User Perspectives on Tabletop Therapy

Technology-based activities are becoming more popular in therapy programs, and direct-touch interactive tabletops seem particularly suited to many therapy tasks. To better understand the potential benefit of interactive tabletops in rehabilitation, we examined users’ attitudes as they performed rehabilitation activities on a multi-touch tabletop and a normal, non-interactive surface. This revealed the elements of multi-touch tabletops and their associated activities that contribute to their success in rehabilitation programs and identify improvements for future designs. We found that although the engaging and dynamic nature of the interactive tasks was preferred, many participants were heavily influenced by prior exposure to commercial interaction devices and expected very precise and responsive sensing. We discuss the implications of user expectations and experiences on the design of future activities and rehabilitation technologies.