Evaluation of Multimodal Tongue Drive System by People with Tetraplegia
for Computer Access
Abstract
The multimodal Tongue Drive System (mTDS) is an assistive technology for
people with tetraplegia that provides an alternative method to interact
with a computer by combining tongue control, head gesture, and speech.
This multimodality is designed to facilitate the completion of complex
computer tasks (e.g. drag-and-drop) that cannot be easily performed by
existing uni-modal assistive technologies. Previous studies with
able-bodied participants showed promising performance of the mTDS on
complex tasks when compared to other input methods such as keyboard and
mouse. In this three-session pilot study, the primary objective is to
show the feasibility of using mTDS to facilitate human-computer
interactions by asking fourteen participants with tetraplegia to
complete five computer access tasks with increased level of complexity:
maze navigation, center-out tapping, playing bubble shooter and peg
solitaire, and sending an email. Speed and accuracy are quantified by
key metrics that are found to be generally increasing from the first to
third session, indicating the potential existence of a learning phase
that could result in improved performance over time.