Access and Technology briefly

Some of the latest developments in assistive technology in 2003:
While text-based pagers, e-mail and instant messaging on the Internet are now a popular telecommunications tool for the deaf and hard of hearing, text messaging systems require the slow process of typing and reading on a TTY, and until last summer, high cost or inadequate video quality limited the use of video or Web conferencing by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, Apple Computer has improved the ability of deaf and hard of hearing persons to communicate from a distance with the most recent version of their video conference programs, iChat and iSight, which produce video that is clear enough to see finger and hand movements, critical for communicating in American Sign Language. To read an article on this topic from the San Francisco Chronicle, visit http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/10/06/BUGUO24GQC1.DTL.

According to the American Foundation for the Blind, PowerPoint is now accessible to blind and visually impaired users via a new program that facilitates the creation of highly accessible HTML versions of PowerPoint presentations with minimal or no knowledge of accessibility or HTML. This program simplifies conforming to Section 508 requirements as well as the Double-AA level of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. For more information, please visit http://cita.rehab.uiuc.edu/software/office/index.html.

The Eye Gaze system, originally developed for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was designed for people who can move only their eyes. A Spanish company, Iriscom, recently improved upon this technology and has developed a product, also called Iriscom, which enables a person to use a computer completely via eye movement. Iriscom tracks the user's eye movements in order to move the pointer of the mouse and allows the user to click the mouse by blinking. Iriscom is currently not available in the U.S., but Gaze Trackers are available in the U.S. from EyeTech. For more information on this product, please visit http://www.eyetechds.com/homepage.html.

The National Technical Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, NY, with funds from the U.S. Dept. of Education, will test and evaluate its new C-Print Pro software, which allows communication between those doing real-time captioning and students via their computers. C-Print Pro, an updated version of the original C-Print, allows students to highlight the real-time display of text and to take notes. To learn more about C-Print, please visit http://www.jsu.edu/depart/dss/terps/cprint.html.

A new technology that enables persons who are blind to "see" using sound has been developed by Dr Peter Meijer, a senior scientist at Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands. The vOICe (the three middle letters stand for "Oh I See") system translates images from a camera immediately into highly complex soundscapes and transmits them to the user through headphones. The system is comprised of a head-mounted camera, stereo headphones and a notebook PC. The hardware costs $2,500, and the software is available as a free download. The non-invasive technology translates brighter areas into louder sounds, and height is indicated by pitch. A built-in color identifier may be activated to name colors. Although the system is unable to track fast moving objects such as cars or efficiently read fine print, it does allow blind users to trace buildings, read graphs and watch television. To read a full article on the vOICe system, please visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3171226.stm.

Assistive technology on the horizon...
Agence France-Presse recently reported that Japanese scientists have developed the world's first two-legged walking chair/robot capable of carrying a human being and moving heavy objects on uneven terrain. The prototype, codenamed WL-16, took two years to develop in a joint project involving the Science and Engineering Department of Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University and robot-maker tmsuk, based in the southern Japanese city, Kita Kyushu. The transport device is battery-powered and made from what is basically an aluminum street cafe chair that has been mounted on two sets of telescopic poles that are bolted to flat plate "feet." The prototype can move forwards, backwards and sideways while carrying an adult weighing a maximum of 60 kilograms or132 pounds. Although the device is currently only capable of stepping up or down a few millimeters, the makers believe this "two-legged walking chair" will eventually enable people with mobility impairments to go up and down stairs but will take another two years to develop that capability.

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Mobile Wireless Technologies for Persons with Disabilities with funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education is developing a wearable device, using mobile wireless technology that provides text captioning for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The device will employ mobile wireless technology to receive text streams from transmitting stations in community venues such as theaters, schools, businesses, and government facilities. The goal is to assist individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing overcome barriers in community settings where speech is the primary mode of communication. For more information on this project, please visit http://www.wirelessrerc.gatech.edu/projects/development/d2.html.

Access and assistive technology in the news...
October 2003 saw the fourth anniversary of the first installation of a talking ATM in the U.S. The original American talking ATM debuted on October 1, 1999 at San Francisco's City Hall by the San Francisco Credit Union. More than 15,000 talking ATM's are currently operational worldwide in such countries as Canada, Spain, Australia, and India. In the U.S., talking ATM's can now be found in all major cities and in almost every state. The technology to make ATMs "talk" is readily available, generally only requiring the addition of software, an audio jack and sound cards. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently reviewing the federal Access Board's list of recommendations to make ATMs more accessible, including a requirement for audio capability, and is expected to produce in early 2004 a proposal that will determine when and how the Access Board's recommendations are implemented which will subsequently likely be incorporated into the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To read more about the future of ATMs, please visit http://www.ATM24.com.

The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at Boston public broadcast station WGBH was recently awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study ways to make multimedia (images, audio and video) used in electronic book formats (e-books) accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired. The goal of the project, called "Beyond the Text," is to enable deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind users to easily locate, activate and utilize accessible multimedia content within various e-book formats and hardware devices. Staff are currently evaluating e-book software and hardware for multimedia capability as well as for general accessibility to users with hearing or vision loss. Project activities will yield accessible prototypes and a set of recommended practices for those interested in creating multimedia that is usable regardless of hearing or visual acuity. A comparison chart of e-book and digital talking book (DTB) hardware and software is now online, as is the project's first prototype e-book with captioned multimedia. These and other resources, which will be updated throughout the project, can be found at http://ncam.wgbh.org/ebooks.

Important changes to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) are being proposed to align building regulation with Australian Government disability discrimination laws. The proposals will be released in early 2004 as part of a public consultation period which will run up to the end of April 2004. The proposed changes will significantly improve access to new buildings and existing buildings undergoing new work or change of use, which are publicly accessible. They will also provide certainty for building owners, operators, designers and certifiers in relation to providing access for all members of the community. To read more, please visit http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/index.html and scroll down to the "What's New" section.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Mint released the first coin ever minted for circulation with a Braille inscription. Helen Keller, a native of the state of Alabama who was both blind and deaf, was chosen to represent Alabama's "Spirit of Courage" and is depicted on the reverse (tail side) of the quarter as part of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, which began in Jan. 1999. A picture of Keller is located in the center of the quarter, with an inscription of her name in both English and Braille to the right of her image. To read more about the Helen Keller quarter, please visit http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/states/index.cfm?state=AL.

Access and technology resources...
WGBH's Media Access Group, a non-profit service that makes television, film, and video accessible to audiences who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and visually impaired, has launched a fully accessible mirror Web site in Spanish. The Media Access Group's Web site details captioning and descriptive services and resources in media accessibility for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and visually impaired. With the introduction of the newly translated site, users may move smoothly back and forth between the English and Spanish versions. Web visitors may access the site in Spanish by going directly to: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/spanish. Funding to create this Spanish-language companion Web site was provided by the U. S. Department of Education. For more information about WGBH's access services, please visit http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/access/access.html.

Speech to Speech Relay (STS), a service mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, enables people with speech disabilities to use their own voice, voice prosthesis, or communication device to make a phone call. STS may be used by anyone with a speech disability or anyone who wishes to call someone with a speech disability, and STS calls can also be made by people, or to people, who use a TTY, or other TRS-communication modes such as VCO (voice carry over), HCO (hearing carry over), or to another person with a speech disability. Although some people who have a speech disability use a TTY to make calls, many people with a speech disability have physical disabilities and do not have the necessary manual dexterity to type adequately. STS offers an alternative to a TTY, or to no phone communication at all. Provided by the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), STS has existed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia since 1993, and is required by Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). STS Relay, like TTY Relay, is available 24hours per day, 365 days per year. Confidentiality of all TRS calls is required by U.S. law. STS is also offered in Australia and Sweden, and New Zealand and South Africa are currently considering adopting STS. A website dedicated to news and information about STS provides a list of each state's STS Relay toll-free dial-up number and is located at http://www.stsnews.com. The FCC also provides information about TRS/STS Services: http://www.fcc.gov/cib/dro/dtffaq.html provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about TRS, and http://www.fcc.gov/cib/dro/trs/con_trs.html, provides information about TRS basics.

In Ghana, the Enabling Technology Audio Partners (ETAP) is developing African aural heritage materials in accessible digital formats for persons who are blind or have other disabilities limiting their ability to read print. ETAP also aims to establish information and communications technologies for creating and distributing content nationwide via the Internet and other media in order to facilitate access to their collections; to build a network of cooperating production sites in major English speaking African cities; and to provide employment and technical skills to blind and disabled youth to increase their ability to use the Internet and other Web technologies. For more information about ETAP and their work, please visit http://www.etapghana.org.

And finally, a tip about fonts...
The American Printing House of the Blind has conducted surveys of persons who have low vision regarding their preferences for fonts and point sizes. They majority of respondents identified Arial, Tahoma or Verdana as the preferred fonts, and based on the reasons given for these preferences, the APH developed a new font, the APHont which incorporates the characteristics of the preferred fonts. For more information on the APH and the APHont, please visit APH's website at http://www.aph.org.

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