Sam Sir, Excellent inovative ideas shared. Thanks Sam Sir. Prashant Sir, Thanks for sharing it with the group.
Warm Regards. Milind Joshi. On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 10:01 PM, Prashant Naik <pran...@gmail.com> wrote: > Technology for Everyone - a NEWSWIRE Article in the Chip Magazine Issue > December 2011 > > Page 30 and 31 > > > > NEWSWIRE FEATURE - How the gadgets we take for granted can be adapted for > the disabled and tech novices > > In a world where everyone wants to be treated as equals, adaptable changes > in technology can help bridge the digital divide. > > > > *BY KAMAKSHISHRIVASTAVA* > > > > India is a very culturally diverse country that is growing at a rapid pace. > While most of us embrace technological advancements without a second > thought, the number of people who want to but cannot is quite overwhelming. > While the availability of resources does play a major role, more often than > not, it's our cultural mindset that creates such a rift. When we talk about > lack of technological access, we limit our understanding to people who have > physical or mental disabilities. While adaptability is making its way into > a few products making them usable by the disabled, those products form a > very small minority. Most of the gadgets we use today cannot be used by > differently abled people. > > > Awareness Campaigns > > > > The Xavier's Resource Center for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) located at > St Xavier's College, Mumbai is a "state of the art" support centre that > helps visually challenged persons. The organization is actively advocating > the need to make consumer gadgets adaptable to those who are visually > challenged. > > > > Dr Sam Taraporevala, the Director at XRCVC, who is also a Reader and Head > of the Department of Sociology? believes, "Products should be designed in > such a way that any person irrespective of mobility would be able to use > them." As a part of making general consumers aware of the troubles faced by > those who can't see, the center organized a familiarization drive called > Antarchakshu. > > > > The idea behind the event was to reveal how minor tweaks can help the > consumer experiences of the disabled. Dr Taraporevala elaborates, "What we > showcased at the event, apart from the sensitization element, was basically > the focus on the consumer. We looked a products from the perspective of a > disabled consumer and how manufacturers can make adaptive changes, in not > only the overall design but in the consumer experience. People were taken > through the supermarket experience, and then we went on to entertainment. > We also made participants experience banking services, using an accessible > ATM and a whole lot of other technologies that are available." > > *Image - Demonstration of an accessible ATM at the Antarchakshu 2011 > awareness event conducted by XRCVC.* > > > Successful initiatives > > > > It isn't that adaptable technology hasn't made its way to the general > public. One visit to the resource center and you can see it for yourself. > The facility boasts of a number of easy to use accessible technologies > including a massive Index 4X4 PRO Braille Embosser to print books in > Braille; Mountbatten MB Pro that lets you print diagrams, maps and graphs > in Braille; screen readers; magnification tools; Indian language Braille > translators (Shree-Lipi Braille); OCR tools that come with Braille > conversion options; and other talking devices. > > > > Apart from these, there are several devices that can be used on-the-go, > like Ruby, a portable video magnifier for low vision persons; DAISY > (Digital Accessible Information System) players that help people with > reading disabilities; Angel, a multipurpose portable digital device with > features of DAISY player, voice recorder, music and FM player, e-book > reader and handheld magnifier. > > > > Off all the tech manufacturers, Apple products rate very high on Dr > Taraporevala's list. Apart from the MacBook Pro, which has an in-built > screen reader called Voice Over, other apple devices like the i-Pad, > i-Phone, and iPod Touch offer adaptability apps that can make using devices > quite easy for the disabled. > > > > Adaptive banking services are one major area of change that is being pushed > for strongly by the center. Sam adds, "We have worked very closely with the > ATM industry and with the RBI as well to get these rules passed, but the > banks process has gone too slow. They have passed off partially speaking > machines as accessible. Now an accessible machine, something that speaks > out every screen and not just 'hello and welcome' and 'thank you', actually > gives feedback, and has built in safety features like capacity to blank > your screen so that nobody can "shoulder" stuff." > > > > The center has also pushed for changes in the fields of entertainment and > health care. Sam adds, "Not that the blind don't go to the movies; they > enjoy watching movies too, but the consumption of movies can be further > enhanced if you have audio description. Peepli Live is a movie, whose > commercial DVD available in the market has a built-in adaptability track. > So when you start the DVD, it gives you the option to start audio narration > simultaneously. So we gave our audience a two-minute clip of Peepli Live > minus the audio description, and two minutes with audio description. This > is something we are pushing the industry towards, and the producers of > Peepli Live actually adapted to that." > > > > As far as the healthcare industry goes, the center has provided research > and development to two leading manufacturers of electro physiotherapy > equipment in Maharashtra and Gujarat to launch fully accessible talking > electrotherapy physiotherapy equipments. > > The way ahead > > > > While there are a number of tools that let partially and completely blind > people use computers with ease, such tools are not limited to just > computing. Visually challenged or not, everybody needs automated consumer > gadgets, and technologies to make their life easier. > > > > Dr Taraporevala explains, "We have done a survey among blind users that > have thrown up specific needs that the blind have. One is about having > accessible set top boxes. As a sighted person, you can scroll through your > set top boxes and see what is running where. > > > > Hypothetically, you can have a speech-enabled system on that." He goes on > to add, "Audio description has come of age in the West. In fact, digital > TVs have the provision for that." > > > > What the center wants is consumer durables that conform to adaptability > standards. Sam ends by saying, "As a campaign, we get mainstream consumer > durables manufacturers to look at accessibility. Today, everything is based > on a motherboard, or circuitry, or a chipset. Hypothetically, it's very > easy to even retrofit a chipset with speech. Try running a microwave with > your eyes closed, you may not be able to, but if the same unit gives you > knob control, and button control through speaking out everything that you > key in or touch, your work is done. That can also be a fully automatic > washing machine, or a dish washer, and it's not expensive today. We have > done that with a mainstream physiotherapy machine for the blind. We got two > manufacturers, in fact, to retrofit machines and they have done a brilliant > job. Every single screen is spoken. India is an aging population, so it is > far better to give double stimuli than a single stimulus, where a voice > prompt is complimented with a visual prompt. It would also provide help to > a semiliterate person. So it has endless possibilities, not just for the > blind. One of our motives is talking to mainstream manufactures to get it > done. Research and development will cost them just a few hundred thousand > rupees and the chipsets in comparison cost next to nothing. In fact, they > would get a brilliant USP. > > > > feedb...@chip.in �� > > www.chip.in�� > > Network 18 > > 12/2011, intelligent Computing Chip > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
