Title: Bringing universal design and the web of things into the supermarket

Authors: Vanessa R.M.L. Maike; Samuel Bastos Buchdid; Julián Esteban Gutierrez Posada; M. Cecília C. Baranauskas

Addresses: Institute of Computing, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Albert Einstein 1251, Campinas/SP, Brazil ' Institute of Computing, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Albert Einstein 1251, Campinas/SP, Brazil ' Institute of Computing, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Albert Einstein 1251, Campinas/SP, Brazil ' Institute of Computing, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Albert Einstein 1251, Campinas/SP, Brazil

Abstract: While there will ever be a place for developing assistive technology products directed to people with disabilities, design for all implies the development of universally accessible and usable products and services. This means these products should be capable of accommodating individual differences in terms of users' requirements including the contexts of use, devices and environments, representing enormous challenges. In this paper, we faced the challenges by using the novel possibilities brought by the web of things within the design for all paradigms. We illustrated the main ideas proposed with the design of a system prototype to help customers in a supermarket to navigate, find and choose their products. The proposed solution was preliminarily experimented; results of experimentation suggest the viability of the idea and technologies used, and encourage further studies.

Keywords: human-computer interaction; HCI; assistive technology; universal access; inclusive design; universal design; internet of things; IoT; supermarkets; product dicovery; product selection; supermarket navigation; customer navigation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTIS.2015.074645

International Journal of Transitions and Innovation Systems, 2015 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.96 - 110

Received: 04 Oct 2014
Accepted: 04 Oct 2015
Published online: 10 Feb 2016 *

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