A key element in providing future dementia patients with sufficient care is the early detection of cognitive impairment. Using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the project “Smart Cognition & Behaviour Screening powered by Augmented Reality” (SCOBES-AR) seeks to create a multimodal screening tool (MST) for the early and easy detection of cognitive impairment. The MST focusses on non-pharmacological prevention by assessing behavioral and lifestyle-associated risk factors and identifying personal resources. First, a validation study was carried out utilizing the established Cognitive Functions Dementia (CFD) test battery to evaluate a set of selected test procedures. The validated test procedures were implemented in an MST prototype based on AR/VR techniques. Using observational summative evaluation and the co-discovery method, the usability and applicability of the validated test methods for therapists and subjects were further assessed in a subsequent cross-over study with 98 healthy individuals (age 60-75 years). 310 people were involved in the validation study (age 60-75 years). Among other things, the assessment of olfactory performance (r = 0.09, p = 0.003), reaction time (r = -0.47, p<0.001), and activities of daily living (r = 0.29, p<0.001) revealed a particularly high agreement with the CFD. Further, the MST prototype, that includes a tablet PC, AR head-mounted display with smartphone, VR head-mounted display, and Flic Buttons as input devices, was developed (see fig. 1). It allows the therapist to have control and direction over the screening process (see fig. 2). The focus of the MST is on non-clinical cognitive and physical functionalities, as it integrates tests from multiple health professions and is low-threshold viable. The development of the MST prototype enables the determination of ideal procedures for multimodal AR/VR-based testing to measure cognitive impairment in older people. To bolster the findings and advance research, clinical trials involving people with cognitive decline and those who already have dementia would be required.

Die industrielle Mikro-CT ist ein Messund Analyseverfahren mit ionisierender Strahlung für Objekte aus unterschiedlichen Materialien und unterschiedlichen Produktionsbereichen. Der vorliegende Artikel stellt das interdisziplinäre Projekt „Triple 4 Science“ in der Steiermark vor.

We would like to share our insights in designing, preparing, preforming, and analyzing usability tests for multiple connected augmented reality and virtual reality applications as well as traditional mobile applications developed for a multimodal screening tool. This screening tool is under development at the University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM in Graz, Austria. Several researchers from the departments of health studies and applied computer sciences are working closely together to establish a tool for early diagnosis of cognitive impairments to contribute to the management of dementia. The usability of this screening tool was evaluated by ten therapists paired with ten clients as testing group 1 and two usability experts in a separate test (group 2). In this chapter, we would like to describe why we use observed summative evaluation using the co-discovery method followed by post-task questionnaires for the first testing group. We are going to discuss the reasons for performing the cognitive walkthrough method as co-discovery with usability experts of testing group two as well. Furthermore, we describe how we use camera recordings (traditional cameras, 360-degree cameras), screen recording, and special tailor-made software to experience the screening process through the user’s eyes.

Background: The early diagnosis of cognitive impairments is an important step in the adequate management of dementia. The project "Smart Cognition & Behaviour Screening powered by Augmented Reality" (SCOBES-AR) aims to develop a multimodal screening tool (MST) for the early detection of cognitive impairments using augmented and virtual reality. The first project phase selected validated assessments for combination with the MST and tested it in 300 healthy older adults. Objective: This study established a protocol for the implementation and usability of a mixed reality (MR)-enhanced multidisciplinary screening tool for the early detection of cognitive impairments in older adults. The developed MST will be partially enhanced by MR, which is a combination of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This MR-enhanced prototype of the screening tool (MR-MST) will be tested and compared to the previously developed MST. The usability of the prototype will also be examined. Methods: This single-center observational crossover design study screens 100 healthy participants (aged 60-75 years) for cognitive decline using a specially developed MST (assessment of cognitive functions, olfactory sensitivity, nutritional preferences, gait parameters, reaction times, and activities of daily living) and an MR-enhanced MST in which the assessments of cognitive functions, reaction time, activities of daily living, and gait will be performed using tailor-made software and AR and VR hardware. The results of the MR-enhanced MST will be compared to those without MR. The usability of the developed MR-enhanced MST will be tested on 10 investigators and 10 test participants using observed summative evaluation and the codiscovery method, and on 2 usability experts using the codiscovery and cognitive walkthrough methods. Results: This study was funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (grant 866873) and received approval from the ethics committee of the Medical University of Graz. The MR-MST and the experimental protocol for this study were developed. All participants gave written informed consent. As of July 15, 2022, a total of 70 participants have been screened. Data analysis and dissemination are scheduled for completion by September 2023. Conclusions: The development and testing of the MR-MST is an important step toward the establishment of the best practice procedure for the implementation of AR and VR in the screening of cognitive declines in older adults. It will help improve our knowledge of the usability and applicability of the developed prototype and promote further advancement in AR and VR technologies to be used in therapeutic settings. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/39513

Demographic changes associated with an expanding and aging population will lead to an increasing number of orthopedic surgeries, such as joint replacements. To support patients' home exercise programs after total hip replacement and completing subsequent inpatient rehabilitation, a low-cost, smartphone-based augmented reality training game (TG) was developed. To evaluate its motion detection accuracy, data from 30 healthy participants were recorded while using the TG. A 3D motion analysis system served as reference. The TG showed differences of 18.03 mm to 24.98 mm along the anatomical axes. Surveying the main movement direction of the implemented exercises (squats, step-ups, side-steps), differences between 10.13 mm to 24.59 mm were measured. In summary, the accuracy of the TG's motion detection is sufficient for use in exergames and to quantify progress in patients' performance. Considering the findings of this study, the presented exer-game approach has potential as a low-cost, easily accessible support for patients in their home exercise program.

It is important to monitor how patients with juvenile and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis comply with their physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises (PSSE). Physiogame, a newly developed video game using the Game-Trak 3D interactive game controller, combines correct PSSE performance with gaming. It tracks the position of the working limb in 3D space during the exercises as participants aim to hit certain targets and avoid others, and gives direct feedback by stopping the game if the working limb leaves the target 3D space, which is chosen to secure the corrective position according to the Schroth method. Physiogame records the quality and frequency of the exercises performed. We aimed to investigate the influence of this tool on motivation to perform regularly and, correctly, and with self-assessment of performance quality.

The project "More! Media Transparency" of the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences is to visualize financial flows between both companies as well as political parties and newspapers. Hence, the paper focuses on the following question, "How can citizens be motivated to collaborate with others in order to prepare, correct, combine, and enhance open government data."The project integrates relevant open government data and user involvement in a web application. The community functionalities will allow participants to correct and expand the database by interpreting the data with new aspects and by creating connections to related issues in order to increase significance. Emphasis is laid upon utilizing collaboration in communities in order to enhance the provided open government data with user-generated content.Solving problems and making decisions in groups has advantages as well as limitations. There are distinct conditions, which are necessary for a remote group to collaborate effectively. One key aspect of this paper is collaboration in general and the analysis of several projects, which use the "power of many" to reach community goals. Gamification motivates people to actively collaborate with others. Therefore, the fundamentals of gamification and in particular gamification in the context of online collaboration were described and analyzed concerning feasibility.Based on our research a concept for a community web application was developed. This concept can be transferred to various use cases. In this context the approach to achieve collaboration on a web platform is described. Users need to be encouraged and supported by providing social networking features and gamification. The platform aims at establishing a democratic culture in which everybody can contribute and review the inputs of others.

In the last years the availability and amount of information has changed dramatically. Teachers and students are not prepared for this situation, which could lead to massive problems in the near future.We can already watch increasing deficits in the ability of reading, writing, analyzing text and evaluating information. Even when we admit that most of the predictions of Gee and Prensky seem to be fulfilled by now, we see a digital gap and a lack of the ability of students and young adults to critically consume information, build an own opinion and being able to verbalize it.Schools try to react to these upcoming problems by introducing new methods (e.g. constructivism, constructionism, and similar methods), but there are severe organizational problems concerning the usage of social platforms, WorldWideWeb and mobile devices in schools. Traditional newspapers try to find ways to attract younger readers by providing them with distinct papers for children, which seem to work very well but face problems in attracting young adults.This paper summarizes the findings and proposals from a project to provide a platform for students at the age of 10 to 16 to create, collaborate, distribute, and view personal relevant content on the Web. This platform can be used by educators in teaching situations as well as by children and students for their private purposes. Therefore the students shall be enabled and motivated to deal actively and critically with information, produce articles and take responsibility for the content in a rather save setting.Based on the results of questionnaires and surveys and the analysis of comparable approaches we developed a concept and a working prototype of such a platform. Usability tests and post questionnaires show a high acceptance for this product. Especially the involved teachers were highly interested in such a platform.

Tourist centres throughout the Alps are currently exploring the potential of new presentation strategies that will maximise the promotional appeal of their region and its main assets, which include a unique landscape and scenery, an impressive cultural heritage, and a wide range of sports facilities and other tourist amenities. The EU Travel Study carried out by Sloggett (1997) revealed that major travel and tourist companies and organisations take an increasing interest in satellite technology, and in the development of a Travel, Leisure and Tourism Information Service which will allow potential clients to pay an on-line visit to their chosen holiday resort. The kind of innovative Information Service they envisage will provide information on the resort and the region, offer entertainment and also allow business transactions. It will integrate satellite images, GPS data, GIS information, terrestrial images and will also include tourist information as well as offering multimedia and 3D-visualization technologies and interactive navigation. This paper will briefly discuss the current situation in the leisure and tourism industry as regards currently available modes of information presentation for specific target groups. It will then discuss proposals for a novel interactive multimedia information system, focussing on the various components of such a system. The system will integrate satellite images, GPS data, GIS information and other information on leisure activities and tourist facilities. Aerial and satellite images will be used to implement the visualisation of the tourist region for multimedia CD ROMs (digital brochure) and display on the internet.

This paper describes some tendencies in internet and computer use of children focusing on the differences between male and female teens and the results of our survey which are compared to international research results. The tendencies are extracted from the figures of a survey conducted as part of the project touch:: tell:: IT, which lasts until 2011 and is a research-project aimed at the improvement of motivation and self-esteem of young female students. In the long run the researched measures shall be introduced in Austrian schools to increase the number of female enrollments at technical universities.Like many technically oriented degree programs in Austria the degree program Information Management has had and has problems to motivate females to take up technical studies. Therefore a research program was introduced to find ways to help girls to start learning programming with new approaches. After implementing several measures at the degree program Information Management like changes in the curriculum, the program's advertising strategy and also in the didactic approaches we are now evaluating new ways to introduce software development as early as in the 2nd or 3rd grade in high school (13 years) with an explicitly constructionist didactic approach.This paper describes the approach and the methods of these measures. 11 courses with children aged between 13 to 17 years are held in summer 2010 and will be evaluated until fall 2010. The preparation courses are already finished and together with the pre-test questionnaire of the current courses some interesting tendencies can be seen.In the first part of the paper the problem and the known approaches for improving the motivation of female students for learning a programming language are described and compared. Furthermore the different didactic approaches are shown and discussed focusing on the constructionist approach which will be described in detail.Then the Project touch:: tell:: IT is introduced and the general requirements for the realization of the above mentioned courses are described. Touch:: tell:: IT researches the introduction and use of EPLs (Educational Programming Languages) like Scratch, StarLogo, Alice, and many more.The results of the pre-tests and pre-test questionnaires will be described and compared with international research. Also the consequences for the continuing courses are discussed.

In this paper, we present three experimental proof-of-concepts: first, we demonstrate a ubiquitous computing framework (UCF), which is a network of interacting technologies that support humans ubiquitously. We then present practical work based on this UCF framework: TalkingPoints, which was originally developed for use at trading fairs in order to identify each participant and company via transponder and provide specific information during and after use. Finally, we propose GARFID, a concept for using advanced technologies for teaching young children. The main outcome of this research is that the concept of UCF raises a lot of possibilities, which can bring value and benefits for end-users. When one follows the working-is-learning paradigm, it can be seen that the implementation of this type of technology can support life long learning (LLL), thereby providing evidence that technology can benefit everybody and make life easier. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper describes some tendencies in internet and computer use of children focusing on the differences between male and female teens and the results of our survey which are compared to international research results. The tendencies are extracted from the figures of a survey conducted as part of the project touch::tell::IT, which lasts until 2011 and is a research-project aimed at the improvement of motivation and self-esteem of young female students. In the long run the researched measures shall be introduced in Austrian schools to increase the number of female enrollments at technical universities. Like many technically oriented degree programs in Austria the degree program Information Management has had and has problems to motivate females to take up technical studies. Therefore a research program was introduced to find ways to help girls to start learning programming with new approaches. After implementing several measures at the degree program Information Management like changes in the curriculum, the program’s advertising strategy and also in the didactic approaches we are now evaluating new ways to introduce software development as early as in the 2nd or 3rd grade in high school (13 years) with an explicitly constructionist didactic approach. This paper describes the approach and the methods of these measures. 11 courses with children aged between 13 to 17 years are held in summer 2010 and will be evaluated until fall 2010. The preparation courses are already finished and together with the pre-test questionnaire of the current courses some interesting tendencies can be seen. In the first part of the paper the problem and the known approaches for improving the motivation of female students for learning a programming language are described and compared. Furthermore the different didactic approaches are shown and discussed focusing on the constructionist approach which will be described in detail. Then the Project touch::tell::IT is introduced and the general requirements for the realization of the above mentioned courses are described. Touch::tell::IT researches the introduction and use of EPLs (Educational Programming Languages) like Scratch, StarLogo, Alice, and many more. The results of the pre-tests and pre-test questionnaires will be described and compared with international research. Also the consequences for the continuing courses are discussed.

Industrialized countries are faced with severe demographical and social changes. Consequently, areas including Ambient Assisted Living are of increasing importance. The vision is to provide technologies for supporting (elderly) people in their daily lives, allowing them to stay longer within their own home aiming at living independent and self-determined. User Interfaces in such systems are mostly multimodal, because standard interfaces have limited accessibility. Multimodal user interfaces combine various input and output modalities (including seeing/vision, hearing/audition, haptic/tactile, taste/gustation, smell/olfaction etc) which are classical research areas in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability Engineering (UE). One of the advantages of multiple modalities is increased usability: the weaknesses of one modality are offset by the strengths of another. For example, on a mobile device with a small visual interface and keypad, a word may be quite difficult to read/type, however very easy to say/listen. Such interfaces, in combination with mobile technologies, can have tremendous implications for accessibility and can be a benefit for people. An important issue is that interfaces must be accessible, useful and usable. Traditionally, HCI bridges Psychology/Pedagogy and Informatics, while UE is anchored in software technology. Together, HCI&UE provide the emerging potential to assist the daily workflows in the realm of AAL. This special thematic session is devoted to promote a closer collaboration between Psychologists, Pedagogues and Computer Scientists.

The application of already widely available mobile phones would provide medical professionals with an additional possibility of outpatient care, which may reduce medical cost at the same time as providing support to elderly people suffering from chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. To facilitate this, it is essential to apply user centered development methodologies to counteract opposition due to the technological inexperience of the elderly. In this paper, we describe the design and development of a mobile medical application to help deal with chronic diseases in a home environment. The application is called MyMobileDoc and includes a graphical user interface for patients to enter medical data including blood pressure; blood glucose levels; etc. Although we are aware that sensor devices are being marketed to measure this data, subjective data, for example, pain intensity and contentment level must be manually input. We included 15 patients aged from 36 to 84 (mean age 65) and 4 nurses aged from 20 to 33 (mean age 26) in several of our user centered development cycles. We concentrated on three different possibilities for number input. We demonstrate the function of this interface, its applicability and the importance of patient education. Our aim is to stimulate incidental learning, enhance motivation, increase comprehension and thus acceptance.

Augmented Reality (AR) applications are becoming increasingly available for everyday applications. In this paper, we concentrate on how to design and develop applications for educational purposes with the use of the ARToolkit and present an example from the area of human medicine. Since good Usability is essential, especially for non-expert end users, including both children and the elderly, we put particular emphasis on how to ensure good Usability. For both groups of end users, this technology has high potential and can be of great benefit. Within a small scale usability study amongst children, we could gain first experiences in their interaction with such applications. An essential factor is the notion of play, which could be beneficial to transport difficult learning material. On the basis of the gained insight, we provide an outlook for further work and we conclude that elderly could also benefit from this technology.