Alternative Visualization of Textual Information for People with Sensory Impairment

Abstract

Assistive technology has been developed to provide access to information sources for people with sensory impairment. Disabled people can benefit from the use of existing alternative methods and techniques with some producing output with fairly high accuracy. Nevertheless, the problem of synthesizing a suitable method for proper information imaging to the sensory impaired user still remains unsolved. For this reason, assistive techniques undergo continuous experimentation and usability research in order to resolve this issue. The summary of the dissertation provides an analytical survey of the currently existing assistive methods and techniques for imaging textual information that employ the residual senses of the impaired user. The problematic aspects affecting the use of computer help for people having ocular pathology and hearing disorders were the particular subject of this study. These issues have to be taken into account by the developers of advanced assistive user interfaces.

Eight internationally published studies represent the main scientific contribution of the dissertation. They illustrate how novel assistive techniques could be introduced and exploited by people with sensory impairment.

Four ways to display textual information for people with a sensory impairment were investigated. They are:

1. Dynamic imaging of the symbolic information (electromagnetic textured element); 2. Color blinking alphabet and low cost peripheral monitor to deliver textual information to the visually impaired persons and music notation to the visually impaired musicians; 3. Hearing communication aid based on pseudo-graphic typeface; 4. A set of vibro-tactile composite patterns which can further be employed to assign alphabet characters, words, abbreviations or symbols to convey textual or symbolic information to the deaf or hearing impaired people.

Two prototypes of the wearable assistive devices for the visually impaired people and several software tools for visually impaired and hearing impaired people were designed to examine which of the assistive methods and techniques developed could be introduced to compensate for the sensory deficit.

Series of extensive empirical and usability studies were performed to evaluate the strength, usefulness and appropriateness of implemented assistive aids. The basic concepts, interaction techniques implemented and the practical consequences of the empirical studies were discussed as well as some improvements that were or could be applied to the techniques presented.

The following applications may result based on this research: 1. New assistive aids and games for sensory impaired people intended for the use in mobile wearable systems, and 2. Multimodal educational software tools for sensory impaired people.

The summary of the dissertation provides an analytical survey of the currently existing assistive methods and techniques for imaging textual information that employ the residual senses of the impaired user. The problematic aspects affecting the use of computer help for people having ocular pathology and hearing disorders were the particular subject of this study. These issues have to be taken into account by the developers of advanced assistive user interfaces.

Eight internationally published studies represent the main scientific contribution of the dissertation. They illustrate how novel assistive techniques could be introduced and exploited by people with sensory impairment.

Four ways to display textual information for people with a sensory impairment were investigated. They are:

1. Dynamic imaging of the symbolic information (electromagnetic textured element); 2. Color blinking alphabet and low cost peripheral monitor to deliver textual information to the visually impaired persons and music notation to the visually impaired musicians; 3. Hearing communication aid based on pseudo-graphic typeface; 4. A set of vibro-tactile composite patterns which can further be employed to assign alphabet characters, words, abbreviations or symbols to convey textual or symbolic information to the deaf or hearing impaired people.

Two prototypes of the wearable assistive devices for the visually impaired people and several software tools for visually impaired and hearing impaired people were designed to examine which of the assistive methods and techniques developed could be introduced to compensate for the sensory deficit.

Series of extensive empirical and usability studies were performed to evaluate the strength, usefulness and appropriateness of implemented assistive aids. The basic concepts, interaction techniques implemented and the practical consequences of the empirical studies were discussed as well as some improvements that were or could be applied to the techniques presented.

The following applications may result based on this research: 1. New assistive aids and games for sensory impaired people intended for the use in mobile wearable systems, and 2. Multimodal educational software tools for sensory impaired people.