Design Patterns for Inclusive Collaboration (DePIC)

Our interaction with the world around us relies on perception which exploits combinations of the senses we have available to us. Enabling people to use combinations of senses becomes critical in situations where people who have different senses available to them interact with each other. These differences can arise because of temporary or permanent sensory impairment, or due to the technology they are using. However, very little research has examined how people combine and map information from one sense to another, particularly for individuals with sensory impairments, and then used such mappings to inform the design of technology to make collaboration easier. The aim of this multi-disciplinary project is to develop new ways for people to interact with each other using different combinations of senses. This will reduce barriers to collaboration caused by sensory impairment, and improve social and workplace inclusion by optimising the use of available senses. We will combine empirical studies of mappings between senses with participatory design techniques to develop new ideas for inclusive design grounded in Cognitive Psychology. We will capture these design ideas and mappings in the form of Design Patterns and demonstrate their usefulness through the development of interactive systems to support assisted work, living, and leisure.