College
Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing
Mentor Information
Dr. Julia Woodward
Description
Augmented reality (AR) has shown promise in domains from education to healthcare. Yet, most AR research samples general adult users, overlooking populations with more specific needs. This poster presents two projects focusing on understudied groups: adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and children.
The first project explores AR-based cueing systems for adults with PD. Freezing of Gait (FoG) is a debilitating symptom that temporarily and involuntarily blocks movement. To study how AR can assist individuals experiencing FoG, we are conducting a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and storyboard-based evaluations with people with PD (PwPD), alongside co-design focus groups with clinicians. We developed interview protocols and storyboard scenarios depicting AR cueing concepts across everyday situations to evaluate preferences for cue type, activation method, and device form factor. Protocols were refined through iterative mock interviews, and recruitment is in progress.
Children are similarly underrepresented in AR interaction research, leaving little known about how they naturally expect to manipulate virtual objects. To address this, the second project develops an AR headset application in Unity where children assemble a virtual pizza using either freehand gestures or a handheld controller. We compare these modalities on task performance, cognitive workload, and cybersickness, while mapping each assembly step to third-grade math standards (area, equal sharing, fractions, symmetry). Application development is being finalized.
Future work includes conducting user studies with target populations and analyzing data to derive design guidelines for population-specific AR systems. Both projects are grounded in the principle of designing with, rather than for, specific populations.
Design With, Not For: Augmented Reality for Understudied Populations
Augmented reality (AR) has shown promise in domains from education to healthcare. Yet, most AR research samples general adult users, overlooking populations with more specific needs. This poster presents two projects focusing on understudied groups: adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and children.
The first project explores AR-based cueing systems for adults with PD. Freezing of Gait (FoG) is a debilitating symptom that temporarily and involuntarily blocks movement. To study how AR can assist individuals experiencing FoG, we are conducting a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and storyboard-based evaluations with people with PD (PwPD), alongside co-design focus groups with clinicians. We developed interview protocols and storyboard scenarios depicting AR cueing concepts across everyday situations to evaluate preferences for cue type, activation method, and device form factor. Protocols were refined through iterative mock interviews, and recruitment is in progress.
Children are similarly underrepresented in AR interaction research, leaving little known about how they naturally expect to manipulate virtual objects. To address this, the second project develops an AR headset application in Unity where children assemble a virtual pizza using either freehand gestures or a handheld controller. We compare these modalities on task performance, cognitive workload, and cybersickness, while mapping each assembly step to third-grade math standards (area, equal sharing, fractions, symmetry). Application development is being finalized.
Future work includes conducting user studies with target populations and analyzing data to derive design guidelines for population-specific AR systems. Both projects are grounded in the principle of designing with, rather than for, specific populations.
