special issue of media solutions that improve accessibility to disabled users
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UUBBIICCCC JJoouurrnnaallUbiquitous Computing and Communication Journal
2010 Volume 5 . 2010-03-10 . ISSN 1992-8424
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Unconstrained walking plan to virtual environment for spatiallearning by visually impaired
1
Application of virtual reality technologies in rapid developmentand assessment of ambient assisted living environments
8
PIXAR animation studios and disabled personages case study:Finding NEMO
16
Web accessible design centered on user experience 23
First steps towards determining the role of visual information inmusic communication
32
Examining the feasibility of face gesture detection for monitoringusers of autonomous wheel chairs
42
Personal localization in wearable camera platform towardsassistive technology for social interactions
58
UBICC Publishers 2010Ubiquitous Computing and Communication Journal
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Managing Editor Dr. David Fonseca
Ubiquitous Computing and
Communication Journal
Book: 2010 Volume 5
Publishing Date: 2010-03-10
Proceedings
ISSN 1994-4608
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UNCONSTRAINED WALKING PLANE TO VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
FOR SPATIAL LEARNING BY VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Kanubhai K. Patel1, Dr. Sanjay Kumar Vij21School of ICT, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad, India, [email protected]
2Dept. of CE-IT-MCA, SVIT, Vasad, India, [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Treadmill-style locomotion interfaces for locomotion in virtual environmenttypically have two problems that impact their usability: bulky or complex drive
mechanism and stability problem. The bulky or complex drive mechanism
requirement restricts the practical use of this locomotion interface and stability
problem results in the induction of fear psychosis to the user. This paper describesa novel simple treadmill-style locomotion interface that uses manual treadmill with
handles to provide needbased support, thus allowing walking with assured stability.Its simplicity of design coupled with supervised multi-modal training facility
makes it an effective device for spatial learning and thereby enhancing the mobility
skills of visually impaired people. It facilitates visually impaired person in
developing cognitive maps of new and unfamiliar places through virtualenvironment exploration, so that they can navigate through such places with easeand confidence in real. In this paper, we describe the structure and control
mechanism of the device along with system architecture and experimental results
on general usability of the system.
Keywords: assistive technology, blindness, cognitive maps, locomotion interface,Virtual learning environment.
1 INTRODUCTIONUnlike in case of sighted people, spatial
information is not fully available to visually
impaired and blind people causing difficulties intheir mobility in new or unfamiliar locations. This
constraint can be overcome by providing mental
mapping of spaces, and of the possible paths for
navigating through these spaces which are essentialfor the development of efficient orientation and
mobility skills. Orientation refers to the ability tosituate oneself relative to a frame of reference, and
mobility is defined as the ability to travel safely,comfortably, gracefully, and independently [7, 18].
Most of the information required for mental mapping
is gathered through the visual channel [15]. Asvisually impaired people are handicapped to gather
this crucial information, they face great difficulties
in generating efficient mental maps of spaces and,therefore, in navigating efficiently within new or
unfamiliar spaces. Consequently, many visuallyimpaired people become passive, depending on
others for assistance. More than 30% of the blind do
not ambulate independently outdoors [2, 16]. Suchassistance might not be required after a reasonable
number of repeated visits to the new space as thesevisits enable formation of mental map of the new
space subconsciously. Thus, a good number ofresearchers focused on using technology to simulate
visits to a new space for building cognitive maps.Although isolated solutions have been attempted, nointegrated solution of spatial learning to visually
impaired people is available to the best of our
knowledge. Also most of the simulatedenvironments are far away from reality and the
challenge in this approach is to create a near real-life
experience.
Use of advanced computer technology offersnew possibilities for supporting visually impaired
people's acquisition of orientation and mobility skills,by compensating the deficiencies of the impaired
channel. The newer technologies including speechprocessing, computer haptics and virtual reality (VR)
provide us various options in design and
implementation of a wide variety of multimodalapplications. Even for sighted people, such
technologies can be used (a) to enhance the visual
information available to a person in such a way thatimportant features of a scene are presented visibly,
or (b) to train them through virtual environmentleading to create cognitive maps of unfamiliar areas
or (c) to get a feel of an object (using haptics) [16].
Virtual Reality provides for creation ofsimulated objects and events with which people can
interact. The definitions of Virtual Reality (VR),although wide and varied, include a common
statement that VR creates the illusion ofparticipation in a synthetic environment rather than
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going through external observation of such an
environment [5]. Essentially, virtual reality allowsusers to interact with a simulated environment. Users
can interact with a virtual environment eitherthrough the use of standard input devices such as a
keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices
such as a wired glove, the Polhemus boom arm, or
else omni-directional treadmill.Even though in the use of virtual reality with thevisually impaired person, the visual channel is
missing, the other sensory channels can still lead tobenefits for visually impaired people as they engage
in a range of activities in a simulator relatively free
from the limitations imposed by their disability. In
our proposed design, they can do so in safe manner.
We describe the design of a locomotioninterface to the virtual environment to acquire spatial
knowledge and thereby to structure spatial cognitivemaps of an area. Virtual environment is used toprovide spatial information to the visually impaired
people and prepare them for independent travel. Thelocomotion interface is used to simulate walking
from one location to another location. The device isneeded to be of a limited size, allow a user to walk
on it and provide a sensation as if he is walking on
an unconstrained plane.The advantages of our proposed device are as
follows:
It solves instability problem during walking byproviding supporting rods. The limited width of
treadmill along with side supports gives a
feeling of safety and eliminates the possibility
of any fear of falling out of the device.
No special training is required to walk on it. The devices acceptability is expected to be high
due to the feeling of safety while walking on thedevice. This results in the formation of mental
maps without any hindrance.
It is simple to operate and maintain and it haslow weight.The remaining paper is structured as follows:
Section 2 presents the related work. Section 3
describes the structure of locomotion interface used
for virtual navigation of computer-simulated
environments for acquisition of spatial knowledge
and formation of cognitive maps; Section 4 describecontrol principle of locomotion device; Section 5
illustrates the system architecture; while Section 6describe the experiment for usability evaluation,
finally Section 7 concludes the paper and illustrates
future work.
2 RELATED WORKWe have categorized the most common virtualreality (VR) locomotion approaches as follow:
Omni-directional treadmills (ODT) [3, 8, 14, 4], The motion foot pad [10], Walking-in-place devices [19], actuated shoes [11], and
The string walker [12].The basic idea used in these approaches is that a
locomotion interface should cancel the users self
motion in a place to allow the user to move in a large
virtual space. For example, a treadmill can cancelthe users motion by moving its belt in the oppositedirection. Its main advantage is that it does not
require a user to wear any kind of devices asrequired in some other locomotion devices. However,
it is difficult to control the belt speed in order tokeep the user from falling off. Some treadmills can
adjust the belt speed based on the users motion.There are mainly two challenges in using the
treadmills. The first one is the users stability
problem while the second is to sense and change thedirection of walking. The belt in a passive treadmill
is driven by the backward push generated whilewalking. This process effectively balances the userand keeps him from falling off.
The problem of changing the walking direction isaddressed by [1, 6], who employed a handle to
change the walking direction. Iwata & Yoshida [13]developed a 2D infinite plate that can be driven in
any direction and Darken [3] proposed an Omnidirectional treadmill using mechanical belt. Noma &
Miyasato [17] used the treadmill which could turnon a platform to change the walking direction. Iwata
& Fujji [9] used a different approach by developing
a series of sliding interfaces. The user was requiredto wear special shoes and a low friction film was put
in the middle of shoes. Since the user was supported
by a harness or rounded handrail, the foot motion
was canceled passively when the user walked. The
method using active footpad could simulate variousterrains without requiring the user to wear any kind
of devices.
3 STRUCTURE OF LOCOMOTIONINTERFACE
Figure 1: Mechanical structure of locomotion
interface. There are three major parts in the figure:
(a) A motor-less treadmill, (b) mechanical rotating
base, and (c) block containing Servo motor andgearbox to rotate the mechanical base.
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Figure 2: Locomotion interface.
As shown in Figure 1 and 2, our device consists
of a motor-less treadmill resting on a mechanicalrotating base. In terms of its physical characteristics,
our devices upper platform (treadmill) is 54 inlength and 30 wide with an active surface 48 X24. The belt of treadmill contains mat on which 24
stripes along the direction of motion, at a distance of
1 between two stripes. Below each stripe, there are
force sensors that sense the position of feet. Atypical manual treadmill passively rotates as the user
moves on its surface, causing belt to rotate backward
as the user moves forward. Advantages of thispassive (i.e. non-motorized) movement are: (a) to
achieve an almost silent device with negligible-noiseduring straight movement, and (b) the backward
movement of treadmill is synchronized with forwardmovement of user leading thereby jerk-free motion.
(c) Also in case of the trainee stopping to walk as
detected by non-movement of belt, our systemassists and guides the user for further movement.
The side handle support provides the feeling ofsafety and stability to the person which results in
efficient and effective formation of cognitive maps.
Human beings subconsciously place their feet at
angular direction whenever they intend to take a turn.
Therefore the angular positions of the feet on thetreadmill are monitored to determine not only usersintention to take a turn, but also the direction and
desired angle at granularity of 15o.
Rotation control system finds out angle through
which the platform should be turned, and turns the
whole treadmill with user standing on it, on
mechanical rotating base, so that the user can placenext footstep on the treadmills belt. The rotation of
platform is carried out using a servo motor. Servomotor and gearbox are placed in lower block which
is lying under the mechanical rotating base. Our
device also provides for safety mechanism through akill switch, which can be triggered to halt the device
immediately in case the user loses control or loses
his balance.
4 CONTROL PRINCIPLE OFLOCOMOTION DEVICE
Belt of treadmill of device rotates in backward
or forward direction as user moves in forward or
backward direction, respectively, on the treadmill.This is a passive, non-motorized, movement oftreadmill. The backward movement of belt of
treadmill is synchronized with forward movement ofuser leading thereby non-jerking motion. This solves
the problem of stability. For maneuvering, which
involves turning or side-stepping, our Rotation
control system rotates the whole treadmill in
particular direction on mechanical rotating base.In case of turning as shown in Figure 3, when
foot is on more than three strips then user wants toturn and we should rotate the treadmill. If middlestrip of new footstep is on left side of middle strip of
previous footstep then rotation is on left side and ifmiddle strip of new footstep is on right side of
middle strip of previous footstep then rotation is onright side.
Figure 3: Rotation of treadmill for veer left turn
(i.e. 45O) (a) Position of treadmill before turning (b)
after turning
Figure 4: Rotation of treadmill for side-stepping
(i.e. 15O) (a) Before side-stepping and (b) after side-
stepping
In case of side-stepping as shown in Figure 4,
When both feet are on three strips then compare
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distance between current and the previous foot
positions to determine whether side-stepping hastaken placed or not. If it is more than a threshold
value, the side-stepping has taken placed otherwisethere is no side-stepping. If it is equal or less than
maximum gap distance then that is forward step, so
no rotation is performed.
After determining the direction and angle ofrotation, our software sends appropriate signals tothe servo motor to rotate in the desired direction by
given angle and, accordingly, the platform rotates.This process ensures that the user places the next
footstep on the treadmill itself, and do not go off the
belt.
The algorithm to find direction and angle of
turning is based on (a) number of strips pressed byleft foot (nl), (b) number of strips pressed by right
foot (nr), (c) distance between middle strips of twofeet (dist) and (d) threshold for the distance betweenmiddle strips of two feet. The outputs are direction
(Left Turn - lt, Right Turn - rt, Left Side stepping - ls,or Right Side stepping rs) and angle to turn.
Different possible cases of turning and sidesteppingare shown in Figure 5.
ALGORITHM
1: if (nl>3) && (dist>d) then //Case-1
2: find
3: left_turn = true //i.e. return lt
4: elseif (nl==3) && (dist>d) then //Case2
5: = 15o
6: left_side_stepping = true //i.e. return ls
7: elseif (nl>3) && (dist3) && (dist>d) then //Case411: find
12: right_turn = true //i.e. return rt
13: elseif (nr==3) && (dist>d) then //Case5
14: = 15o
15: right_side_stepping = true //i.e. return rs
16: elseif (nr>3) && (dist
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Figure 6: Screen shot of Computer-simulatedenvironments
Additionally, occurrences of various events such
as (i) arrival of a junction, (ii) arrival of object(s) ofinterest, etc. are signaled by sound through speakers
or headphones. Whenever the cursor is moved nearan object, its sound features are activated, and acorresponding specific sound or a pre-recorded
message is heard by the participant. Participant canalso get information regarding orientation and
nearby objects, whenever needed, through help keys.The Simulator also generates audible alert when the
participant is approaching any obstacle. During
training, the Simulator continuously checks andrecords participants navigating style (i.e. normal
walk or drunkard/random walk) and the pathfollowed by the user when encountered with
obstacles.
Once the user gets confident and memorizes the
path and landmarks between source and destination,he navigates by using second mode of navigationthat is without systems help and tries to reach the
destination. The Simulator records participantsnavigation performance, such as path traversed, time
taken, distance traveled and number of steps taken to
complete this task. It also records the sequence of
objects encountered on the traversed path and the
positions where he seemed to have some confusion(and hence took relatively longer time). The DataCollection module keeps receiving the data from
Force Sensors, which is sent to VR system formonitoring and guiding the navigation. Feet position
data are also used for sensing the users intention to
take a turn, which is directed to the motor planning(rotation) module to rotate the treadmill.
6 EXPERIMENT FOR USABILITYEVALUATION
The evaluation consists of an analysis of timerequired and number of steps taken to train to
competence with our locomotion interface (LI), ascompared to other navigation method like keyboard
(KB), and comments from users that suggest areas
for improvement. The experimental tasks were to
travel two kinds of routes, one is easy path (with 2turns) and other is complex path (with 5 turns).
6.1 Participants16 blind male students, ranging from 17 to 21
years old and unknown about place equally divided
in to two groups, learned to form the cognitive mapsfrom a virtual environment exploration. Participantsin first group used our locomotion interface (LI) and
participants in second group used keyboard (KB) toexplore the virtual environment. Each repeated the
task 8 times, taking maximum 5 minutes for each
trial.
6.2 ApparatusUsing Virtual Environment Creator, we
designed virtual environment based on ground floorof our institute AESICS (as shown in Figure 6),which has three corridors and eight
landmarks/objects. It has one main entrance.Our system lets the participant to form cognitive
maps of unknown areas by exploring virtualenvironments. It can be considered an application of
learning-by-exploring principle for acquisition of
spatial knowledge and thereby formation ofcognitive maps using computer-simulated
environment. Computer-simulated virtualenvironment guides the blind through speech bydescribing surroundings, guiding directions, and
giving early information of a turning, crossings, etc.
Additionally, occurrences of various events (e.g.
arrival of a junction, arrival of object(s) of interest,etc.) are signaled by sound through speakers or
headphones.
6.3 MethodThe following two tasks were given to
participants:
Task 1: Go to the Faculty Room starting from ClassRoom G5.
Task 2: Go to the Computer Laboratory starting
from Main Entrance.
Task 1 is somewhat easier than Task 2. Onesimple path, with only two turns, and other little bit
more complex, with five turns.Before participants began their 8 trials, they
spent a few minutes using the system in a simplevirtual environment. The duration of the practicesession (determined by the participant) was typically
about 3 minutes. This gave the participants enough
training to familiarize themselves with the controls,
but not enough time to train to competence, before
the trials began.
6.4 ResultTable 1 and 2 show that participants performed
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reasonably well while navigating using locomotion
interface in both the paths.
Table 1: Avg. Number of Steps Taken for Each
Trial
Trial 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
LI EP 54 52 51 48 45 43 42 41LI CP 90 86 83 76 72 70 70 65
KB EP 58 57 55 54 52 50 51 49
KB CP 93 91 90 88 85 83 82 80
Table 2: Avg. Time (in Minutes) Taken for Each
Trial
Trial 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
LI
EP
2.4 2.2 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.2
LICP
4.2 4.1 3.9 3.4 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.3
KBEP 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1
KB
CP
4.6 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.1 3.9 3.8 3.6
On first path condition, task was completed on
average with fewer than 41 steps. While in complexpath condition, task was completed on average with
fewer than 65 steps. Average time was less than 1.2
minutes for easy path and 2.3 minutes for complexpath.
Participants performed relatively not good whilenavigating using keyboard in both the paths. On first
path condition, task was completed on average with49 steps. While in complex path condition, task was
completed on average with 80 steps. Average time
was less than 2.1 minutes for easy path and 3.6minutes for complex path.
Avg. Number of Steps taken
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Trial Number
Avg.Num
berofSteps
LI EP
LI CP
KB EP
KB CP
Figure 7: Avg. Number of Steps taken for two
different paths using LI and KB
Avg. Time (Minutes) taken to complete tasks
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Trial Number
A
vg.Tim
e
(in
M
inutes)
LI EP
LI CP
KB EP
KB CP
Figure 8: Avg. Time (in Minutes) for two differentpaths using LI and KB
Above figures show that locomotion interfaceusers reasonably improved their performances (time
and number of steps taken) over the course of the 8trials. However, time required during initial trials
would reduce significantly after 3 trials. To stabilize
the performance users may need 4 trials or more.User comments support this understanding:
The foot movements did not become natural until
4-5 trials with LI.The exploration got easier each time.I found it somewhat difficult to move with the LI.
As I explored, I got better.
Even after the 8 trials of practice, LI users still
reported some difficulty moving and maneuvering.These comments point us to elements of the
interface that still need improvement.
I had difficulty making immediate turns in the
virtual environment.
Walking on LI needs more efforts than realwalking.
7 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKThis paper presents a new concept for a
locomotion interface that consists of a one-
dimensional passive treadmill mounted on a
mechanical rotating base. As a result the user canmove on an unconstrained plane. The novel aspect is
sensing of rotations by measuring the angle of foot
placement. Measured rotations are then convertedinto rotations of the entire treadmill on a rotary base.
The proposed device although is of limited size but itgives a user the sensation of walking on an
unconstrained plane. Its simplicity of design coupled
with supervised multi-modal training facility makesit an effective device for virtual walking simulation.
Experiment results indicate the pre-eminence oflocomotion interface over method of using keyboard
for virtual environment exploration. These results
have implications for using locomotion interface forthe visually impaired to structure the cognitive maps
of an unknown places and thereby to enhance themobility skills of them.
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We tried to make a simple yet effective, loud-
less non-motorized locomotion device that helpsuser to hear the audio guidance and feedback
including contextual help of virtual environment. Infact, absence of mechanical noise reduces the
distraction during training thereby minimizing the
obstructions in the formation of mental maps. The
specifications and detailing of the design were basedon the series of interactions with selected blindpeople. Authors do not intend to claim that their
proposed device is the ultimate one. Howeverlocomotion interfaces have the advantage of
providing a physical component and stimulation of
the proprioceptive system that resembles the feeling
of real walking.
We do feel that the experimental results lead toimprovements in the device to become more
effective. One known limitation of our device is itsinability to simulate movements on slopes. We planto take up this enhancement in our future work.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We acknowledge Prof. H. B. Daves suggestions at
various stages during our studies and work leading
to this research paper.
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APPLICATION OF VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGIES IN RAPID
DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF AMBIENT ASSISTED
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS
Viveca Jimenez-Mixco, Antonella Arca, Jose Antonio Diaz-Nicolas, Juan Luis Villalar , MariaFernanda Cabrera-Umpierrez, Maria Teresa Arredondo, Pablo Manchado, Maria Garcia-Robledo
Life Supporting Technologies, Technical University of Madrid, Spain
SIEMENS S.A., Spain
ABSTRACTIn the current society, where the group of elderly and people with disabilities is
constantly growing, especially due to the increase in life expectancy, it is
becoming a must for ICT developers to provide systems that meet the needs of this
community regarding accessibility and usability and enhance their quality of life
consequently. Ambient Assisted Living, intended to help people live
independently, with autonomy and security, is one of the most promising solutions
that are coming up to address this technological challenge. This paper presents theapproach proposed in the context of VAALID European funded project to make
possible real rapid prototyping of accessible and usable Ambient Intelligence
solutions, by integrating Virtual Reality simulation tools in the development cycle
as well as appropriate user interfaces. The first functional prototype has been
planned for March 2010 and will be evaluated during six months in three pilot sites
with up to 50 users, starting on May 2010.
Keywords: Virtual reality, ambient assisted living, rapid application development,
assessment, accessibility, usability.
1 INTRODUCTIONNowadays Society is facing a process where life
expectancy is gradually but constantly increasing. As
a result, the group of elderly people is growing to
become one of the most significant in the entire
population [1]. This also means that the prevalence of
physical and cognitive impairments is increasing in
proportion. Elderly people usually suffer from vision
deficiencies (yellowish and blurred image), hearing
limitations (especially at high frequencies) motor
impairments (for selection, execution and feedback)
and slight deterioration of their cognitive skills [2]. In
this context, providing the elderly and people with
disabilities with accessible systems and services that
could improve their level of independence, and thus
enhance their quality of life, has become a must for
ICT developers such as usability engineers and
interaction designers. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)
is one of the solutions that are beginning to address
this technological challenge.
The concept of Ambient Assisted Living
represents a specific, user-oriented type of Ambient
Intelligence (AmI). It comprises technological and
organisational-institutional solutions that can help
people to live longer at the place they like most,
ensuring a high quality of life, autonomy and security
[3]. AAL solutions are sensitive and responsive to the
presence of people and provide assistive propositions
for maintaining an independent lifestyle [4].
Within this complex and continuously evolving
framework, it is very challenging to technologically
meet all users needs and requirements regarding
accessibility and usability along the development
process. Accessibility is a prerequisite for basic use of
products by as many users as possible, in particular
elderly persons and persons with sensory, physical or
cognitive disabilities. Usability denotes the ease with
which these products or services can be used to
achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency
and satisfaction in a specified context of use [5].
These aspects should be taken into account during the
product design ideally from early stages, following a
more interactive and iterative design-development-
testing procedure. The major problem lies in the
global cost of the design and development process,
which can be critically increased, since AmI solutions
involve complex features such as ubiquity, context
awareness, smartness, adaptiveness and computing
embedded in daily life goods.
Life Supporting Technologies, the research group
responsible of this paper, has been addressing for
years the convergence of domotics and accessibility.
As a result of this process, the group is exploring the
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application of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in the
process of design and development of accessible
solutions for elderly and people with any kind of
disability. One of the achievements in this area was
the establishment of a living lab at the Technical
University of Madrid that allowed the assessment of
the user experience of people with disabilities in smart
homes using two key technologies: virtual reality and
domotics [6].
The living lab integrated a VR application into a
real smart home installation. It was configurable for
different settings and user profiles, and capable of
supporting multimodal interaction through a set of VR
and other commonly used devices and displays. The
design and implementation process ran under the
Design-For-All principles, taking into account
concepts such as usability, adaptability, multimodality
and standardisation. The living lab resulted in a useful
tool for interaction designers and usability engineers
to immerse users in a virtual environment and assess,
through the application, their experience in terms of
interaction devices, modalities and reactions within
smart home environments. Based on this assessment,
designers would be able to develop new concepts with
users, improve existing solutions, and explore, forinstance, the possibilities of innovative AAL products
and services.
The preliminary encouraging results allowed
envisioning multiple possibilities of VR on the
process of providing people with disabilities with
more adapted access to domotic-related applications.
However, this solution had important limitations,
especially as it required a significant amount of
implementation effort to finally address the
assessment of user experience in just one single
environment integrating a pre-defined set of products
and services.This paper presents an approach proposed in the
context of the European funded project VAALID that
extends the key concepts applied in this living lab,
providing an easier method to create virtual
environments and implement interactivity, enabling
dynamic changes of environment conditions and
characteristics, and allowing a thorough evaluation of
users and real-time interaction techniques. An
authoring tool will be developed in order to enable
real rapid prototyping and validation of accessible and
usable AmI solutions, by integrating Virtual Reality
(VR) tools and appropriate user interfaces. This
approach will bridge the gap between planning AmI
scenarios and their build-up and assessment in realityfrom the very beginning in the development process,
reducing the global design and development effort.
2 VAALID CONCEPTVAALID is a European research project that aims
to develop advanced computer-aid engineering tools
that will allow ICT developers, especially those ones
that design AAL products and services, to optimise
and make more efficient the whole process of user
interaction design and to validate usability and
accessibility at all development stages, following a
User Centred Design (UCD) process.
The VAALID platform will utilise VR
technologies to provide an immersive environment
with 3D virtual ambient, specifically created for each
possible use scenario, where AAL users can
experience new interaction concepts and techno-
elements, interactively. The usage of VAALID tools
will make feasible, both economically and technically,
the Universal Design of AAL solutions which have
the potential of being acceptable by most persons
since their needs are taken into account proactively
during the development phases.
The methodology proposed to address AAL
solutions is based on a UCD approach, drawing
together the practical, emotional and social aspects of
people's experience and bringing on the needed
innovation that delivers real user benefit. For that
reason, the UCD is particularly useful when a new
product or service is to be introduced, as it is the case
of AAL solutions. The methodology consists of four
iterative phases of design, development and evaluation,where both usability engineers and interaction
designers must participate, involving AAL users (i.e.
elderly and people with disabilities) all along the
process [7]:
Concept. First, AAL solution requirements mustbe extracted, including the functions that the
proposed solution provides and how it reacts and
behaves, as well as the constraints that should be
considered in the design process.
Design. Once the requirements are well identified,developers define the specifications of the AAL
solution, taking into account all significant facetsthat may have influence on the development
process. Low-fidelity virtual prototypes of the
AAL solution, including 3D virtual AAL-enabled
spaces, are built to reflect all aspects of the
conceptual design, and further evaluated by users.
Design iterations are driven by users feedback in
terms of acceptance and accessibility issues until
requirements are met.
Implementation. This phase involves the creationof real and fully functional high-fidelity AAL
solution prototypes, with the aim of transforming
the validated conceptual design into a concrete and
detailed solution. The components developed at
this stage must be tested against its accessibilityfeatures, and improvements or corrective actions
must be addressed accordingly.
Validation. Finally, the implementation of AALsolution prototypes is evaluated and assessed,
detecting usability issues both automatically and
with potential end users.
This methodology allows virtually simulating
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each aspect of an AAL product/service and validating
it before the real implementation. The whole process
involves both virtual and mixed reality elements. The
simulation in the design phase requires mainly 3D
virtual environments to reproduce the conceptual
design of the solution; the implementation phase goes
a step further and adds the possibility to use mixed
reality elements, so that real functional prototypes can
be tested within virtual environments as well.
In order to permit developers to apply this
methodology across all the stages of the design cycle,
and thus make possible a rapid development of AAL
solutions and further assessment with users, the
VAALID platform will be structured in two parts: the
Authoring Framework and the Simulation Framework.
The Authoring Framework will provide the ICT
designer with the appropriate components to deal with
the three main pillars of an AAL solution, including
the creation of user profiles, the modification of AAL-
enabled 3D spaces (including sensors, communication
networks and interaction devices and functions), the
creation of virtual user-interaction devices (which may
be embedded in daily life objects) and new concepts
for devices and products. These individual
components will be afterward validated as anintegrated environment in the Simulation Framework.
The VAALID project started on May 2008 and
the first functional prototype of the VAALID platform
is planned for March 2010. This prototype will be
evaluated during six months in three pilot sites
(Germany, Italy, Spain) with up to 50 users, starting
on May 2010.
2.1 Target UsersVAALID target users can be divided into three
main groups: Primary users: Designers of AAL solutions that
will use VAALID as a professional instrument.
This group includes Interaction Engineers, who
design the structure of the simulation, building the
seniors profile and defining the interaction modes
with the environment, and Usability Engineers,
who plan the interface among AAL services and
senior citizens, through the study of their
interactions with the VAALID system.
Beneficiaries: The main target group of users whowill benefit from the results of using VAALID
tools. They will be:
Elderly people over 60 years old that mayhave light hearing/sight problems, mobilityimpairments, or the normal declined cognitive
and physical abilities related to age.
Young people with hearing/sight/mobilityproblems, or
Any other group of users that may profitfrom accessible AAL solutions.
Secondary users: All those users that may benefitindirectly from VAALID, using it as a consultancy
service. They are:
Architects, construction planners, carecentres, suppliers of interaction devices, public
administration, interior designers and other
stakeholders who work for companies that buy
and develop AAL services.
System designers, who implement AALsolutions validating usability and accessibility of
their products, like sensors, actuators or control
software.
2.2 Sample ScenarioThe potential use of VAALID can be illustrated
through the following simplified scenario: A small
company specialised in AAL wants to develop a
service for detecting fall of elderly people when they
are alone at home; if a fall is detected, an alarm is
generated and automatically sent to an emergency
centre.
Following the VAALID approach (see Fig. 1), an
interaction designer creates first a new project in the
Authoring Framework.
Figure 1: Development cycle proposed in VAALID.
He selects the user profile of a person over 80
with moderate hearing problems, and VAALID
automatically limits the possible elements and features
consistent with that profile. He imports an AutoCAD
model of a house, previously created in an architect
studio for the company, and adds to the 3D model all
the sensors and objects that will be involved. He also
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selects from the libraries the service Fall down and
redesigns this model adding all the needed elements
for the service to work properly. In this case, he
decides to embed the sensors in a carpet in each room
of the house. By running the simulation in the
Simulation Framework he can check whether the
service has been correctly defined: the service
workflow is coherent, the sensors involved are placed
correctly around the house, all the features are defined
in accordance with the user profile, etc.
Now, the designer requires a real user to test the
service in a realistic environment to gather his opinion.
In the simulation room, which has been equipped with
specialised VR technologies, they use specific glasses
to get immersed in the virtual scene of the house.
Among the different options available in the
simulation room, the designer decides that the easiest
way for the user to simulate movements is body
gesture. After a short training, the user is capable of
moving around and interacts with the house. He lies
down in the floor of the simulation room to simulate a
fall, and therefore he can experience what would
happen in case he had really fallen down, and how the
alarm service would react. He asks the designer to
change the dimensions and the position of the carpet,and to reduce the time that the system should wait
before launching the alarm. The designer sets the new
preferences of the user in real-time.
At this point, the service is being simulated in a
3D environment with virtual elements; afterwards,
once the concept is fully defined and the prototype of
the smart carpet is created, it can be assessed in a
more realistic approach through a mixed reality
environment. This means that the carpet can be taken
out of the virtual scene, and instead, the real prototype
is tested by the user at the same simulation room. Thus,
enabling the simultaneous usage of virtual and realelements, the service can be validated before the
construction of a real living lab.
Several scenarios describing similar possible
situations were examined by experts from different
profiles, including interaction designers and usability
engineers, and their impressions and recommendations
regarding the main aspects of the VAALID concept
such as working with elderly, 3D and virtual reality
technologies have been taken into account for the final
definition of the characteristics and functionalities of
the Authoring and Simulation Frameworks.
2.3 Authoring FrameworkThe Authoring Framework [8] is a tool created for
interaction designers and usability engineers. Its main
objective is to support them to build the core element
that composes an AAL service simulation context.
The appearance of the Authoring Tool is based on the
look and feel of Eclipse (centre stage, properties tab,
project browser, etc.) so that an intuitive interface
helps the developer to rapidly create the virtual
environment where the user moves for tests. It can be
personalised and configured to fit the needs of each
designer, providing also a help section.
According to the RAD (Rapid Application
Development) methodology [9], this tool allows to
create a model containing all those templates that will
be integrated and then executed inside of the
Simulation Framework. The AAL simulation is
created from a conjunction of templates stored in a
project, the basic component of the Authoring
Framework. Every simulation is stored as a single
project that is composed of three elements: User
Model, Environment, and AAL Service. Each of these
elements is created by editing pre-existing
characteristics described as properties and behaviour.
Properties are defined through ontologies that
represent static features of a single model; behaviours
are described as workflows of the element in relation
with other elements by means of interaction. Through
this kind of information the designer can build models
in a rapid way following user needs.
2.3.1Authoring ToolkitThe Authoring Framework workspace is divided
in three editors, one for each model (Fig. 2):
User Model Builder. The term User here isreferred to the beneficiaries of VAALID, i.e.
elderly or people with disabilities people. This user
editor defines the user profile including physical,
sensory and cognitive abilities. This kind of
information is collected during the design and
testing phases when creating AAL services.
Functions implicated in this builder are: creating a
new User Model from scratch; importing or
exporting an existing User Model, by exchanging
profiles between the current Project and theLibrary (or Repository); and removing the User
Model associated to the current Project. The same
actions are available for the Behaviour of a User
Model, which can be imported, removed, exported
or associated to another User Model.
Environment Model Builder. The EnvironmentModel reproduces a standard real place with a
series of properties. This editor allows developing
the 3D simulation environment where users can be
immersed, like in a real assisted world, and try
new interaction modes and new (virtual)
interaction devices. Pre-existing 3D models can be
used to compose an Environment Model: common
objects (including rooms, furniture or in generalarchitectural elements), interaction devices (like
sensors and actuators) and complex devices (a
combination of the previous ones). Objects are
characterised by their properties; interaction
devices have also a behaviour. Complex devices
have the same characteristics of an interaction
device but are represented by a set of related
sensors and actuators, targeted to a unique and
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specific function, as a single composite device. An
innovative feature is the possibility to browse
among existing objects within the VAALID
Library, allowing refining and reusing components,
starting from a CAD program or a 3D animation
tool which export objects as VRML or X3D files.
To make the simulation more realistic the designer
can make some minor modifications in dimensions
and positions of the objects inside a scene.
Similarly to the User Model, environments and
objects are composed by properties and behaviour,
and can be imported, exported, retrieved from the
Library and edited through graphical metaphors.
AAL Service Compositor. This tool is an editor forthe creation of an AAL Service Model, which is
mainly described as a workflow, providing links
between user and objects of the scene. It
essentially acts as a controller that processes
information coming from sensors, triggered by
explicit or implicit user actions, and consequently
activates relevant actuators (i.e. security systems,
lighting, heating/air conditioning), consistently
with the service specifications.
Figure 2: Authoring Framework scheme.
Three data layers are handled and exchanged for
most of the modelled elements:
Representation: graphical components that permitvisualisation of each element and interaction with
the designer.
Instance: structure of classes that holds the actualelement model and allows its management by Java
modules.
File: raw data that keep the element descriptionwhen stored in a drive or the library.
Once created, every model can be exported to the
VAALID Repository for reuse in further projects. Thisway the Authoring Framework gives the possibility to
have an increasing amount of models to use in
different simulations or execute many variants of the
same simulation. Finally, the Project Editor integrates
the three tools for editing models of user, environment
and AAL service in a common framework in order to
manage a single simulation.
2.3.2Authoring Implementation FactsAccording to the software architecture defined,
each tool works using collaborative modules,
managing and sharing pieces of software. The usage
of Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) is a step
forward towards the implementation phase. This
particular distribution includes the subset of
components which are natively used to construct the
own Eclipse framework. In this sense, client
applications developed under Eclipse RCP share the
same software infrastructure of Eclipse, taking profit
from advanced built-in functionalities such as:
Native visual elements of the Eclipse deploymentplatform.
Perspective management, enabling differentsoftware views sharing the same data model.
Plugin-based architecture, facilitating versioncontrol and modular development.
Auto-update functionality that facilitates softwaremaintenance.
Integrated high-quality help files.Project Editor
User
Model
Builder
Environment
Model
Builder
AAL
Service
Compositor
3D Model
Manager
Ontology
Manager
Workflow
Manager
VRML
Parser
Ontology
Parser
Workflow
Parser
Representation
Instances
Files
Repository
File Manager
Figure 3: Authoring Framework modules diagram.
These capabilities enable certain advanced
capabilities of the VAALID user interface concept,
like the usage of perspectives to facilitate seamless
transition between Authoring and Simulation
Frameworks as well as to access content through
different views and levels of detail (e.g. object
browsers, flexible lists, 2D/3D floor plans), dependingon user preferences and expertise. Individualisation of
screen layout is also possible because RCP exploits
the native potential of the same visual components of
Eclipse.
Regarding the multi-developer condition of the
VAALID software, the RCP architecture based on
plugins allows modular independence among
implementation teams, considering each plugin as an
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additional element of the final software framework.
The auto-update feature will help in this modular
approach, assisting in the adoption of updated plugin
versions as soon as they are released. The integrated
help infrastructure will make possible a low-effort
extra support for VAALID designers.
As shown in Fig. 3, each editor in the Authoring
Framework is composed of two main parts: Element
Manager (Ontology Manager, Workflow Manager and
3D Model Manager) and Element Parsers (Ontology
Parser, Workflow Parser and VRML Parser). The
Element Manager performs the translation between
instances and graphical representations, while keeping
in memory the actual model of the elements.
Particularly the Ontology Manager holds a more
relevant role since it acts as a kind of overall
controller, calling the other elements managers when
required. The Element Parser is responsible for
converting instances to files and vice versa, verifying
that each element maintains a convenient format. To
end with, it is remarkable that, according to the overall
VAALID architecture, the Authoring Framework
shares the same instance structure and memory with
the Simulation Environment, in particular with the
Simulation Control Panel. This assures seamlesstransition and permanent data consistency between
both frameworks.
2.3.3Viewing 2D/3D SpacesOne of the most innovative features of VAALID
is the integration of 3D technologies in the Authoring
Framework so as to dynamise and smooth the progress
of designing and evaluating AAL services. In addition
to the 3D view of the floor plan, the Authoring
Framework provides also a 2D view in which it is
possible to select objects and have a clearer idea ofdistances and orientation of all those elements that are
present in the scene. Selections are synchronised so as
the system automatically performs the changes in both
views.
The Eclipse RCP platform provides some
functionalities to facilitate 3D management. The use
of perspectives and views permits immediate changing
between 2D and 3D floorplans sharing the same data
model imported from the original VRML file. The
actions/views mechanisms enable direct manipulation
of objects from the environment taking into account
different selection sources (browser, flexible list,
floorplans, workflow editor, history lists, etc.). The 3D
Model Manager supports 3D rendering and navigation,allowing rotation, zoom and tilt within the user view,
while detecting object collision.
2.4 Simulation FrameworkOnce the individual elements are defined, the
process of creation of experimental AAL
environments needs a testing and assessment phase.
Thus, apart from a core set of technologies and
software building components, there is a need [10] of
appropriate facilities that offer the possibility of:
Testing different technical solutions from the
point of view of their overall usefulness to users.
Providing a common environment for testing
cooperative activities and virtual spaces.
Usually, testing ambient behaviour and interaction
is only possible in real laboratories. The innovation of
this approach is that it will be possible to test and
assess AAL scenarios, products and services across all
the development process in virtual environments,
before experimenting in real contexts.
The models (service, user and environment),
previously defined in the Authoring Framework, are
put together and run in the Simulation Framework
during the different stages of the development.
Simulations provide feedback to developers about the
accessibility, usability and user acceptance of the
human-environment interaction. The Simulation
Framework is composed of two main tools (Fig. 4):
the Simulation Control Panel, which allows
developers to configure and run the simulations, and
the 3D engine or AAL Services interaction simulator,which is a renderer for the 3D scenes, based on Instant
Reality system. Both of them communicate with a
workflow engine, which is in charge of executing all
the workflows related to a simulation.
Figure 4: Simulation Framework scheme.
There are two types of simulation-validation tests
that engineers can perform: A first type is done with virtual users. These are
models of users defined within the Authoring
Framework, and characterised by behaviour
models. This phase of assessment is important for
the integration of the different interactionmodalities, since it allows definition and
refinement of the behaviour model in any stage of
the design process. Engineers can check
constraints that state incompatible values for
specific properties of the different elements
defined in the AAL scenario.
The second type involves real users in animmersive environment (3D virtual environment).
Users will be allowed to experience real-time
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interaction with an AAL environment using both
virtual and tangible interaction devices. A virtual
interaction device can be a sensor or an actuator
represented in the 3D virtual environment; a
tangible device (or simulation control) is physical
equipment that enables interaction between the
user and the virtual environment. The feedback
from real users to designers will be critical in the
process to meet their specific needs and
requirements. At the moment, the project is
exploring the feasibility of integrating several
simulation controls to the platform, such as
Nintendo Wii Remote, Intersense Head Tracking,
LED-based Gloves, Visual Hand Control or
Android Mobile Phone. These controls will be
extensively assessed during the pilot tests, with the
aim of finding the most adapted solution for each
user.
The possibility of performing these assessment
phases during the design process of AAL solutions,
before building up real living labs, has key benefits
such as saving of time and costs. In addition, users can
participate in a controlled environment, since VR
technologies assure safe and secure interaction. Thisdoes not mean that evaluation in a real living lab has
to be avoided, but that any further interaction
experiment will be enriched by the results obtained in
the preliminary design process.
2.4.1Study Case: Using an Android Mobile PhoneAs stated before, VAALID aims at providing VR-
founded tools that make easy the process of designing
accessible solutions for ambient intelligence
environments. The objective is to allow engineers to
pre-validate innovative services with final users in arealistic setting using virtual scenarios, as a first filterbefore the actual validation in living labs. One
important step in the investigation is the testing of
different interaction devices in order to test the
immersion feeling of users in joining the simulation.
Figure 5: Testing VR using a smart phone.
Taking advantage of the flexibility of Instant
Reality and the multimodal characteristics of the new
generation of smart phones, a special setting was
prepared to perform some technical and usability tests
[11]. Several engineers were told to explore and
interact with a 3D scene using an Android-based
mobile device (i.e. HTC Magic smart phone),
analysing the execution of some pre-defined tasks,
such as moving around, finding objects or grab a book.
After considering different approaches,
multimodal user interaction was defined using the
handheld device as follows, focusing on haptic
interfaces (Fig. 5):
Device rotation (i.e. forwards, backwards,clockwise and counter-clockwise): performs 3D
movements within the virtual environment
(respectively: advance, retreat, turn right and turn
left).
Finger dragging over touchscreen: performshorizontal movements of the virtual pointer.
Trackball rotation: performs vertical movements ofthe virtual pointer.
Trackball click: sequentially picks up/releases aparticular virtual object.
Vibrator: provides vibration feedback to the userwhen the virtual pointer collides with the virtual
object.
Considering the collected data, preliminary
results show that users feel comfortable in using the
device and defined the experience as realistic,
although there are valuable suggestions to improve the
interaction (e.g. allow sensitiveness calibration). From
a technical point of view, this can be taken as a good
starting point for future work with VR-based
applications, although further research is required
concerning its suitability for elderly users.
3 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONAccessibility and usability concepts are currently
considered within a limited range of ICT applications
and services, mostly constraining its usage to research
and development activities and presenting significant
reservations when dealing with production and
deployment phases. Although the seven principles of
the universal design or Design for All [12] are well
known and applicable to a wide variety of domains,
business stakeholders are still highly reticent to apply
them in practice. This lack of commitment with the
elderly and disabled community, in particular whendesigning AAL solutions is mainly due to the high
costs involved in the iterative design-development-
testing procedure and the considerable time effort
needed to meet users needs.
On the other hand, the adoption of VR
technologies seems to confront with the purpose of
designing services for people with disabilities, as few
initiatives have been carried out in this field regarding
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accessibility requirements. Most of them deal with
people with cognitive disabilities (dementia, autism,
schizophrenia, Down's syndrome, etc.), proposing
simple virtual worlds where users get immersed in
order to learn some tasks, acquire some habits or
recover some capabilities under a controlled scenario.
Nevertheless, VR has been proven to offer significant
advantages for persons with all kinds of disabilities. It
can present virtual worlds where users can be trained
or learn in a controlled environment, and then apply
the skills acquired to a real context. VR technologies
can be adapted to a wide range of users and needs, and
at the same time, users abilities and experience can be
assessed in order to reach an optimal adaptation
The work proposed in this paper brings together
all these issues into a technological approach that will
have a beneficial impact for all the involved parts: The
ICT designer will be able to evaluate the suitability of
the proposed solutions with a significant reduction of
the global design and development effort; business
stakeholders will have a cost-effective solution and
therefore new market opportunities, and finally, end-
users will be provided with new services to improve
their quality of life, and even better, they will be able
to active and critically participate in the process ofcreation of these services.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work has been partially funded by the
European Union in the context of the VAALID project
(ICT-2007-224309), coordinated by SIEMENS S.A.
The project started in 1st
May 2008, and will finish in
31st October 2010. The VAALID consortium is
composed of the following partners: SIEMENS S.A,
ITACA, Fh-IGD, UNIPR, VOLTA, UID, SPIRIT and
UPM.
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Principles of Universal Design, Assistive
Technology 10, No. 1, 412 (1998).
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PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS AND DISABLED PERSONAGES.
CASE STUDY: FINDING NEMO
Jaume DuranUNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA, Barcelona, [email protected]
David FonsecaGTM / LA SALLE - UNIVERSITAT RAMON LLULL, Barcelona, Spain
ABSTRACT
Many of the different characters that appear in the computer animated movies ofPixar Animation Studios are personages. From a dramaturgical point of view, these
can be linked with the concept ofArchetype. The same types of personages appear inall times and in all cultures. The universal patterns make it possible for theexperience to be shared in different histories. These patterns do not identify concreteidiosyncrasies, but they function as a temporary development in a story for thepurpose of enriching of it. Another way of interpreting the personages of a narrativehistory is to consider them as complementary facets of the main character (the hero).As the history develops, the characteristics of these personages modify thepersonality of the future hero. The aim of this work is to analyze the influence ofthese complementary personages in the transformation of the main character andexamine whether the presence of a disability is used to obtain this transformation.As we will see, not only do we find personages whose disability affects thedevelopment of the protagonist, but others that simply fulfill other secondaryfunctions. The base of the presented study are the seven first full-length films
produced by Pixar, but we will center on the particular case ofFinding Nemo.
Keywords: Computer Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Dramaturgy
1 A METHODE: THE TRIP OF THE HEROChristopher Vogler [33] related the mythical
structures and their mechanisms to the art of writingnarrative works and scripts, after studying theproposals of Joseph Campbell [2], and Carl GustavJung [13, 14, 15]. To do so, he divided thetheoretical trip of the fiction hero in twelve stagesand enumerated up to seven archetypes.
According to Vogler, most histories arecomposed of a few structural elements that we alsofind in universal myths, in stories, in movies, andeven in sleep. In them, the hero, generally theprotagonist, leaves their daily environment toembark on a journey that will lead them through aworld full of challenges. It can be a real trip, with aclear destination and definite purpose, or it can bean interior trip, which can take place in the mind,heart or spirit. In any case, the hero ends upsuffering changes, and growing throughout.
There are twelve stages that compose this trip:
The Ordinary World: the first stage whenthe hero appears in their daily environmentand their ordinary world.
The Call to Adventure: the second stagewhen the hero will generally face a
problem and an adventure will appearbefore them.
The Rejection of the Adventure: the thirdstage when frequently the hero refuses thecall to action.
The Meeting with the Mentor: the fourthstage when the personage of the mentorappears.
The Passage of the First Threshold: thefifth stage when the hero begins theadventure.
Tests, Allied Forces, Enemies: the sixthstage when new challenges are revealed
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and at the same time the hero is presentedwith new allies and hostile enemies.
The Approach to the Deepest Cavern: theseventh stage when the hero prepares astrategy for the definitive moment and getsrid of the last impediments before
continuing.
The Odyssey or the Calvary: the eighthstage when the hero directly faces whatthey are most afraid of and begins a tough,battle that could result in their own death.
The Reward (Obtaining the Sword): theninth stage when, having survived battleagainst death, the hero takes possession ofthe reward. For example, the sought-aftersword or treasure.
The Return of Comeback: the tenth stagewhen the hero suffers the consequences oftheir clash with the forces of evil and forobtaining the reward.
The Resurrection: the eleventh stage whenthe hero is facing the second big momentof difficulty, where again they risk losingtheir life and must overcome once again.
The Comeback with the Elixir: the twelfthand last stage when the hero returns to theordinary world with the obtained treasure.This ends the trip of the hero.
All these stages are parts of a scheme thatmodifies particular details according to the historyand does not need to adhere to the order with rigor.It is possible that some stages can be suppressedwithout affecting the history. These stages can bedivided into three dramatic acts (so thedevelopment of the history occurs in three parts,where the first part occurs before the target of theprotagonist is known by the spectator):
First act: the first five stages (1 to 5). Second act: the next four stages (6 to 9).
Third act: the last three stages (10 to 12).
During the heros trip, different personages canbecome present. Their mission can link with theconcept ofArchetype, which Carl Gustav Jung [13]uses avoiding the models of personality that arerepeated from remote times and that suppose aheredity shared for every human being. The sameauthor sums this up under the concept ofUnconscious Group.
The universality of the patterns and personagesmakes it possible for the experience to be shared indifferent histories, but these are not necessarily
concrete idiosyncrasies that have to be supportedfrom beginning to end. Rather, they are functions
that develop temporarily inside a story for thepurpose of enriching the history. Also, we caninterpret these complementary patterns as facets ofthe heros personality, which may affect what he oshe learns and what their values are.
There are seven common archetypes:
The Hero is someone capable ofsacrificing their own needs for the sake ofothers. The word hero comes from theGreek root word that means to protect andserve. Generally, we tend to identify withthe hero because he or she tends to have acombination of qualities and skills. Thehero is framed within a history, and insidethis narrative is where the personage learnsand grows.
TheMentoris the personage who helps orinstructs the hero. Mentor comes to us
from Homer [12]. In the Odyssey, thepersonage called Mentorhelps Telemac inthe course of his trip. Joseph Campbell [2]defines it as the wise elderor wise oldsterin reference to the personage who teaches,protects and provides certain gifts to thehero. Vladimir Propp [29] defines this typeof personage as the donor, in relation ofthe act of providing a gift or of offeringsomething to the hero.
The ThresholdGuardian is one of the firstobstacles the hero finds in their adventure.
Generally, they are neither the antagonistof the history nor the principal malefactor,although they constitute a threat that thehero, if he or she interprets it well, canovercome.
TheHerald, in a strict sense, is the personwho has a message. In Greece and Rome,they were the manager of dispensing theorders of the ruling classes, of making theproclamations and of declaring the war.
The Changeable Figure is a personagedifficult to identify because they make a
show of their name. Their appearance andcharacteristics change when we examinethem closely. In fact, the hero may findthem a changeable and variable personagewho possesses two faces. The changeablefigure develops the function of introducingdoubt and the suspense in the history.Often, this figure is the love of the hero.
The Shade is the antagonist personage, theenemy, the malefactor. The shadechallenges the hero and is a worthyopponent to fight.
The Trickster is the personage whocaptures the energies of wickedness and
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desire for change. A buffoon, a clown, or acomical follower are all clear examples,and develop the function of a comicalmitigation.
2
THE TRIP OF THE HERO IN THE FULL-LENGTH FILMS OF PIXAR (1995-2006)
Leaving aside shorts films or publicityproductions, there have been seven computer-animated full-length films produced by PixarAnimation Studios (an independent producer beforebeing acquired by Walt Disney Company in 2006[8, 27, 28]):
Toy Story (1995) of John Lasseter [9, 20,31].
A Bugs Life (1998) of John Lasseter andAndrew Stanton [1, 17].
Toy Story 2 (1999) of John Lasseter, AshBrannon and Lee Unkrich [32].
Monsters, Inc. (2001) of Pete Docter,David Silverman and Lee Unkrich [21,25].
Finding Nemo (2003) of Andrew Stantonand Lee Unkrich [5, 10].
The Incredibles (2004) of Brad Bird [4,30].
Cars (2006) of John Lasseter and JoeRanft [3, 34].
All these scripts continue, undoubtedly anddespite particular exceptions or absences of certainstages and archetypes, the closed method of the tripof the hero. To summarize:
In Toy Story, in the room of a child called Andy(the first stage, the ordinary world), a rag doll withrope, a cowboy called Woody (the hero), is thefavorite toy. The arrival of a new plastic spaceranger doll with many gadgets, Buzz Lightyear(theherald and the changeable figure at the same time),
causes Woody to mistrust him, although in thebeginning this is not of importance. After a fight,the two toys get lost in a petrol station and end upin the hands of Sid (the shade), Andys evilneighbor. The mutant toys of Sid help Woody and
Buzz Lightyearavoid a fatal ending (eighth stage,the odyssey), and both manage to return to theirowner (twelfth and last stage, the comeback withthe elixir) after having overcome new troubles(tenth and eleventh stages, the way of comebackand the resurrection).
InA Bugs Life, in an anthill (the first stage, theordinary world), the threat of a few grasshoppers
led by the perverse Hopper(the shade), forces theant Flik(the hero, but also the culprit of the above
mentioned threat after having lost the meal that theywere giving the grasshoppers) to go on a journey insearch of help (fifth stage, the passage of the firstthreshold). After finding a small metropolis createdout of human garbage (sixth stage, tests, alliedforces, enemies), the protagonist knows a few artist
insects (the slickers) which he confuses as potentialwarriors. They do not notice the confusion eitherand go to the anthill. Despite the misunderstanding,they help Flik, the princess Atta (the changeablefigure) and the other ants defeat the tyrants.
In Toy Story 2, Woody (the hero once again) iskidnapped by a collector calledAl (the herald) aftertrying to rescue to the doll penguin Wheezy from ahome-made flea market where Andys mother lefthim. AtAls home, he meets another dolls, Pete, thehorse Bullseye and Jessie (the changeable figure).
Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, Hammand Rex (the friends ofWoody) go out in search of
him, but once they find him Woody decides toremain with his new relatives, even though he issoon cheated and persuaded by one of them, Pete.
Al takes them to the airport to travel to Japan.Nevertheless, Woody, with the help of his friendsagain, manages to escape the plane (eighth stage,the odyssey) and they all return to Andys room,this time also in company ofBullseye andJessie.
In Monsters, Inc., the monster Sully (the hero)and his best friend, the monster Mike (the slicker),are employed at a factory that scares children in thereal world in order to gather their screams, whichare used for energy. One day, a girl called Boo (the
herald) crosses one of the many doors that serve toconnect these two realities and ends up inside themonsters world. The girl is discovered by Sully,who calls on Mike to help him return her to herhome. As both try to arrange the situation, themonster Randall (the shade) puts manyimpediments in their way. Finally, the girl isreturned to her world (ninth stage, the reward) andSully comes up with the idea of gathering theguffaws and laughter of the children for energyinstead of their screams of fear.
In Finding Nemo, Marlin (the hero) is a clownfish who lives with his sonNemo in a coral reef (the
first stage, the ordinary world). One day, Nemo iscaptured by a scuba-diving dentist, andMarlin mustgo on a long journey to find him and bring himhome. He is accompanied part of the way by a bluefish called Dory (the slicker). Meanwhile, Nemomeets a few new friends in the fishbowl where hehas been deposited. After finding Nemo andreturning home (tenth stage, the way of comeback),a fishing ship catches Dory along with other fishesin its nets (eleventh stage, the resurrection). Nemodecides to help them and is successful, despite hisfathers doubts.
In The Incredibles, Bob Parr/ Mr. Incredible
(the hero) is a superhero who does not adapthimself well to a new reality (the first stage, the
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ordinary world) in which resolving the problems ofhumanity is completely prohibited. After receivinga request to fight a dangerous machine on a farawayisland, he goes to see Edna Moda (perhaps, thementor) who arranged his old supersuit and nowmakes a new one for him. On the island, it turns out
thatBuddy Pine/Syndrome (the shade) has set a trapfor Mr. Incredible. But with the help of his wife,Helen Parr/Elastigirl, and two of his sons,Dashielland Violet, who also have superpowers, they foilthe plan. Back at home, Mr. Incredible seesSyndrome kidnapping his smallest son Jack-Jack(eleventh stage, the resurrection), but Jack-Jackuses his superpowers to escape and the evilSyndrome is finally defeated.
In Cars,Lightning McQueen (the hero) is a veryambitious race car that tries to win the Piston Cup.After a draw with two of his opponents, Chick
Hicks and The King, a new race is necessary to find
the Piston Cup winner. But in the trip to the nextcircuit, the protagonist becomes lost in a villagecalled Radiator Springs where he is forced toremain. There, he meets a few very particular cars(sixth stage, tests, allied forces, enemies). Aftercoexisting with them and experiencing manyvicissitudes, he gains some new values and changeshis perception on the competition. Finally, in thetiebreak race, he allows Chick Hicks to win andhelps The King to the finish line.
3 DISABILITY IN THE FULL-LENGTHFILMS OF PIXAR (1995-2006)
Disability can be seen essentially as a limitationprovoked by a physical or mental impediment thatprevents certain activities being carried out.According to the World Health Organization [36],this concept can affect the functions of the body asfollows:
The physiological functions of the systemsof the body, including psychological.
The structures of the body, includinganatomical parts such as organs and othercomponents.
Damages or problems in the function orstructure of the body, such as significantdeviations or loss.
Activity, including the execution of a taskor an action on the part of an individual.
The participation in a certain situation. Limitations to activity. Restrictions of participation in an activity. Exogenous factors that constitute the
physical or social manner and the attitudewith which the people live their lives.
Departing from the WHO point of view andunderstanding that many of the personages in thecomputer animated full-length films of PixarAnimation Studios are animals or objects withhuman behaviors, attributions or qualities, here wefind characters with all kinds of disabilities. But
these do not always coincide with the personagesmodel archetypes (which we indicate with ),which are necessary for the quest of the hero.
In Toy Story, Woody (the hero) is a cowboy dollwith only a voice box and a missing gun, while
Buzz Lightyear(the herald and the changeablefigure at the same time) is a plastic space rangerwith a multiphrase voice simulator, a laser light,and wings with light indicators, as well as manyother gadgets. Although, Buzz eventually realizeshe is a toy and cannot fly, his characterization atfirst shows up what Woody lacks. WhenBuzz findsout about his real existence, he loses an arm after
rushing through a gap from the top of a few stairs.Th