The scientific conference International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP) deals with topics of accessibility and inclusion. The international conference offers an exchange for innovative research that addresses the needs of people with impairments, disorders, or special needs with technical aids. This year’s ICCHP took place as usual in Linz at the JKU in Austria from July 8-12. As part of this event, Prof. Weber presented a full paper of the AutARK research project, which was accepted for publication in the peer-review process.
The contribution is titled
“Open Sesame! Use of Headphones at Work Considering Social Acceptance“
This article deals with using Active Noise Canceling (ANC) headphones in the office context to reduce distractions caused by ambient noise, which is why many autistic people in particular benefit from their use. At the same time, ANC headphones hinder social interaction in the workplace, as the wearers cannot be contacted by colleagues or superiors during use, which is why ANC headphones are often perceived as isolating. This paper examines assistive technologies adapted to specific contexts and user groups in order to promote concentration while enabling social interaction in office environments. Based on observations in a vocational training center, contextual factors were analyzed and a system design to support autistic employees is presented. The aim is to enable context-sensitive and interruption-free work with ANC headphones in the office context. Communication requests to the headphone wearer are registered by the system with special wake words and answered individually depending on the wearer’s personal and external current context factors (e.g. by switching off the active noise function and communicating the request to the person wearing the headphones).
