Towards a platform of alternative and adaptive interactive systems for idiosyncratic special needs

Eight participatory workshops were created as a hybrid situation wherein physical and virtual environments were designed to investigate responses of attendees when empowered by noninvasive sensor technology to interactively control responsive multimedia through motion. 144 disabled children and adults attended with caregivers and helpers. Targeted were fun experiences, social interactions, and recognised achievements. Evident was that the majority of disabled attendees joyfully, freely and creatively self-articulated and playfully interacted. However, traditional caregiver role in such situations is questioned following observations from the workshops. Specific design issues, targeted effect-goals, and attendee responses are reported in the paper. Conclusions reflect how such hybrid situations can offer opportunities to assess the dynamic relationships between technical set-ups and related human responses. Strategies are proposed towards future inter/multidisciplinary open research platforms to more fully examine potentials of motion-sensitive environments for this segment of society.