NEP+: A Human-Centered Framework for Inclusive Human-Machine Interaction Development

This article presents the Network Empower and Prototyping Platform (NEP+), a flexible framework purposefully crafted to simplify the process of interactive application development, catering to both technical and non-technical users. The name "NEP+" encapsulates the platform’s dual mission: to empower the network-related capabilities of ZeroMQ and to provide software tools and interfaces for prototyping and integration. NEP+ accomplishes this through a comprehensive quality model and an integrated software ecosystem encompassing middleware, user-friendly graphical interfaces, a command-line tool, and an accessible end-user programming interface. This article primarily focuses on presenting the proposed quality model and software architecture, illustrating how they can empower developers to craft cross-platform, accessible, and user-friendly interfaces for various applications, with a particular emphasis on robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Additionally, we provide practical insights into the applicability of NEP+ by briefly presenting real-world user cases where human-centered projects have successfully utilized NEP+ to develop robotics systems. To further emphasize the suitability of NEP+ tools and interfaces for developer use, we conduct a pilot study that delves into usability and workload assessment. The outcomes of this study highlight the user-friendly features of NEP+ tools, along with their ease of adoption and cross-platform capabilities. The novelty of NEP+ fundamentally lies in its holistic approach, acting as a bridge across diverse user groups, fostering inclusivity, and promoting collaboration.