Multimodal Interaction and Serious Game for Assistive Robotic Devices in a Simulated Environment

Sports and physical activities allow people with disabilities to have better quality of life. The proposed work aimed to develop a multimodal interaction platform of robotic devices in a simulated environment for users to train different interface options. The suggested scenarios allow a user to interact with an Intelligent Wheelchair (IW) and with an Intelligent Robotic Ramp (IRR) performing different tasks individually or with a multiplayer option. The main objective of this multimodal interaction platform is to allow users, with severe disabilities, to move around and inclusive to play the Boccia Game more independently and autonomously. A preliminary set of experiments with 27 volunteers tested the scenarios and the multimodal interface for driving the intelligent wheelchair and to maneuver the IRR. The results show excellent performance when users maneuver the IRR in which the success achieved 90%. All dimensions of CEGEQ questionnaire presented good results. Therefore the solution created is quite satisfactory for a user point of view.