Room-scale Virtual Reality (VR) has become an affordable consumer reality, with applications ranging from entertainment to productivity. However, the limited physical space available for room-scale VR in the typical home or office environment poses a significant problem. To solve this, physical spaces can be extended by amplifying the mapping of physical to virtual movement (translational gain). Although amplified movement has been used since the earliest days of VR, little is known about how it influences reach-based interactions with virtual objects, now a standard feature of consumer VR. Consequently, this paper explores the picking and placing of virtual objects in VR for the first time, with translational gains of between 1x (a one-to-one mapping of a 3.5m*3.5m virtual space to the same sized physical space) and 3x (10.5m*10.5m virtual mapped to 3.5m*3.5m physical). Results show that reaching accuracy is maintained for up to 2x gain, however going beyond this diminishes accuracy and increases simulator sickness and perceived workload. We suggest gain levels of 1.5x to 1.75x can be utilized without compromising the usability of a VR task, significantly expanding the bounds of interactive room-scale VR.

Smartphone reminding apps can compensate for memory impairment after acquired brain injury (ABI). In the absence of a caregiver, users must enter reminders themselves if the apps are going to help them. Poor memory and apathy associated with ABI can result in failure to initiate such configuration behaviour and the benefits of reminder apps are lost. ForgetMeNot takes a novel approach to address this problem by periodically encouraging the user to enter reminders with unsolicited prompts (UPs). An in situ case study investigated the experience of using a reminding app for people with ABI and tested UPs as a potential solution to initiating reminder entry. Three people with severe ABI living in a post-acute rehabilitation hospital used the app in their everyday lives for four weeks to collect real usage data. Field observations illustrated how difficulties with motivation, insight into memory difficulties and anxiety impact reminder app use in a rehabilitation setting. Results showed that when 6 UPs were presented throughout the day, reminder-setting increased, showing UPs are an important addition to reminder applications for people with ABI. This study demonstrates that barriers to technology use can be resolved in practice when software is developed with an understanding of the issues experienced by the user group.

Smartphone reminder applications (apps) have the potential to help people with memory impairment after acquired brain injury (ABI) to perform everyday tasks. Issues impacting the uptake of reminder apps for this group are still poorly understood. To address this, three focus groups were held with people with memory impairments after ABI and ABI caregivers (N=12). These involved a discussion about perceptions of, and attitudes towards, reminder apps combined with usability reflections during a user-centred design session (Keep Lose Change) after a walkthrough of an existing reminder app -- Google Calendar. Framework analysis revealed six key themes that impact uptake of reminder apps; Perceived Need, Social Acceptability, Experience/Expectation, Desired Content and Functions, Cognitive Accessibility and Sensory/Motor Accessibility. Analysis of themes revealed issues that should be considered by designers and researchers when developing and testing reminding software for people with memory impairment following ABI.