Auxilio and Beyond: Comparative Evaluation, Usability, and Design Guidelines for Head Movement-based Assistive Mouse Controllers

Upper limb disability due to neurological disorders or other factors restricts computer interaction for affected individuals using a generic optical mouse. This work reports the findings of a comparative evaluation of Auxilio, a sensor-based wireless head-mounted Assistive Mouse Controller (AMC), that facilitates computer interaction for such individuals. Combining commercially available, low-cost motion and infrared sensors, Auxilio utilizes head movements and cheek muscle twitches for mouse control. Its performance in pointing tasks with subjects without motor impairments has been juxtaposed against a commercially available and patented vision-based head-tracking AMC developed for similar stakeholders. Furthermore, our study evaluates the usability of Auxilio using the System Usability Scale, supplemented by a qualitative analysis of participant interview transcripts to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both AMCs. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of Auxilio, and we summarize our key findings into design guidelines for the development of similar future AMCs.