6 Conclusions and prospects

In this article we presented an exploratory study of the use of a portable multimodal system. The results obtained tie in with those obtained in preceding work: effective use of multimodality (all of the modalities was used), interindividual differences, appearance of preferential tendencies), change of modalities in dysfunctioning situations. Beyond this convergence, an original result of this study is that the subjects are easily appropriate to unusual modalities (such as the "embodied" modality for example).

From their nature the communicating objects are likely to be used in very variable contexts. Thus the difficulty of their use in situations arises where the modalities of interaction will not be equally adapted . The multimodality takes on crucial importance then, insofar as it offers to the users a means of regulation of the contextual variations (environmental constraints, social constraints etc) by the adoption of the most suitable modality. It is this that study illustrates with regard to for example the recovery of the dysfunction.

Moreover for each usual object considered , it will be necessary to identify the modalities of interaction to be integrated in input as at output. Thus, for an environment including multiple communicating objects, it will be necessary to define mechanisms making it possible to specify the recipient object of the command. From this point of view multimodality could bring solutions; it remains nevertheless to study the conceptual and practical viability of strategies of assignment by construction of a particular modality to an object or a type of object in a whole range of communicating objects.