A Bi-directional Bi-Lingual Translation Braille-Text System

AbstractVisually impaired people are an integral part of the society. However, their disabilities have made them to have less access to computers, the Internet, and high quality educational software than the people with clear vision. Consequently, they have not been able to improve on their own knowledge, and have significant influence and impact on the economic, commercial, and educational ventures in the society. One way to narrow this widening gap and see a reversal of this trend is to develop a system, within their economic reach, and which will empower them to communicate freely and widely using the Internet or any other information infrastructure. Over time, the Braille system has been used by the visually impaired for communication and contact with the outside world. Translation between one language and another, using the Braille coding system, has been limited, problematic, and in many cases, one-directional.This paper describes an Arabic Braille bi-directional and bi-lingual translation/editor system that does not need expensive equipments. With appropriate rule file for any other languages, this system can be generalized to facilitate communication among literate people regardless of their disabilities (visually impaired or sighted), income, languages, and geographical locations

Non-Visual Representation of Complex Documents for Use in Digital Talking Books

Essential written information such as text books, bills, and catalogues needs to be accessible by everyone. However, access is not always available to vision-impaired people. As they require electronic documents to be available in specific formats. In order to address the accessibility issues of electronic documents, this research aims to design an affordable, portable, standalone and simple to use complete reading system that will convert and describe complex components in electronic documents to print disabled users

Audiobook player for older adults with vision impairement

Tato práce se zabývá designem přehrávače knih pro seniory se zrakovým postižením. Více než polovina zrakově postižených je starší sedmdesáti let. Hlavním účelem navrhovaného zařízení je zpřístupnit slabozrakým a nevidomým seniorům důležitou volnočasovou aktivitu -- čtení. Práce je zaměřena na interakci posluchače se zařízením. Design je založen na limitacích, znalostech a potřebách jedinců cílové skupiny získaných z provedené analýzy a výsledků předchozího výzkumu s~nevidomými seniory žijícími v domově s pečovatelskou službou. Realizovaný kvalitativní uživatelský výzkum s nevidomými uživateli (N = 9) byl zaměřený na čtení a trávení volného času. Vývoj designu probíhal iterativně, byly vytvořeny a formativně testovány dvě generace prototypů. Pro podporu pochopitelnosti rozhraní byly implementovány metafory propojující ovládací komponenty s obecně známými koncepty: přehrávač svým tvarem působí jako kniha; otevření spustí přehrávání, zavření zastaví; tvary tlačítek souvisí s jejich funkcí; rozložení položek k~poslouchání odpovídá hodinovému ciferníku. Průběžná evaluace zahrnovala 4 experimenty: neformální časnou zpětnou vazbu (N = 3), testování low-fidelity prototypu s nevidomými participanty (N = 7, věkový průměr = 45.6) a se seniory se zrakovou vadou (N = 7, věkový průměr = 73) a ověření high-fidelity prototypu seniory se zrakovým postižením (N = 2, věk = 81). Testování ukázalo, že preference nevidomých uživatelů jsou různé. Mladší a aktivnější uživatelé poslouchají různé žánry a vyžadují snadnou přenosnost a~pokročilé funkce. Starší a pasivnější uživatelé poslouchají převážně audioknihy a jejich hlavní požadavky jsou jednoduchost, pochopitelnost, vhodná velikost a rozložení komponent uživatelského rozhraní. Zhotovený design byl dotazovanými participanty označen jako jednoduchý a užitečný.This thesis focuses on supporting reading, an important activity of visually impaired older adults. More than half of people with severe vision impairment is older than 70 years. We present the design concept of a physical device for audio content playback tailored to specific needs and preferences of this user group. The design is based on analysis and the outcomes of fundamental research conducted with visually impaired older adults living in a residential care institution. A qualitative user study (N = 9) focused specifically on audio content consumption has been conducted. We employed iterative development and formative evaluation to develop two generations of the audiobook player prototype. Implemented metaphors links control components with generally known concepts to support understandability of user interface: the shape resembles a book, the opening of the device starts playback, the closing stops it; button shapes are related to their function; the layout of available items for listening matches to the clock reference system. Four qualitative evaluation experiments have been conducted: early informal study (N = 3), low-fidelity prototype evaluation with visually impaired (N = 7, age mean = 45.6) and visually impaired older adults (N = 7, age mean = 73), high-fidelity prototype evaluation (N = 2). We conclude that the preferences of visually impaired differ. Younger and more active users listen to different genres, require easy portability and advanced features. Older and more passive users listen mostly to audiobooks, their primary requirements are simplicity, understandability, appropriate dimensions and layout of controls. The final design was marked as simple and useful by representatives of the target user audience

Non-visual representation of complex documents for use in digital talking books

According to a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) estimation, only 5% of the world's one million print titles that are published every year are accessible to the approximately 340 million blind, visually impaired or print disabled people. Equal access to information is a basic right of all people. Essen- tial information such as flyers, brochures, event calendars, programs, catalogues and booking information needs to be accessible by everyone. Information helps people to make decisions, be involved in society and live independent lives. Ar- ticle 21, Section 4.2. of the United Nation's Convention on the rights of people with disabilities advocates the right of blind and partially sighted people to take control of their own lives. However, this entitlement is not always available to them without access to information. Today, electronic documents have become pervasive. For vision-impaired people electronic documents need to be available in specific formats to be accessible. If these formats are not made available, vision-impaired people are greatly disadvantaged when compared to the general population. Therefore, addressing electronic document accessibility for them is an extremely important concern. In order to address the accessibility issues of electronic documents, this research aims to design an affordable, portable, stand-alone and simple to use "Complete Reading System" to provide accessible electronic documents to vision impaired

Ayuda técnica para la autonomía en el desplazamiento

The project developed in this thesis involves the design, implementation and evaluation of a new technical assistance aiming to ease the mobility of people with visual impairments. By using processing and sounds synthesis, the users can hear the sonification protocol (through bone conduction) informing them, after training, about the position and distance of the various obstacles that may be on their way, avoiding eventual accidents. In this project, surveys were conducted with experts in the field of rehabilitation, blindness and techniques of image processing and sound, which defined the user requirements that served as guideline for the design. The thesis consists of three self-contained blocks: (i) image processing, where 4 processing algorithms are proposed for stereo vision, (ii) sonification, which details the proposed sound transformation of visual information, and (iii) a final central chapter on integrating the above and sequentially evaluated in two versions or implementation modes (software and hardware). Both versions have been tested with both sighted and blind participants, obtaining qualitative and quantitative results, which define future improvements to the project. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------El proyecto desarrollado en la presente tesis doctoral consiste en el diseño, implementación y evaluación de una nueva ayuda técnica orientada a facilitar la movilidad de personas con discapacidad visual. El sistema propuesto consiste en un procesador de estereovisión y un sintetizador de sonidos, mediante los cuales, las usuarias y los usuarios pueden escuchar un código de sonidos mediante transmisión ósea que les informa, previo entrenamiento, de la posición y distancia de los distintos obstáculos que pueda haber en su camino, evitando accidentes. En dicho proyecto, se han realizado encuestas a expertos en el campo de la rehabilitación, la ceguera y en las técnicas y tecnologías de procesado de imagen y sonido, mediante las cuales se definieron unos requisitos de usuario que sirvieron como guía de propuesta y diseño. La tesis está compuesta de tres grandes bloques autocontenidos: (i) procesado de imagen, donde se proponen 4 algoritmos de procesado de visión estéreo, (ii) sonificación, en el cual se detalla la propuesta de transformación a sonido de la información visual, y (iii) un último capítulo central sobre integración de todo lo anterior en dos versiones evaluadas secuencialmente, una software y otra hardware. Ambas versiones han sido evaluadas con usuarios tanto videntes como invidentes, obteniendo resultados cualitativos y cuantitativos que permiten definir mejoras futuras sobre el proyecto finalmente implementado

Unmediated Interaction: Communicating with Computers and Embedded Devices as If They Are Not There

Although computers are smaller and more readily accessible today than they have ever been, I believe that we have barely scratched the surface of what computers can become. When we use computing devices today, we end up spending a lot of our time navigating to particular functions or commands to use devices their way rather than executing those commands immediately. In this dissertation, I explore what I call unmediated interaction, the notion of people using computers as if the computers are not there and as if the people are using their own abilities or powers instead. I argue that facilitating unmediated interaction via personalization, new input modalities, and improved text entry can reduce both input overhead and output overhead, which are the burden of providing inputs to and receiving outputs from the intermediate device, respectively. I introduce three computational methods for reducing input overhead and one for reducing output overhead. First, I show how input data mining can eliminate the need for user inputs altogether. Specifically, I develop a method for mining controller inputs to gain deep insights about a players playing style, their preferences, and the nature of video games that they are playing, all of which can be used to personalize their experience without any explicit input on their part. Next, I introduce gaze locking, a method for sensing eye contact from an image that allows people to interact with computers, devices, and other objects just by looking at them. Third, I introduce computationally optimized keyboard designs for touchscreen manual input that allow people to type on smartphones faster and with far fewer errors than currently possible. Last, I introduce the racing auditory display (RAD), an audio system that makes it possible for people who are blind to play the same types of racing games that sighted players can play, and with a similar speed and sense of control as sighted players. The RAD shows how we can reduce output overhead to provide user interface parity between people with and without disabilities. Together, I hope that these systems open the door to even more efforts in unmediated interaction, with the goal of making computers less like devices that we use and more like abilities or powers that we have

2018 FSDG Combined Abstracts

https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg_abstracts/1000/thumbnail.jp