Re: General comments on Web of Things use cases

There was a productive and thoughtful discussion of this statement at the RQTF meeting today. In response, I offered to make revisions for subsequent refinement on the list. Here is the next draft.


The Web of Things use cases in the “accessibility” category introduce several common themes. These include the potential of multimodal user interfaces to support diverse methods of interaction, and the role of personal needs and preferences in adapting interactions appropriately for each individual. The use cases rightly acknowledge the role of gesture, speech and other forms of input, as well as multimedia output. It is also clearly desirable to support the accessibility of both the user interfaces provided directly by the Web of Things infrastructure (e.g., as implemented in devices in the user’s environment), and user interfaces made available on personal devices such as mobile or wearable systems.

These general approaches are relevant to a wide variety of applications within and well beyond the Web of Things. The priorities among these applications are ultimately a matter for prospective implementors to decide, for example based on commercial considerations.. The issues of user interface adaptation and multimodal design are important irrespective of the application area.

Whatever the domain of application, there are bound to be people with disabilities involved, not only as prospective users, but also in developing, procuring, configuring or installing the Web of Things technology. This reflects the fact that people with disabilities are full participants in society, active across the entire range of professions and life activities. All of the potential applications of the Web of Things therefore have accessibility aspects due to the associated user interfaces.

Related work arising from the accessibility field should also be considered. The Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) project has developed mechanisms for configuring operating systems and applications according to a profile of personal accessibility-related needs and preferences. The Universal Remote Console standard (ISO/IEC 24752) establishes an abstract XML-based representation of user interfaces that can be offered by devices in the environment to remote clients. Device discovery is also supported. The capabilities of these technologies may valuably inform discussion of potential standardization efforts related to the accessibility of the Web of Things.

From: White, Jason J <jjwhite@ets.org>
Date: Monday, July 6, 2020 at 12:36
To: public-rqtf@w3.org <public-rqtf@w3.org>
Subject: General comments on Web of Things use cases
Dear colleagues,

At the meeting last week, it was agreed that I should write a summary of what I thought we agreed to in response to the Web of Tings use cases we considered. Here is an initial statement. I would welcome comments on the extent to which we are in agreement, and on what improvements or refinements should be made.

The Web of Things use cases in the “accessibility” category introduce several common themes. These include the potential of multimodal user interfaces to support diverse methods of interaction, and the role of personal needs and preferences in adapting interactions appropriately for each individual. There is value in supporting the accessibility of both the user interfaces provided directly by the Web of Things infrastructure (e.g., as implemented in devices in the user’s environment), and user interfaces made available on personal devices such as mobile or wearable systems.

These general approaches are relevant to a wide variety of applications within and well beyond the Web of Things. The priorities among these applications are ultimately a matter for prospective implementors to decide, for example based on commercial considerations. The key points of convergence between accessibility and the Use Cases lie in the generic solutions noted above.

Related work arising from the accessibility field should also be considered. The Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) project has developed mechanisms for configuring operating systems and applications according to a profile of personal accessibility-related needs and preferences. The Universal Remote Console standard (ISO/IEC 24752) establishes an abstract XML-based representation of user interfaces that can be offered by devices in the environment to remote clients. Device discovery is also supported. The capabilities of these technologies may valuably inform discussion of potential standardization efforts related to the accessibility of the Web of Things.

Regards,

Jason.


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