Slides from Going Cordless: Exploring Technologies That Unchain People From
Computers
Patrick Burke and Kevin Price
Disabilities and Computing Program
University of
California, Los Angeles
Introduction
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Disabilities and Computing Program
established in 1987
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Work
with students, faculty, and staff with disabilities
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Part
of the Academic Technology Services computing department at UCLA
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Web site with information about this
presentation at http://www.dcp.ucla.edu
Traditional Interaction with the
computer
» Mouse
»Keyboard
»Monitor
Future of Computer Interaction?
-
The traditional form of computer
interaction is impossible for some, difficult for others, and not the
preference for many.
- Many people would like to interact with computers as represented in
science fiction.
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Bill Gates: “Speech is not just the
future of Windows, but the future of computing itself.”
Power of Technology Integration
There are many mainstream and cutting edge
technologies available today, but the power of these technologies emerges when
they can be integrated to meet the needs of individual’s with disabilities
Technologies
Covered
Radio Frequency (RF)
(Radio Frequency) The
range of electromagnetic frequencies above the audio range and below visible
light. All broadcast transmission, from AM radio to satellites, falls into this
range, which is between 30KHz and 300GHz
Blue Tooth
Bluetooth provides up to 720 Kbps data transfer within a range of 30feet.
Unlike IrDA which requires that devices be aimed at each other (line of sight),
Bluetooth uses omnidirectional radio waves that can transmit through walls and
other non-metal barriers. Bluetooth transmits in 2.4GHz band and uses a
frequency hopping spread spectrum technique that changes its signal 1600 times
per second.
Infrared (IR)
An invisible band of radiation at the lower
end of the electromagnetic spectrum. It starts at the middle of the microwave
spectrum and goes up to the beginning of visible light. Infrared transmission
requires an unobstructed line of sight between transmitter and receiver.
X10
X10 is a communications "language"
that allows compatible products to talk to each other via the existing 110V
electrical wiring in the home. No costly rewiring is necessary. Up to 256
different addresses are available. If you want more than one device to respond
to the same signal, simply set them to the same addresses. All X10 compatible
products can be freely mixed and matched
Speech Recognition
The conversion of spoken words into computer
text. Speech is first digitized and then matched against a dictionary. The
matches are converted into text as if the words were typed on the keyboard.
Speech Output or Synthesis
Generating machine voice by arranging
phonemes (k, ch, sh, etc.) into words. It is used to turn text input into spoken
words for the blind. Speech synthesis performs realtime conversion without a
pre-defined vocabulary, but does not create perfect-sounding human speech.
Eye Gaze
Involves tracking of the movement of the eye.
The pupil-center/corneal-reflection method is used to determine where the user
is looking on the screen. An infrared- sensitive video camera, mounted beneath
the system's monitor takes pictures of a user's eye.
BrainBody Actuated Control
Combines eye-movement, facial muscle, and
brain wave bio-potentials detected at the user’s forehead to generate computer
inputs that can be used for a variety of tasks and recreations. Facial and eye
movement gestures can be discriminated by software and mapped to separate mouse,
keyboard, and program functions.
Wireless Technology
Wireless technologies allow users to liberate
themselves from being directly in front of the computer.
Wireless technologies free users with
disabilities from the many cords that can tangle.
Product Categories Covered
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Wireless Mice and Keyboards
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Desktop and Wireless Microphones
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Speech Recognition Software
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Environmental Control
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Speech Output Hardware and Software
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Other Miscellaneous Hardware and Software
Wireless Pointing Devices and Keyboards
Radio Frequency:
Logitech Cordless Freedom
(Keyboard and Mouse)
Cordless Trackman Wheel
Infrared:
Casco Infrared Keyboard
Who Benefits from Wireless
Keyboard/Mouse?
People with Mobility Impairment
People Needing Improved Ergonomic Positioning
(Help Prevent Repetitive Stress Injuries)
Anybody Needing More Workspace and Fewer
Tangled Cords
Cordless Microphones
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Desktop Microphones
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Wireless Microphones
Speech Recognition Terminology
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Continuous speech dictation
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Discrete speech dictation
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Natural Language Commands
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Command and Control
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Modeless speech recognition
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Voice Mousing
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Microsoft Active Accessibility
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Dictation Playback vs Text to Speech
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Dictation vs. Command Macros
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Active Vocabulary
Who Can Benefit from Speech
Recognition?
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Persons with mobility impairments or
injuries that prevent keyboard access
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Persons who have or who are seeking to
prevent repetitive stress injuries
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Persons with writing difficulties
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Persons who want hands-free access to
the computer
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Persons who want to increase their
typing speed (reportedly up to 160 wpm)
What makes for success with Speech
Recognition?
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Proper Hardware System and Sound system
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Enunciation
of words
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Practice
and more practice (patience)
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For
hands free use one has to learn more commands (higher cognitive ability
needed)
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Use tools such as tutorials and
vocabulary builder to improve use
What is meant by High Cognitive Ability?
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Ability to voice appropriate
capitalization and punctuation
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Ability to assess the accuracy of the
dictation (text-to-speech is available in some products, but no highlighting
of words)
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Ability to correct incorrect dictation,
which usually requires the ability to spell at least the first few letters
of a word, and the ability to recognize a correct spelling among similarly
spelled words
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Ability to memorize commands and
procedures
State of Speech Recognition
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Continuous speech dictation is being
developed
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People with Disabilities not focus of
developers
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Bankruptcy putting future of products in
question
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Incremental improvements
Speech Recognition Products for PC
Speech Recognition Programs for the Macintosh
Speech Recognition for Other Operating Systems
Environmental Control Units
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PC Based Units
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–
Cintex3
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Non
PC Based
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–
Madenta Nemo
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–
SiCare Pilot/Lite
- Speech Output Wireless Solutions
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JAWBone
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Radio
Webcaster
Jawbone Characteristics
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Optimized combination of JAWS and Dragon
configuration files allowing the programs to function simultaneously
(introduced 1999).
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Minimizes command conflicts between JAWS
and NS.
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Includes voice macros to carry out JAWS
commands and some keystrokes to carry out Dragon operations.
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Works optimally in Dragon dictation
window (limited functionality and reduced recognition accuracy in other
applications).
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Most efficient if some keyboard control
is available.
What is Required for JAWBone?
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Powerful computer
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Fluid speech and knowledge of macro
command names
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Understanding of fundamentals of both
JAWS and NS
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Fairly high cognitive ability
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Keyboarding skill useful but not
necessary
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Patience
Radio Webcaster
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Designed for Internet audio.
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Adjustable FM transmitter broadcasts
computer audio to any radio within range.
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Broadcast can include output from a
software-based speech synthesizer.
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Permits untethered listening to long text
files or audio sources.
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Webcaster application does not appear to
be screen-reader accessible, but only needs to be launched to broadcast.
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Includes x-10 remote control for mouse
manipulation.
Other CordlessTechnologies
Tradeoffs with Cordless Devices
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Battery Life: Batteries make portability
possible. They may need to be changed often, depending on power requirements
of the device. (microphones are especially vulnerable to degraded
transmission due to low power.)
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Small Controls: Small buttons and
switches reduce size and increase convenience of portable devices. However,
they may be difficult to operate for anyone with limited hand dexterity.
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Security: Cordless devices are more
difficult than tethered peripherals to maintain securely. Loss and theft are
more likely, and these devices may not be appropriate in public computer
labs.
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Interference: Using multiple cordless
technologies makes interference among them more likely.
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Transmission Range: Some devices only
operate within a limited range from the base computer. Other systems may
broadcast too far and interfere with coworkers or neighbors.
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Slow Interfaces: Head-pointing and other
systems requiring an on-screen keyboard may create too much lag-time for
many users to operate efficiently.
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Unless one has a large monitor or screen
enlargement/speech output, it may be hard to access the information from the
monitor.
Future of Wireless Technologies
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Mainstream technologies getting better
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–Example: Bluetooth
technologies that are cheap and widespread in the near future
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–Speech Recognition
only getting better (Microsoft developing speech recognition to be
integrated in operating system)
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–Integration of
technologies providing fascinating solutions (Freedom Box, PDA/Palm Pilot,
Cell Phone Accessibility)
Conclusion
- The Standard Computer with Mouse, Keyboard, and Monitor combination is on
the decline.
- It is important for people with disabilities not be left out in the
creation of these new technologies.
- Creativity, advocacy, and innovation need to be in place so the disabled
community are no longer playing catch up in getting needs met.
Contact Information
Web Site: http://www.dcp.ucla.edu
Kevin Price email: pricek@ucla.edu
Patrick Burke
email: burke@ucla.edu
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