Imagine, Interact: Eliciting Accessible Interactions from Users with Motor Impairments via Imagined Input Devices

Abstract: This article presents empirical findings from a study with eleven users with upper-body motor impairments, who imagined input devices and corresponding gestures for performing common tasks in interactive systems. Results show a strong preference for embodied devices, primarily integrated with the hands, and identify ten device archetypes, with smartphones and remote controls being the most frequently envisioned. The study also reveals substantial variability in gesture design, with minimal agreement across participants, reflecting diverse motor abilities. Based on these insights, the authors propose design recommendations grounded in ability-based and ability-mediating design, and outline future directions for imagination-driven accessible computing.

Authors: Radu-Daniel Vatavu, Ovidiu-Ciprian Ungurean

Conference: CHI 2026 – Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Publication: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York, NY, USA

Link: https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3790437