Usability of JACO Arm Interfaces Designed with a User-Centred Design Method.

Utility, usability and acceptability of robotic arm for helping motor impairment people (quadriplegic, muscular dystrophy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) must be improved. The robotic arm JACO of company ©Kinova is controlled by a joystick, sometimes unusable by patients. The IRIT laboratory has designed three types of virtual interfaces: one based on virtual keyboards and two others on Pie Menu concepts. These interfaces were designed by mean of a user centred design approach (UCDA) including brain storming, focus group, iterative prototyping and trials. Then an experiment is described with two patients (Spinal Muscular Atrophy and cerebral palsy). This experiment shows that the three interfaces designed by a UCDA are usable by them.