Exploring the Acceptability of Google Glass as an Everyday Assistive Device for People with Parkinson's

McNaney, R; Vines, J; Roggen, D; Balaam, M; Zhang, P; Poliakov, I; Olivier, P

doi:10.1145/2556288.2557092

Exploring the Acceptability of Google Glass as an Everyday Assistive Device for People with Parkinson's

Lookup NU author(s): Roisin McNaney, Dr John Vines, Dr Daniel Roggen, Dr Madeline Balaam, Pengfei Zhang, Ivan Poliakov, Professor Patrick Olivier ORCiD

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This is the authors' accepted manuscript of a conference proceedings (inc. abstract) that has been published in its final definitive form by ACM New York, NY, USA, 2014.

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Abstract

We describe a qualitative study investigating the acceptability of the Google Glass eyewear computer to people with Parkinson's disease (PD). We held a workshop with 5 PD patients and 2 carers exploring perceptions of Glass. This was followed by 5-day field trials of Glass with 4 PD patients, where participants wore the device during everyday activities at home and in public. We report generally positive responses to Glass as a device to instil confidence and safety for this potentially vulnerable group. We also raise concerns related to the potential for Glass to reaffirm dependency on others and stigmatise wearers.