Designing a speech based mobile interface for the low literate (original) (raw)
Related papers
Speech User Interface for Low Literacy Users of Ict Services
2014
Speech user interface has the potentials to accommodate different users irrespective of the level of education. This type of user interface can provide interactions that meet the capabilities of low literacy users in underserved rural communities. One of the challenges facing the development of Information and Communication Technology in rural underserved communities is the inability of the users to interact and communicate with the services provided effectively. The task of designing user interfaces to accommodate low literacy users is still a big challenge. We conducted a study with the aim of designing a customized speech user interface to enable low literacy users in a rural community to interact and have access to a mobile commerce service. We applied different ethnographic research methods in the process of data collection, design and evaluation of the user interface. The user evaluation results show that the users were able to successfully interact with the application. The u...
A Review on Voice User Interface for Illiterate People
Proceeding of 3rd South East Asian Network of Ergonomics Societies International Conference 2014, (ISBN: 978-981-07-7758-6)
To provide equal access to information and technology to illiterate people, interface designers must consider their abilities and limitations. Many of them only have access to feature phones which only allow them to make phone calls and other basic functions. There have been some attempts to develop applications based on Voice User Interface to enable them to get equal benefit from technology, such as phone based information system, voice based web browser accessible from phone, etc. However, users still face many problems. This is a literature review study on the works of voice user interface and cognitive abilities of illiterate people. Illiterate people are found to have lower cognitive abilities needed to be able to use an interactive system effectively, especially on memory ability as well as structural and abstract thinking. This paper discusses the implications and challenges of designing voice user interface for illiterate people
Speech vs. touch-tone: Telephony interfaces for information access by low literate users
2009
Information access by low literate users is a difficult task. Critical information, such as in the field of healthcare, can often mean the difference between life and death. We have developed spoken language interface prototypes aimed at low literate users, and tested them with community health workers in Pakistan. We present results showing that 1) in contrast to previous reports in the literature, well-designed speech interfaces significantly outperform touch-tone equivalents for both lowliterate and literate users, and that 2) literacy significantly impacts task success for both modalities.
An Empirical Approach for the Evaluation of Voice User Interfaces
intechopen.com
Nowadays, the convergence of devices, electronic computing, and massive media produces huge volumes of information, which demands the need for faster and more efficient interaction between users and information. How to make information access manageable, efficient, and easy becomes the major challenge for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers. The different types of computing devices, such as PDAs (personal digital assistants), tablet PCs, desktops, game consoles, and the next generation phones, provide many different modalities for information access. This makes it possible to dynamically adapt application user interfaces to the changing context. However, as applications go more and more pervasive, these devices show theirs limited input/output capacity caused by small visual displays, use of hands to operate buttons and the lack of an alphanumeric keyboard and mouse (Gu & Gilbert, 2004). Voice User Interface (VUI) systems are capable of, besides recognizing the voice of their users, to understand voice commands, and to provide responses to them, usually, in real time. The state-of-the-art in speech technology already allows the development of automatic systems designed to work in real conditions. VUI is perhaps the most critical factor in the success of any automated speech recognition (ASR) system, determining whether the user experience will be satisfying or frustrating, or even whether the customer will remain one. This chapter describes a practical methodology for creating an effective VUI design. The methodology is scientifically based on principles in linguistics, psychology, and language technology (Cohen et al. 2004; San-Segundo et al., 2005). Given the limited input/output capabilities of mobile devices, speech presents an excellent way to enter and retrieve information either alone or in combination with other modalities. Furthermore, people with disabilities should be provided with a wide range of alternative interaction modalities other than the traditional screen-mouse based desktop computing devices. Whether the disability is temporary or permanent, people with reading difficulty, visual impairment, and/or any difficulty using a keyboard, or mouse can rely on speech as an alternate approach for information access.
Tring! Tring! usability study of a voice based information system
In developing regions, voice based telecommunication services are one of the most appropriate medium for information dissemination as they overcome prevalent low literacy rate and are more reachable than any other medium. However, voice based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are still not exploited to their full potential and are commonly considered as frustrating to use. We did a real world experiment to investigate the usability issues of a voice based system. In this paper, we report content usage of our experimental IVR and interface difficulties as experienced by the user. We also highlight the user behavior towards accessing critical and non-critical information over multiple information media visa -vis IVR, web and talking to a human on the phone. Findings from the post-study survey reveal that people trust web more than human and IVR. We believe, our results can be used for efficient development of future IVR systems.
Designing mobile interfaces for novice and low-literacy users
ACM Transactions on Computer-human Interaction, 2011
While mobile phones have found broad application in bringing health, financial, and other services to the developing world, usability remains a major hurdle for novice and low-literacy populations. In this article, we take two steps to evaluate and improve the usability of mobile interfaces for such users. First, we offer an ethnographic study of the usability barriers facing 90 low-literacy subjects in India, Kenya, the Philippines, and South Africa. Then, via two studies involving over 70 subjects in India, we quantitatively compare the usability of different points in the mobile design space. In addition to text interfaces such as electronic forms, SMS, and USSD, we consider three text-free interfaces: a spoken dialog system, a graphical interface, and a live operator.
Spoken Language Interface for Mobile Devices
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2009
In this paper, we present a set of optimizations for a spoken language interface for mobile devices that can improve the recognition accuracy and user interaction experience. A comparison between a speech and a graphical interface, when used to accomplish the same task, is provided. The implications of developing a spoken language interface and integrating speech recognition and text-to-speech modules for European Portuguese in a mobile device, are also discussed. The paper focuses in the speech recognition module and in an algorithm for name matching optimization that provides the user with a more comfortable interaction with the device. Usability evaluation trials have shown that spoken language interfaces can provide an easier and more efficient use of the device, especially within a community of users less experienced in handling mobile devices.
A Systematic Feasibility Analysis of User Interfaces for Illiterate Users
2019
Literacy is conventionally defined as the ability to read and write simple statements. Illiteracy and poor education are major problems in developing countries. In this digital era, computers can play a vital role in improving literacy. However, computer illiteracy is also high in developing countries and their citizens cannot understand the complex digital User Interfaces. Research shows that User Interface (UI) design should be different for illiterate, semi-illiterate and literate users. Furthermore, the design should also consider the cultural context like language, culturally relevant images, etc. The researchers of Human Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) face challenges to improve literacy to design effective and usable interfaces. HCI4D researchers have designed such interfaces for illiterate users over the years. Their major findings were to use non-textual designs over text-based interfaces. In the non-textual designs, they further considered artifacts like sound...
Innovative Techniques in Instruction Technology, E-learning, E-assessment, and Education
This research study focuses on the feasibility of using the telephone as a tool for information access in the oral communities of Southern Africa. The OpenPhone and BGR systems are used as case studies and their designs have been influenced by field studies with the targeted users. The OpenPhone project aims to design an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) health information system that enables people who are caregivers for HIV/AIDS infected children to access relevant care-giving information by using a telephone in their native language of Setswana in Botswana, Southern Africa. The BGR system allows soccer fans to access results of recently played matches in Premier Soccer League (PSL) of South Africa. Both designs utilise usability engineering methodology to ascertain that the end products are usable and satisfactory to their targeted users. We hypothesise that ignoring the socio-cultural circumstances of the intended users will lead to an ineffective design. In the present study, the first challenge is to determine which input modality is preferred by the intended users: dual tone multi frequency (DTMF) input or automatic speech recognition (ASR) input. Usability evaluation experiments were conducted with a sample of the intended users and both qualitative and quantitative analyses are used to explore the results. We have obtained additional evidence on ASR / DTMF preferences in the developing world, and we present the first evidence of the relationship between educational levels and users' interaction behaviour. We have established important findings on language preferences for numbers pronunciation which impacts how IVR systems are designed for users in the region. We also show that HCI for development research can benefit substantially from focussing on "enjoyable" applications as a testing ground for speech technology in the developing world, instead of concentrating only on serious matters such as healthcare, agriculture, public services, etc.
Speech centric multimodal interfaces for disabled users
Technology and Disability
This paper explores how multimodal interfaces make it easier for people with sensory impairments to interact with mobile terminals such as PDAs and 3rd generation mobile phones (3G/UMTS). We have developed a flexible speech centric composite multimodal interface to a map-based information service on a mobile terminal. This user interface has proven useful for different types of disabilities, from persons with muscular atrophy combined with some minor speaking problems to a severe dyslectic and an aphasic. Some of the test persons did not manage to use the ordinary public information service, neither on the web (text only) nor by calling a manual operator phone (speech only). But they fairly easily employed our multimodal interface by pointing at the map on the touch screen while uttering short commands or phrases. Although this is a limited qualitative evaluation it indicates that development of speech centric multimodal interfaces to information services is a step in the right direction for achieving the goal of design for all.