Exploring Mid-air Gestural Interfaces for Children with ADHD

Abstract

This study examined the potential of mid-air gestural interfaces specifically designed for children, in the context of full-body motion control for confirmation actions while interacting with large conventional displays. The study aimed to investigate gestures for confirmation actions that were feasible for children, including children with challenges in behavior control and impulse inhibition. Two scenarios were explored, namely, active full-body gesturing (i.e., jumps and jumps with hands up) and freezing (i.e., motionless posture) to identify their usability for confirmation actions. Experiment I involved 11 typically developing children playing the game to check the system’s general functionality and robustness. Experiment II involved 18 children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to evaluate a prolonged usage of the confirmation gestures in six game sessions. The results showed that the children were able to interact with the large conventional displays with consistent accuracy and responsiveness in both active gesturing and freezing scenarios. Moreover, jumps with rising hands were significantly preferred as an interaction input method. Further, there was no significant difference in ratings of the difficulty of freezing gesture, and children successfully repeated the predefined postures. The findings provided insights into the functionality and suitability of mid-air gestural interfaces for confirmation actions in interactive applications targeted to children.