1,720,975 research outputs found
Accessibility and usability of web content and applications
No full textAccessibility is essential for every system or product in order to guarantee equal opportunity for access and use to all, including the differently-abled. Thus it is crucial to remove any technological barriers for special needs users, who explore the Internet by assistive technologies. However, ensuring efficient and satisfactory (in other words, usable) interaction with user interfaces (UIs) of products or services must occur in the design phase, in order to produce UIs that are universally simple to understand, rapid and easy to use. Applying accessibility and usability criteria from the very beginning of the design phase is much less costly than introducing it later, so specific guidelines should be followed from the earliest stages of the design process. In the long run, creating accessible and usable Web UIs will improve overall efficiency and effectiveness of interaction for any individual and organization
Designing a text entry multimodal keypad for blind users of touchscreen mobile phones
No full textIn this report, we share our experience and observations on the challenges blind people face with text entry on touch-based mobile phones, particularly from the perspective of one of the authors, who is blind. To better understand these issues we developed and tested Multimodal Text Input Touchscreen Keypad (MTITK), an audio-tactile text entry prototype based on multitap, which relies on a telephone keypad layout organized into five key groups with distinct audio-tactile feedback. Users explore the screen to identify the current selected key, tap to enter text, and gesture to edit it, while receiving the corresponding voice, audio, and tactile feedback; no additional equipment is necessary in our software-only approach. We implemented a prototype on Android and tested its usability with visually impaired participants; they welcomed its multimodality and the familiar layout, but also expressed the need to increase vibration pattern differentiation and refine the character selection mechanism
Exploring visually impaired people's gesture preferences for smartphones
No full textIn this study we investigated how visually impaired people perform gestures on touch-screen smartphones. To this end, we recruited 36 visually impaired participants to explore differences and preferences in carrying out a set of gestures, selected according to certain characteristics (e.g., shape, number of fingers or strokes,etc.). For this purpose, we developed a system to collect gestures from several participants interacting with mobile smartphones at the same time. Results confirm previous research regarding the preference of visually impaired users for simple gestures, made with one finger and a single stroke. Moreover, rounded shapes were greatly preferred to angular ones
Haptic reference cues to support the exploration of touchscreen mobile devices by blind users
No full textMobile devices are currently used for an increasing number of activities. However, their use is still a challenge for blind users. Main problems are especially due to the interaction via touchscreen and the lack of hardware keys for quickly detecting or activating functions. In this paper we investigated the use of the tactile channel to make interaction with touch-based mobile devices easier for blind users. After introducing common touchscreen usability problems, we presented our proposal aimed at enriching the user interface with haptic points to aid blind user orientation on the main sections of a user interface. Starting from two use cases, in order to set-up the proposed solution we have developed a simple controller prototype, based on Arduino open-hardware
Designing e-learning collaborative tools for blind people
No full textThe basic principle of e-learning is to achieve personal learning goals by acquiring skills and knowledge through computers or others network-enabled systems. The use of computers and the Internet have changed classic methods of teaching and learning, introducing the concept of distance learning as a great opportunity for studying unfettered by constraints of time and space. Although information and communication systems are helpful for implementing both the learning and teaching processes, e-learning is not merely a trivial way to transfer knowledge using electronic devices (computers, smart phone, mp3 players, etc.) while relying on the network and Web user interfaces. According to the recent concept of third-generation distance learning, the active participation of students in the formative process is an important factor in the personal learning phase (Beard & Wilson, 2002; Kolb, 1984). E-learning is a great opportunity to move from old traditional systems towards more effective and efficient methods for acquiring and transferring knowledge beyond the traditional class environments, adapting to the modern life and new technologies. In addition, acquisition of new skills and knowledge is not only affected by an individual's mental schemes or beliefs, but also by their interaction, cooperation and collaboration with others (Merrill, 1991). Communication and social collaboration are crucial for generating the best learning environment. In the learner-centred model, students assume the most important role while teachers investigate and experiment more interesting and interactive ways of teaching. Another important aspect is personalization of rhythms of studying, according to student abilities. Unfortunately, learning tools and collaborative tools in general are not always designed to be effectively used by blind users, who generally interact via an assistive technology, a screen reader, using a vocal synthesizer and only the keyboard. For instance, collaborative editing of documents could be very difficult or not usable at all for blind users if: 1) they are unaware of other users' changes; 2) the formatting toolbars and other interactive elements like menus are difficult or impossible to access; 3) the list of documents is not quickly available (Mori et al., 2011). In this chapter we will analyze e-learning collaborative and alternative tools in the learning environment, following the new paradigm for personalized acquisition of knowledge, in order to suggest basic guidelines for making effective and improving the interaction for blind people. We will present the possibilities and advantages of e-learning, focusing on its challenging opportunities for the blind. We will describe how blind people interact with interfaces using a screen reader with a voice synthesizer (as output modality) in combination with a keyboard (as input device). In addition, we will propose suggestions for improving the design of more effective tools to facilitate collaboration and blind users' interaction and personalization. Finally, we will supply two examples of the new paradigm of learning: 1) the design of more accessible interfaces of a Web editing collaborative tool, interacting with a screen reader and 2) a Web system to personalize learning by blind students using an mp3 player. Generally, active participation and collaborative interaction can improve the learning experience, so the full support of screen reader users in e-learning collaborative user interfaces (UIs) could also improve interaction and learning for blind people
Automatically structuring text for audio learning
No full textIn recent years podcasting has been in great demand as a recreation and a learning tool. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a system for automatically converting documents to structured audio. Our prototype is a Web-based service for preparing structured audio material to download on portable mp3 players. The on-line service is especially designed to aid users with special needs, such as the visually impaired. Ultimately, this would enhance comprehension for all
Tactile geographic map exploration by blind people
No full textThis prototype allows people with visual disabilities to explore tactile maps on touchscreen devices. The data source is an SVG file, freely available from the OSM (Open Street Map) portal and opportunely adapted to the needs of the project. The prototype consists of a tactile paper map made by a heat embosser (Minolta) and superimposed on a portable touchscreen device (Android Tablet) running an application software that contains all the map's data and responds to user interaction by communicating to them all the information, previously converted into digital format. Feedback to the user is converted into different formats, depending on the type of information (multimodality). For instance, a TTS (Text To Speech) engine is used to announce the name of each route, and different sounds and vibratory feedback are provided to differentiate stations, parks, etc. Compared to the systems described in literature, our prototype could guarantee greater portability, reducing the need for dedicated devices. Unfortunately, map production is still handmade and this limits the number of maps that can be realized
Analyzing visually impaired people's touch gestures on smartphones
No full textWe present an analysis of how visually impaired people perform gestures on touch-screen smartphones and report their preferences, explaining the procedure and technical implementation that we followed to collect gesture samples. To that end, we recruited 36 visually impaired participants and divided them into two main groups of low-vision and blind people respectively. We then examined their touch-based gesture preferences in terms of number of strokes, multi-touch, and shape angle, as well as their execution in geometric, kinematic and relative terms. For this purpose, we developed a wireless system to simultaneously record sample gestures from several participants, with the possibility of monitoring the capture process. Our results are consistent with previous research regarding the preference of visually impaired users for simple gestures: with one finger, a single stroke, and in one or two cardinal directions. Of the two groups of participants, blind people are less consistent with multi-stroke gestures. In addition, they are more likely than low-vision people to go outside the bounds of the display in the absence of its physical delimitation of, especially with multi-touch gestures. In the case of more complex gestures, rounded shapes are greatly preferred to angular ones, especially by blind people, who have difficulty performing straight gestures with steep or right angles. Based on these results and on previous related research, we offer suggestions to improve gesture accessibility of handheld touchscreen devices
Design of web-based tools to study blind people's touch-based interaction with smartphones
No full textNowadays touchscreen smartphones are the most common kind of mobile devic-es. However, gesture-based interaction is a difficult task for most visually im-paired people, and even more so for blind people. This difficulty is compounded by the lack of standard gestures and the differences between the main screen reader platforms available on the market. Therefore, our goal is to investigate the differences and preferences in touch gesture performance on smartphones among visually impaired people. During our study, we implemented a web-based wire-less system to facilitate the capture of participants' gestures. In this paper we pre-sent an overview of both the study and the system used
Improving user experience in the museum
No full textToday ICT can benefit any environment, including the safeguarding, preservation and empowerment of cultural heritage. Pervasive technologies such as mobile devices (smart phones and tablets), sensors and RFID (Radio-frequency identification) are flooding the real world, enabling new intelligent and easy-to-use services for everyone, including the differently-abled. RFID technology enables automatic identification of objects and has been successfully applied in museums to improve the museumgoer's experience or to increase the efficiency of a physical inventory. In this paper we discuss using RFID passive technology to identify artifacts in the museum and deliver content description in the most appropriate form through various sensorial channels, according to the user's abilities. Specifically, we describe the initial steps of a project aimed at creating mobile apps to facilitate the usability of museum visits for differently-abled and special-needs users
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