Cognitive cubes: a tangible user interface for cognitive assessment

ABSTRACT

Assessments of spatial, constructional ability are used widely in cognitive research and in clinical diagnosis of disease or injury. Some believe that three-dimensional (3D) forms of these assessments would be particularly sensitive, but difficulties with consistency in administration and scoring have limited their use. We describe Cognitive Cubes, a novel computerized tool for 3D constructional assessment that increases consistency and promises improvements in flexibility, reliability, sensitivity and control. Cognitive Cubes makes use of ActiveCube, a novel tangible user interface for describing 3D shape. In testing, Cognitive Cubes was sensitive to differences in cognitive ability and task, and correlated well to a standard paper-and-pencil 3D spatial assessment

REFERENCES

• 1: Aish R., "3D Input for CAAD Systems", Computer-Aided Design, 11 (2): 66--70, Mar. 1979.
• 2: Anagnostou G., Dewey D. & Patera A. T., "Geometry Defining Processors for Engineering Design and Analysis", The Visual Computer, 5: 304--315, 1989.
• 3: David Anderson , James L. Frankel , Joe Marks , Aseem Agarwala , Paul Beardsley , Jessica Hodgins , Darren Leigh , Kathy Ryall , Eddie Sullivan , Jonathan S. Yedidia, Tangible interaction + graphical interpretation: a new approach to 3D modeling, Proceedings of the 27th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques, p.393-402, July 2000 [doi>10.1145/344779.344960]
• 4: Frazer J. H., An Evolutionary Architecture, Architectural Assoc 1995.
• 5: Matthew G. Gorbet , Maggie Orth , Hiroshi Ishii, Triangles: tangible interface for manipulation and exploration of digital information topography, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.49-56, April 18-23, 1998, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/274644.274652]
• 6: Groth-Marnat G., Handbook of Psychological Assessment, 3rd ed., New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
• 7: Yoshifumi Kitamura , Yuichi Itoh , Fumio Kishino, Real-time 3D interaction with ActiveCube, CHI '01 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, March 31-April 05, 2001, Seattle, Washington [doi>10.1145/634067.634277]
• 8: Jan J. Koenderink, Solid shape, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990
• 9: Lezak M. D., Neuropsychological Assessment, NY: Oxford UP 1983.
• 10: Liu L., Gauthier L. & Gauthier S., "Spatial Disorientation in Persons with Early Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type", The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45 (1): 67--74, Jan. 1991.
• 11: Peters, M., Laeng, B., Latham, K., Johnson, M., Zaiyouna, R. & Richardson, C., "A Redrawn Vandenberg & Kuse Mental Rotation Test: Different Versions and Factors that Affect Performance", Brain and Cognition, 28, 39--58, 1995.
• 12: Rizzo, A. A., Buckwalter, J. G., Neumann, U., Kesselman, C., Thiebaux, M., Larson, P., & Van Rooyan, A., "The Virtual Reality Mental Rotation/ Spatial Skills Project: Preliminary Findings". CyberPsychology and Behavior, 1( 2), 107--113, 1998.
• 13: Suzuki, H. & Kato, H., "Interaction-Level Support for Collaborative Learning: AlgoBlock - An Open Programming Language", Online: http://www-cscl95.indiana.edu/cscl95/suzuki.html
• 14: Ullmer B. & Ishii H., "Emerging Frameworks for Tangible User Interfaces", in Human-Computer Interaction in the New Millennium, by John M. Carroll (Ed), Addison-Wesley, 2001.
• 15: Vandenberg, S. G. & Kuse, A. R., "Mental Rotations: a Group Test of Three-Dimensional Spatial Visualization", Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47, 599--604, 1978.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
      I.2.0 General
          Subjects: Cognitive simulation

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: User interfaces

  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

General Terms:
Human Factors, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
cognitive assessment, constructional ability, neuropsychological assessment, spatial ability, tangible user interfaces, three-dimensional user interfaces