User Study of Video-Mediated Communication in the Domestic Environment With Intellectually Disabled Persons

Abstract

A user study of video-mediated communication (VMC) involving six persons with mild intellectual disability is presented. It took place at comHOME, a full-scale model of an apartment of the future, showing innovative architectural and technical designs with regard to the integration of VMC into the domestic environment. Two different zones for VMC, comZONES, in the apartment were tested, the videoTORSO (a large-screen set-up for informal everyday communication) and the workPLACE(a place for professional work tasks). The purpose of the study was to get a deeper understanding of how people use these comZONES. The final discussion points out that the comZONES seem to be interpreted correctly and to function aptly in relation to the participants in the study. An assumed explanation is that spatial recognition is a very fundamental human function and thus less significant with regard to the mental capacity of the individual.