Study on Innovative Gestures Applicable to the Elderly

This study aims to provide the elderly with a more convenient gesture operation mode of smartphones. It first conducted field investigation and interviews to identify the gestures that are deemed difficult by the elderly. Through literature review and patent research on operation gestures, this study found that the action of smartphone use can be completed with one-finger operation. This study compared the existing gestures with innovative operation gesture modes, and found that the gesture requiring the operation of two fingers is difficult for the elderly. On the other hand, innovative operation gestures, compared with traditional operation gestures, have more significance in performance. Therefore, this study suggested that the innovative gesture with single finger operation could replace current operation gestures, and provide solutions to the inconvenience of the elderly or individuals with upper extremity disabilities in operating smart mobile devices.