Have you ever imagined what it would be like to spend a day without your smart device? No quick and convenient access to a search engine or a quick spelling and grammar check. No more music streamed on-demand, and suddenly it is a lot more difficult to check when the next bus will arrive. Most of our daily needs have become dependent on our smart devices.

For most people, smart devices are very intuitive and easy to operate, but it’s a different situation for those who suffer from encephalopathy, muscle or spinal cord injuries, or other upper limb disabilities. Since they face challenges in using their hands and fingers, they find their smartphone less easy to manipulate. Some may find that they can’t use it for everyday activities. When technology is not accessible for someone, it can prevent them from enjoying publicly available resources, which can ultimately lead to a feeling of isolation. Dowell takes the first step towards helping users with upper limb disabilities to control their smartphones with existing assistive computer devices.

Read More About DOWELL

Concept: Technological Equality for All

DOWELL is an application developed specifically for users with disabilities of the upper limbs. Without having to purchase additional equipment, the application works with an OTG (On-The-Go) cable connected to a PC.

Compared to a computer, controlling a smartphone is more difficult because more varied motions such as tap-clicking, swiping and pinching are required to operate the device. The basic ‘Dwell Click’ feature allows users to hover the cursor over a certain area and by simply waiting, it automatically “clicks.” More complicated functions such as zoom and swipe are also included in the interface to emulate a seamless device experience.

UI Design: Utilizing the Edges for Added Usability

DOWELL utilizes the edges of the screen to assist users with upper limb disabilities to perform complex tasks:

• Gesture Selection
  • Moving the cursor to the top edge allows users to tap, scroll or swipe through their device.
• Rest Area
  • To pause Dwell Click, users can move the cursor to the sides to temporarily deactivate the function.
• Hardware Key
  • For intuitive purposes, the hardware button is positioned at the bottom of the screen just like a regular smart device.
• Hidden UI
  • The interaction menu can be hidden to preserve screen real estate on an already small screen. Even when hidden, a thin bar indicates where the menu is located.

DOWELL GUI (Graphic User Interface)

Here are some ways in which the intuitive GUI is designed to help users with upper limb disabilities:

• Cursor
  • Regardless of the function selected at the moment, a dot-like cursor will appear as an icon for the chosen function.
• Selected Icon
  • The selected button shows up at the bottom of the screen as a color bar.
• Progress Bar
  • Unlike the circular progress bar above, the Dwell button fills up in color from top to bottom.
  • A circular progress bar appears around the cursor.

DOWELL Movie (HOW-TO)

Here is a short video that demonstrates how the Dwell-click solution works on smart devices:

User Focused Design: The Most Meaningful Design

Approximately 15% of the population suffers from a disability, and in Korea over half of those suffer from upper limb disabilities. The DOWELL application was created by Samsung Software Membership, an organization that helps both undergraduate and graduate students gain software expertise, in collaboration with professors at Seoul National University. The project also received support from the National Rehabilitation Center and was made possible with the assistance of professionals from many different fields. The DOWELL project goes beyond a socially responsible agenda from a corporate standpoint; rather, it is rooted in the desire to address the real needs of all users, including those with upper limb disabilities, so that smartphone technology is accessible to all.

If the purpose of design is to create a solution that meets a need, then a truly user-centric solution will utilize existing appliances at a minimal cost or burden to the user. After spending countless hours and testing numerous prototypes, Samsung can proudly say that DOWELL offers a meaningful design as fully developed software, rather than a hardware assistant tool.

Visit design.samsung.com to read more Samsung Electronics design stories.

For most, a smartphone is a very intuitive device that simply requires a touch of the screen to operate. But to those with disabilities of the upper extremities who have difficulty using their hands and fingers, a smartphone is not so easy to manipulate.

Samsung Electronics recently announced that it has developed an application called DOWELL that allows users with disabilities of the upper limbs to control their smartphones with existing assistive computer devices. Samsung is planning on launching the service later this year.

Currently, those with upper limb disabilities utilize head mouse devices, track balls, and other assistive technologies to interact with computers. In conjunction with these devices, they are able to use computers with the help of software that eliminates the need for button click control.

However, as smartphones require various manipulative motions such as tap-clicking, swiping, and pinching to operate, these users generally have difficulty controlling these devices. Yet, despite the fact that smartphones have recently become more widely used, a smartphone assistance program for those with upper limb disabilities has yet to be developed. That is, until now.

Once a user installs the DOWELL application and connects his or her smartphone to a USB-type computer assistive device, the user can utilize the upper and lower sections of the smartphone screen as DOWELL’s user interface. Within the upper screen, one can opt to tap or drag, among other touch commands. From the lower screen, the user can access the menu, home screen, back function and other basic hardware keys of the Galaxy smartphone.

During product testing, it was determined that people with upper limb disabilities can conveniently and efficiently use smartphones by connecting assistance devices that they already own without purchasing additional, expensive equipment.

Professor Sang-Mook Lee of Seoul National University, who helped in developing the DOWELL program, noted, “The hardest part of using smartphones for people with severe disabilities, including myself, is the touch control aspect. In fact, DOWELL all but eliminates this problem, opening up many possibilities for the future.”

He went on to say, “When people with disabilities gain access to smartphones, they can not only communicate, search, and do many other things, but can also control all home appliances, thanks to the generational shift of IoT technology, which is greatly changing the lives of many people with disabilities.”

DOWELL was created by Samsung Software Membership, an organization that aims to assist both undergraduate and graduate students in gaining software expertise, along with employees of the Samsung Electronics Software Center. DOWELL is available on most Samsung smartphones (Galaxy S3 to the most recent models) and it will be commercialized in the third quarter of this year.

Find out more about DOWELL at http://do-well.github.io/