Skip to main content

A kinect-based vocational task prompting system for individuals with cognitive impairments

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing volume 17, pages 351–358 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Difficulties in executing daily living tasks hamper the quality of life of many individuals with cognitive impairments who are otherwise physically mobile. With sufficient and appropriate support on the job, many people with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments are capable of participating in the world of work to various levels. Kinect is used as assistive technology for individuals with cognitive impairments to achieve the goal of performing task steps independently. In a community-based rehabilitation program under the guidance of three job coaches, a task prompting system called Kinempt was designed to assist four participants involving pre-service food preparation training. The study assessed the effectiveness of Kinempt in terms of precision and recall. A follow-up comparative study then evaluated a baseline method and the system of least prompts against the Kinempt system. Results indicate that for participants with cognitive disabilities, acquisition of job skills may be facilitated by use of Kinempt in conjunction with operant conditioning strategies. Our findings suggest that the image recognition technology may be able to facilitate task prompts needed by people with cognitive impairments. Therefore, the system may be helpful for pre-service training while increasing independence in the process of community integration.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

References

  1. Braddock D, Hemp RR, Parish S (2002) The state of the states in developmental disabilities: Study summary. In Disability at the Dawn of the 21st Century and the State of the States. Braddock, D. (ed). American Association in Mental Retardation, Washington DC, p 124

    Google Scholar 

  2. The Aphasia Institute. What is Aphasia? (2005) [Online]. Available: September 2005 at http://www.aphasia.ca/about/whatis.html

  3. Goodwin S (1997) Comparative mental health policy: From institutional to community care. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bond GR, Drake RE, et al. (1996) Supported employment for people with severe mental illness: a review. Psychiatric Services

  5. Bond GR, Liberman RP (1992) Vocational rehabilitation. Handbook of psychiatric rehabilitation, New York

    Google Scholar 

  6. Mechling LC, Ortega-Hurndon F (2007) Computer-based video instruction to teach young adults with moderate intellectual disabilities to perform multiple step, job tasks in a generalized setting. Educ Train Develop Disabil 42:24–37

    Google Scholar 

  7. Van Laarhoven T, Van Laarhoven-Myers T (2006) Comparison of three video-based instructional procedures for teaching daily living skills to persons with developmental disabilities. Educ Train Develop Disabil 41:365–381

    Google Scholar 

  8. Cannella-Malone H, Sigafoos J, O’Reilly M, de la Cruz B, Lancioni GE (2006) Comparing video prompting to video modeling for teaching daily living skills to six adults with developmental disabilities. Educ Train Develop Disabil 41:344–356

    Google Scholar 

  9. Sohlberg MM, Fickas S, Hung PF, Fortier A (2007) A Comparison of four prompt modes for route finding for community travelers with severe cognitive impairments. Brain Inj 21(5):531–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wu M, Baecker R, Richards B (2005) Participatory design of an orientation aid for amnesics. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, pp 511–520

  11. Carmien S, Dawe M, Fischer G, Gorman A, Kintsch A, Sullivan JF (2005) Socio-technical environments supporting people with cognitive disabilities using public transportation. ACM Trans Comp Human Interact 12(2):233–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Cihaka DF, Kesslerb KB, Alberto PA (2007) Generalized use of a handheld prompting system. Res Dev Disabil 28:397–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cihak DF, Kessler K, Alberto PA (2008) Use of a handheld prompting system to transition independently through vocational tasks for student with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. Educ Train Develop Disabil 43:102–110

    Google Scholar 

  14. Liu L, Hile H, Kautz H, Borriello G, Brown PA, Harniss M, Johnson K (2006) Indoor Wayfinding: developing a functional interface for individuals with cognitive impairments. In: Proceedings of computers & accessibility, ASSETS 2006, pp 95–102

  15. Chang YJ, Tsai SK, Chang YS, Wang TY (2007) A novel wayfinding system based on Geo-coded QR codes for individuals with cognitive impairments, 9th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility, Tempe, Oct 15–17

  16. Gentry T, Wallace J, Kvarfordt C, Lynch KB (2007) Personal digital assistants as cognitive aids for individuals with severe traumatic brain injury: a community-based trial, Brain Inj, December 19–24

  17. Liu AL, Hile H, Kautz H, Borriello G, Brown PA, Mark Harniss, Johnson K (2007) Indoor wayfinding: developing a functional interface for individuals with cognitive impairments. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol 3(1):69–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Davies DK, Stock SE, Wehmeyer M (2002) Enhancing independent task performance for individuals with mental retardation through use of a handheld self-directed visual and audio prompting. Educ Train Mental Retard Develop Disabil 37:209–218

    Google Scholar 

  19. Bohonos S, Lee A, Malik A, Thai C, Manduchi R (2007) Universal real–time navigational assistance (URNA): an urban Bluetooth beacon for the blind, In: Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGMOBILE international workshop on systems and networking support for healthcare and assisted living environments, pp 83–88

  20. Yao-Jen Chang, Shih-Kai Tsai, Tseng-Yun Wang (2008) A context aware handheld wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments. 10th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility, Halifax, Oct 13–15, pp 27–34

  21. NASA Task Load Index (TLX) [Online]. Available: http://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/groups/TLX/downloads/TLXScale.pdf

  22. Taber-Doughty T (2005) Considering student choice when selecting instructional strategies: a comparison of three prompting systems. Res Dev Disabil 26:411–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cook AM, Polgar JM, Hussey SM (2008) Assistive technology principles and practice, 3rd edn. Mosby-Elsevier

  24. Brodwin MG, Star T, Cardoso E (2004) Computer assistive technology for people who have disabilities: computer adaptations and modifications. J Rehabil 70:28–33

    Google Scholar 

  25. Wessels R, Dijcks B, Soede M, Gelderblom GJ, De Witte L (2003) Non-use of provided assistive technology devices, a literature overview. Technol Disabil 15:231–238

    Google Scholar 

  26. Chang YJ, Wang TY (2010) Comparing picture and video prompting in autonomous indoor wayfinding for individuals with cognitive impairments. Pers Ubiquit Comput 14:737–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Chang YJ, Wang TY (2010) Mobile location-based social networking in supported employment for people with cognitive impairments. Cybernet Syst 41(3):245–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was granted and supported by National Research Program for the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taiwan, R.O.C (99-EC-17-A-19-S1-163) and National Science Council, Taiwan, R.O.C (NSC 100-2221-E-033 -062 -).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li, Taiwan

    Yao-Jen Chang

  2. Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Chung Li, Taiwan

    Li-Der Chou

  3. Institute of Social Work, National Cheng Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Frank Tsen-Yung Wang

  4. Center for Occupational Therapy, Taipei Municipal Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Shu-Fang Chen

Authors
  1. Yao-Jen Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Li-Der Chou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Frank Tsen-Yung Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shu-Fang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yao-Jen Chang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chang, YJ., Chou, LD., Wang, F.TY. et al. A kinect-based vocational task prompting system for individuals with cognitive impairments. Pers Ubiquit Comput 17, 351–358 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-011-0498-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-011-0498-6

Keywords

  • Cognitive Impairment
  • Assistive Technology
  • Kinect Sensor
  • Occupational Rehabilitation
  • Task Step