elements are options to end the call, turn the speaker phone on, or bring up a number keypad (e.g. for use with automated phone systems). After a conversation, the user ends the call and is shown Figure 9, a call summary panel taking up all the grid space. From this they can select to go "back" to the call contact gallery (Figure 10). of 8

To demonstrate an alternative, we now assume that the user wishes to call another contact. Selecting "next" brings up Figure ii, the second screen of the contacts gallery (the "previous" option is now available to allow navigation to the first screen of the gallery). The user selects "Doris", which brings up Figure 12, where the first of the standard 2x2 grid items is replaced with an information panel showing the contact. Around it are three options, allowing the user to call Don-is's mobile, home or work numbers. If any of these numbers were not stored, that particular item would be hidden. Selecting "Call Work" initiates the phone call, but takes the user to Figure 13 as the line is currently busy. The user opts to "retry" a short time later, and is then connected successfully (Figure 14).

The detail of the menu options shown throughout the figures is not important for the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of application of the invention. The purpose of showing them is to illustrate how a menu structure can be interpreted into the invented scalable menu that is usable for people who would otherwise struggle to comprehend and crucially interact with a conventional phone interface.

Figures 15-17 show the first few stages of the same process outlined in the first scenario, but this time with the scalable menu set to show one option per screen (e.g. for users with more pronounced visual impairment or motor-skill / coordination issues).

Figure 15 shows the main menu, with the first option being displayed ("Call Contacts") and the rest of the menu (previously shown in Figure 6) available by cycling through the options using "next" and "previous". The user selects "Call Contacts" which brings up the first contact "Amy" (Figure 16), again with "next" and "previous" options to cycle through the remaining contacts stored in the contacts gallery. Selecting "Amy", the phone makes the call (Figure 17) and brings up the first in-call' option which Is "End Call". Using "next" and "previous" options here cycles through the in-call' options seen previously in Figure 8.

Clearly, the process for interacting in this mode is slower and requires more selections by the user. However, this mode does allow for users with more extreme impairments to still navigate the functionality of the phone successfully.

Conversely, the 3x3 grid mode allows for users with slightly more visual and motor acuity to navigate at faster speeds through the options and contacts on the device.

6 of 8 An optional addition to the invention is the utilisation of photographs/images as the primary means of calling a contact. Many phones now offer the facility to include photographs with contact information, but this uses the photograph as a core part of the selection process so that individuals who find reading text difficult (e.g. through poor cognitive ability, visual skill, literacy or any other reason) can still accurately identify a contact and call them directly by selecting the chosen image. This could be brought into the application either directly (through the phone camera shown in figure 1) or through a previously stored image held in the phone memory or hard disk storage, or brought in via any of the external communication ports available to the phone (as shown previously in figure 1), or through a picture message sent to the individual, or chosen from a bank of generic images available within the application.

Figure 18 shows the first screen of the contacts gallery, with images in place for contacts. In this instance a photograph is present for "Amy" (which could have been brought in using any of the mechanisms indicated above), and with different generic images in use for the other three contacts.

An optional addition to the invention is the facility to run the application in different presentation modes for the contacts depending on the preferences/abilities of the end user. With this addition, text labels for the contacts can be switched on if the end user is able to benefit from the additional support of a name label, or off if relatively small text would be a confusing distraction from a simple image for identification and selection. Figure 19 shows the same screen as figure 18, but with the text labels switched off. Figure 20 shows the same screen but with only text labels shown.

An optional addition to the invention is the facility to run the application in different presentation modes for the menu system depending on the preferences/abilities of the end user. With this addition, text labels for the menu options can be switched on if the end user is able to benefit from the additional support of a name label, or off if relatively small text would be a confusing distraction from a simple image for identification and selection. Having the labels switched on could also help during a familiarisation process after which the labels are switched off for clarity during normal use. Figure 21 shows an example menu screen with text and icons. Figure 22 shows the same screen with icons only. Figure 23 shows the same screen with text only.

Note that the icons shown are for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the application.

Claims

7 of 8 Claims 1. A scalable menu for mobile communication devices that

is able to be adjusted to provide a varying number of menu options on a touchscreen at any one time in order to suit the visual and motor skill ability of the user.
2. A scalable menu according to claim 1, in which the primary mechanism for selecting a contact to call them is by touching a photographic image or generic icon on the touchscreen that represents the chosen contact.
3. A scalable menu according to claim 1, in which the contacts gallery can be adjusted to either present through graphical symbols (icons) alone, or graphical symbols (icons) supported by text, or through text alone.
4. A scalable menu according to claim 1, in which the menu system can be adjusted to either present through graphical symbols (icons) alone, or graphical symbols (icons) supported by text, or through text alone.