A wide range of assistive or rehabilitation technologies has been used to assist people having a variety of disabilities with mobility, communication, environmental control, daily living, and other activities. These technologies require certain motor, cognitive, and perceptual skills in their operation. The focus of this article is on the performance effects of the cognitive and perceptual requirements for operation of assistive technologies. To this end, the effects on human performance of the cognitive deficits commonly seen in traumatic brain injury are first reviewed. Examples of assistive technology techniques are presented with a focus on the cognitive and perceptual requirements for their operation. A model of performance for a specific assistive technology system is described, to demonstrate how an analytic approach can aid in understanding the effects of cognitive and perceptual requirements on performance. The examples and model illustrate the premise that as the assistive technology interface changes to accommodate increasing motor impairment, performance can be substantively affected by the increased cognitive and perceptual loads placed on the user. Improved understanding of performance effects related to cognitive and perceptual requirements for assistive technology operation is important for improving both selection criteria and the design of such systems.
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Levine et al. (1992) studied this question.
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