Abstract
Verbal communication is essential for socialization, meaning construction and knowledge sharing in a society. When verbal communication does not occur naturally because of constraints in people’s and environments capabilities, it is necessary to design alternative means. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) aims to complement or replace speech to compensate difficulties of verbal expression. AAC systems can provide technological support for people with speech disorders, assisting in the inclusion, learning and sharing of experiences. This paper presents a systematic mapping of the literature to identify research initiatives regarding the use of mobile devices and AAC solutions. The search identified 1366 potentially eligible scientific articles published between 2006 and 2016, indexed by ACM, IEEE, Science Direct, and Springer databases and by the SBC Journal on Interactive Systems. From the retrieved papers, 99 were selected and categorized into themes of research interest: games, autism, usability, assistive technology, AAC, computer interfaces, interaction in mobile devices, education, among others. Most of papers (57 out of 99) presented some form of interaction via mobile devices, and 46 papers were related to assistive technology, from which 14 were related to AAC. The results offer an overview on the applied research on mobile devices for AAC, pointing out to opportunities and challenges in this research domain, with emphasis on the need to promoting the use and effective adoption of assistive technology.
Highlights
Verbal language is the most commonly used medium for people to communicate, yet communication between people can be much more comprehensive
Selected studies were categorized into themes of research interest: games, autism, usability, assistive technology, Alternative Communication (AAC), computer interfaces, interaction in mobile devices, education, or others
Studies on varied themes related to mobile technology were found, studies focused on assistive technology, education, AAC, computational interfaces and interaction associated with mobile devices were quite representative, and are strongly related to the main objective of this study
Summary
Verbal language is the most commonly used medium for people to communicate, yet communication between people can be much more comprehensive. Human beings use nonverbal behavior in order to complete their interpersonal interaction [1]. Communication between people is complemented by several communicative elements (e.g., emotional states, gestures, facial expressions) that allow people to understand each other. When people experience difficulties to express verbally what they intend to communicate, interaction problems arise, hampering learning, family living, social activities, professional practices etc., leading to emotional, social, and cognitive problems [2]. Alternatives for individuals to communicate to each other and with the world around them are demanded, and computing technology has potential to contribute with interactive and low cost solutions
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