Visual Accessibility in a Virtual Kitchen: Effects of Open Shelving on Performance, Cognitive Load, and Experience in Older Adults with and without MCI

2026-04-24

AI Summary

This study investigates the impact of cabinet design—closed versus open shelving—on task performance, cognitive load, and user experience among older adults, with and without mild cognitive impairment, in a virtual kitchen environment. Employing a repeated-measures design, the research integrates virtual reality, eye-tracking (measured via fixation entropy), ENMO-based physical activity monitoring, the NASA-TLX cognitive load scale, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and semi-structured interviews. It is the first to combine objective oculomotor metrics with subjective assessments to elucidate the nuanced role of visual accessibility in modulating cognitive load. Findings indicate that open shelving significantly reduces task completion time, lowers physical activity demands, and decreases reliance on memory, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and perceived independence. Notably, discrepancies emerged between subjective and objective measures of cognitive load.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Simulating Human Behavior
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Data quality aspects of human-annotated datasets

Abstract

This study examines how visual accessibility through cabinet design influences task performance, cognitive load, physical activity level, motivation, and user experience in a virtual kitchen among older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Seventeen older adults (7 with MCI, 10 without) completed a repeated-measures item retrieval task under two conditions, closed cabinets and open shelving, using a counterbalanced within-subjects design. Measures included task duration, physical activity level (ENMO), cognitive load (NASA-TLX and gaze entropy), intrinsic motivation (IMI), and post-task interviews. Open shelving significantly reduced task duration (beta = -291.20, p < .001) and physical activity level (beta = -0.00615, p = .008). Gaze entropy increased (beta = 1.29, p = .001), with a significant Setting x MCI interaction (p = .009) and moderation by MoCA score (p < .001). NASA-TLX and intrinsic motivation did not differ significantly between conditions. Qualitative findings indicated reduced reliance on memory-based search and highlighted themes related to independence, aesthetics, safety, and adoption. Overall, visual accessibility improved efficiency and reduced movement demands while altering visual-search organization, with divergence between subjective and objective indicators of cognitive load. These findings support visually accessible design strategies to enhance functional performance and inform cognitively supportive built environments for aging populations.

Problem

• visual accessibility
• mild cognitive impairment
• older adults
• cognitive load
• virtual kitchen

Innovation

• visual accessibility
• open shelving
• cognitive load
• older adults
• virtual environment