Med, & Biol. Eng. & Comput., 1979, 17, 481-488 Towards standardisation of communication and control systems for motor impaired people P. Morasso M. Penso G.P. Suetta V. Tagliasco Sezione di Sistemistica e Informatica, Istituto di Elettrotecnica Universit~ di Genova, Italy Abstract--Research and development of communication and control devices for phy~Fally handicapped people has expanded steadily in the recent past, mainly owing to technological reasons, in the absence of any effort towards standardisation. The result is a large variety of incompatible devices. A unitary conceptual framework is then necessary, in order to define standard hardware and software modules from which different types of communication/control systems can be configured 9 As a contribution to this problem, we first analyse the nature of the communication problem, pointing out the basic set of variables that describe it. A classification is made of communication/control systems, command devices and functions. A genera/interaction scheme is suggested that relies on a command language. Different selection modes are discussed, together with some implementation topics. Finally, a preliminary experience on a prototype (Logos project) based on a commercial computer terminal is presented. Keywords--Communication aids, Handicapped, Standardisation I Introduction RESEARCH AND development of communication and control devices for physically handicapped people has expanded steadily in the recent past, mainly owing to such technological achievements as the advent of microprocessor technology.* Obviously, advanced technology per se is not sufficient to produce effective devices, since communication and control in humans is a highly complex and subtle process, which, from the systems point of view, requires a careful analysis of functions, command channels, control procedures etc. (MoRASSO and TAGLIASCO , 1975; MORASSO et al., 1977). The pursuit of particular aspects of the com- munication/control process (in the following, com- munication/control will be abbreviated to c/c), 9 although often resulting in brilliant solutions, has produced a large variety of devices, mostly with very different design philosophies, which represent, for the user, a formidable 'technological barrier'. The need for standardisation is therefore very much felt, although it can be interpreted in quite different manners. Our paper is a contribution to this topic: it discusses some general principles that can help define a 'standard' architecture, and it reports on some preliminary implementation experience. The purpose that we have in mind is to define a modular system that can be configured by the user *FOULDS et al., 1974; ALLAN, 1976; BOJANOWSKI et al., 1978; Communication Outlook, 1978; DOUBLER et aL, 1978; FUNAKUBO et aL, 1978; GUITTET et aL, 1978; MORASSO et al., 1978; O'HANDLEY and BEJCZY, 1978: ROESLER et el., 1978; ROSEN and DURFEE, 1978; ROWELL et al,, 1978; SEAMONE et al., 1978 Received 17th October 1978 0140-0118/79/040481 + 08 $01.50/0 ~)IFMBE: 1979 with sufficient flexibility, which can cope with a variety of functions, and which takes into account most of the brilliant solutions already devised. Before going into details, it is, however, useful to give some attention to the general nature of the problem we are talking about, i.e. communication between an impaired person and his environment. 2 Nature of the problem Communication and control of the environment is essentially an interactive process that can be schematically pictured as in Fig. la. Motor activity is the mechanism by which a person generates messages, information and commands. The environ- ment to which these data are directed can represent a person, machine or a complex combination of the two. The communication process must then be completed with a return channel, which involves the sensory system and which allows the person to monitor the results of its own motor activity and to detect the reactions (i.e. the information) coming back from its environment. Talking, writing, typing, computer programming, driving and even walking are examples of comm- munication/control processes that involve multiple motor and sensory channels. In a motor impaired person, part of the motor activity is totaUy inhibited or it is reduced to such a degree that it does not allow the performance of c/c activities, at least in the forms normally used. Therefore, a c/c device is essentially an interface (between the handicapped person and its environ- ment) that has the purpose of processing tlie reduced motor activity in order to produce ~in output Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing July 1979 481