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<pictures are temporary dropped>
Preparing user test
I've visited the Henri Viscardi School last Thursday to test my second prototype. Before I met K, I prepared a switch, a pieace of velcro for attaching it to a wheelchair, a mount for wheelchair that a gorilla tripod would be attached to.
K was so excited and he looked carefully whole preparation I did.
* Here are some pictures he took using the camera and some pictures were taken by me. All pictures in this entry were permitted to use. I couldn't post wonderful pictures of him with a full of smile. I hope I can get a permission later. The pictures he took were just resized and not retouched.
Start taking a picture
 
* the very first picture K took. * I asked him to take me. (Thank you K)
He couldn't wait to take pictures. Just right after I finished setting, he started to press the switch for releasing a shutter before I gave him instructions how to use it.
Different pictures of the same model
 
* moved toward a model
After taking the left picture, I said to him how about took larger portrait of her. Then, he moved toward her and adjusted a right and left direction.
Taking a Portrait
* portrait of his operational therapist (even though I got a permission, I mosaicked.)
To take this picture, he tried found a good background and asked her to sit. The bendable tripod on the mount and the blue switch on the left side were shown in this picture.
Learning a technique for better picture
 
* shaken * unshaken
He was so excited that he didn't stop moving his body after releasing the shutter. Since an actual releasing the shutter happens two seconds after pressing a switch for avoiding the shaking, the pictures were shaken. I told him keep calm for a better quality picture and he followed it well.
Testing a mobility
 
* (resized and mosaicked) * the picture he took
K, his operational therapist, his physical therapist and I walked around in the school with him to take pictures. The one of main concerns of this project was a mobility, and it was successful. Many students who encountered with us also loved the camera system.
Stepping closer to his wish
* His favorite pictures of the day.
One of hallways was a little crowded but he tried to take this picture. The camera system didn't have move up and down function yet so I raised the angle for him. After whole picture-taking tour with him, he asked me to send this picture to his email account. (He had a verbal disability so it also took long time to catch what he wanted.) His OT said, he was expressing he had his wish.
After photographing
After he took lots of pictures, we downloaded them to a laptop and looked through the pictures together. He used a joystick to move forward and back to see photos as never stopping his smile.
User tesing continued
I also tested with three other students. Because I used the bendable tripod and a standard socket for switches, the system was able to use by all of them.
 
* front side * back side
Not only K but every students were enjoying to take pictures especially of their teachers. One of them wanted to take one of her teachers and we needed to move around the school to find her.
Feedback
1. Students as well as teachers were so happy and one of them said she was totally speechless.
2. Now the system has just one switch. If I add a zoom function, the number of buttons will become three (or two). And, the moving up-and-down functions also need additional buttons. The therapists recommended me to use fewer switches because too many switches were not good for most students. So I should consider the trade-off of functions and usability.
3. When I said a motor would be one of solutions for moving camera up-and-down, they recommended me to use a lower tech device such as mechanical one rather than electrical one. Using low tech means a better device for maintenance .
4. They requested the instructions how they make the same system such as a model of camera and a remote controller. And, they asked me a lot about the remote controller hacking part.
As I wrote the previous entry, I will use gentled devices for a future system because the therapists of the school wanted a sustainable product rather than an one-time product.
Future Plan
1. test gentled
2. build viewer software
3. finish auto-files-download script
4. combine #2 and #3 software in a single program
5. make multiple user version of #4 program
6. make a professional version of whole system. (using Canon SDK including various functions such as white balance, aperture, exposure and ISO)
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| Track this back : http://itp.nyu.edu/~yc581/blog/trackback/152 |
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I visited Henry Viscardi School last week and met a boy who was very excited with a camera. He uses wheelchair, moves unsteady and can't speak, but shows very exciting emotion whenever he listens to words related to a camera such as a camera, a flash, an album and taking a picture.
I always had a question whenever I visited hospitals or schools for disabilites that were well equipped and had many staffs including occupational therapists as well as physical therapists. "Ok, here is very good for them. But, what they can do after this institution?"
If I make a camera interface that can be operated well by him, then he will have an opportunity to be a photographer, or have a good hobby at least.
Target User
1. user: K(anonymity) at HVS, therapists and K's family
2. K:
- 15 years old boy
- Electric Power Wheelchair
- Spasmodic movement
- Speech impediment
- Passion for photography
= want to have a camera
= want to take a picture with it
= want to make an album
3. What can K do? (about an hour of observation)
- Listen and answer w/ moving body or making a small sound
- Control auto-wheelchair w/ left hand
- Computer, Internet w/ joystick, button
= type w/ screen keyboard and big button
= ex: type "canon powershot” at MSN image search
Tasks to bulid and to solve
1. functions related to camera
- Take a picture
- Make a caption
- Delete a picture
- View pictures
- Upload pictures (ex: Flickr)
- Make his own ablum page
2. How can I avoid a shaking when he press a button?
- put waiting time between "button pressed/released" and "taking a picture"
- use other body parts to press switches such as head, knee, or foot.
System Overview
Prototype of Editing Software
- need to change several points
= make easily change the size of program window
= make font bigger
= write complete sentence to avoid confusion
= Next/Previous navigation function
= put sound to every operation
= so on.
Similar project before
1. "Wheelchair Camera Stand"(pdf) at National Science Foundation 2005 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities
- Camera Mount for a disabled person
= No use of legs, left arm, only limited use of right arm and hand due to cerebral palsy
= Passion for photography and is hoping to start own digital imaging business
future plan
1. How about to move a camera?
- servo motors
2. Usage of joint arm to attach a camera
Some questions I will send to the school
1. Questions for making prototype.
Q. Can K read a book and turn a page by himself?
Q. What resolution are you using on computer monitors for students?
Q. Can K use other body parts to press a switch rather than his right hand?
I saw other students use their heads or knees to press switches.
2. Just for my curious.
Q. How and when do therapists know K loves camera?
Q. How long does he take to learn to operate computer?
3. Discarded questions.
Q. Can I use power from wheelchair, maybe a battery?
Q. Does K have any experience about a camera, taking a picture or seeing an album before?
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| Track this back : http://itp.nyu.edu/~yc581/blog/trackback/124 |
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Commented by John S at 2007/04/24 15:29 
