In our study, we found large
differences between participant abilities resulting in
differences in participant responses to our gesture set.
Ability differences included limitations in range of motion
(ROM), in strength affecting the ability of holding and
repeating a gesture, and overall movement speed. Although
the ability of using arms and legs was limited due to
individual impairments that gesture-based interfaces need to
account for, there are also main categories of
institutionalized older adults ability that can be considered –
specifically, the ability of participants to use limbs on both
sides of their body and the presence of wheelchairs.
Completion rates suggest that dynamic gestures were more
challenging for institutionalized older adults, perhaps
because repeated movements are more demanding than
holding a posture. Also, walking gestures were difficult for
participants in wheelchairs; many of the participants were
not able to move their feet independently. Generally, games
need to work around the issue of wheelchair tracking by
using space that is not affected by the chair, such as to the
sides of the player, and removing bulky parts of the chair
(e.g., lowering arm rests or removing lap trays) improves
tracking results. Finally, being instructed by a computer
screen was an unfamiliar experience for many participants.