Ageing, Vision Impairment and Digital Inclusion in Ireland

Our population is ageing. Vision impairment is highly correlated with ageing and the population of older people with vision impairment is increasing. ICT competence is essential to fully partake in society. Older people, in particular those with vision impairment, are at a high risk of being excluded from the digital revolution and must be ecnourage to use ICT's. This paper outlines four projects in which NCBI has been involved in relation to older adults and digital inclusion. Improving access to ICT for older people with vision impairment will enhance their participation in social, cultural and economic life and bridge the digital divide

Developing a navigation aid for the frail and visually impaired

This paper describes the development of a new navigational aid for the frail, elderly, and visually impaired person. The users were involved both in the user requirements study and in the evaluation of different prototypes. The results show that the users were able to provide information on their current aid, the use situation, and their preference regarding different solutions, but they had difficulties to provide the detailed answers on technical solutions required by the technical development team. Further, prototype evaluations with users enabled the technical team to understand the users and their use situationPeer reviewe