"I Gave up Wearing Rings:" Insights on the Perceptions and Preferences of Wheelchair Users for Interactions With Wearables

We report insights from structured interviews conducted with 21 adults with motor impairments to understand their perceptions about smart wearables, such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, smartglasses, smart earbuds, and smart rings. We document their preferences for accessible interactions with wearables and report high predilection for touch input. Our results also show a high willingness to use wearables, including in public places, opportunities for cross-device input, and for wheelchair users, opportunities for conjoint use with chairable technology represented by devices designed for the workspace of the wheelchair. We highlight two key factors, ease of wearing and ease of donning/doffing devices, that affect the adoption of wearables, and we draw recommendations for future work on accessible wearables.