Multimodal Input Analysis and Design for a Home Information System

Abstract

Nowadays, we are installing in our homes an increasing number of devices, that are the main access to all kind of information systems. This new generation of digital systems have a common characteristic; they are designed to cover the information needs of the home dwellers. At the same time, they have to possess several ergonomic characteristics. They have to fit in the environment, be easy to use (and to learn how to use), be attractive to the users and, of course, provide the necessary information the users may require. A way to achieve this goal is to offer the users several ways to express their information needs to the system. In this paper we describe the design of a multimodal input subsystem for a home information system. We will discuss how different input modalities as speech, touch and writing can be combined to provide the user many possibilities to perform information-seeking tasks. This paper is based on experiences from the European Commission ESPRIT IV Project no. 29158 FLEX (Flexible Knowledge-based Information Access and Navigation using Multimodal Input / Output).