Esquivel Paola, Gill Kayden, Chung Cheng-Shiu, Ding Dan, Faieta Julie
Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Human Engineering Research Laboratories, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2025 Feb;20(2):488-497. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2024.2387801. Epub 2024 Aug 8.
Personal smart technologies are becoming increasingly interwoven into everyday life, yet the usability and usefulness for some of these off-the-shelf technologies for persons with disabilities has yet to be determined. Smart speakers with both their native and downloadable functionalities (skills) have great potential to support individuals with disabilities through communication functionalities, smart home integrations, and more. However, the potential for usefulness does not always translate to how something is actually perceived or used in the real-world. Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study was to gather insight from individuals with disabilities on their experiences with smart speakers and smart speaker skills. Participant feedback highlighted several primary themes: (1) external factors that might influence extent of, and advancement in smart speaker use, (2) Smart speaker use barriers, (3) Smart speaker use facilitators, and (4) Smart speaker uses specific to individuals with disabilities. Continued research and development is needed to help ensure that commercially available technologies are designed with universal design principles that will ensure accessibility for all potential users.
个人智能技术正日益融入日常生活，但其中一些现成技术对残疾人的可用性和实用性尚未确定。具备原生和可下载功能（技能）的智能音箱，有很大潜力通过通信功能、智能家居集成等为残疾人提供支持。然而，潜在的实用性并不总能转化为现实世界中人们对某事物的实际认知或使用方式。因此，这项定性研究的目的是深入了解残疾人使用智能音箱及智能音箱技能的体验。参与者的反馈突出了几个主要主题：（1）可能影响智能音箱使用程度和进展的外部因素，（2）智能音箱使用障碍，（3）智能音箱使用促进因素，以及（4）残疾人特有的智能音箱使用方式。需要持续进行研发，以确保商业可用技术按照通用设计原则进行设计，从而确保所有潜在用户都能无障碍使用。
