Gary Bishop

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Enabling Technology

• Gary Bishop
• gb_at_cs.unc.edu

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Enabling Technology

• Technology that mitigates a disability
• Geeks making the world a bit better

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Who needs it?

• 10 million blind and visually impaired in the
  U.S. (gt50 older than 65)
• 552,000 profoundly deaf
• 25 million have difficulty hearing
• 1.6 million wheelchair users
• 800,000 switch users
• 300,000 severely learning disabled
• 1.75 million mildly learning disabled
• 3 million stutters

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How does it impact you?

• Your parents, grandparents, and kids
• Your employees, co-workers, and students
• Your friends
• You A minority you can join at any time

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Kids and computers

• Q What do many visually impaired children do
  while their sighted peers go to computer lab?

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Kids and computers

• Q What do many visually impaired children do
  while their sighted peers go to computer lab?
• A Nothing! But why?!

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Hark the Sound (of Tar Heel Voices)
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Braille Twister
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Sonic Zoom
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More Games

• Whack-It
• Pad Play
• Typing Tutor
• Mazes
• Street Crossing
• DDR

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Computer access

• Q How do many blind people use modern computer
  software?

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Computer access

• Q How do many blind people use modern computer
  software?
• A With a screen reader. But is that good enough?

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Screen reader problems

• Where am I?
• Where can I go from here?
• How do I get there from here?
• What's under my cursor?
• What just happened?

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Clique

• Conversation
• Non-speech sounds
• Multiple voices
• 3D audio

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Stuttering

• Q What does computer technology have to do with
  stuttering?

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Stuttering

• Q What does computer technology have to do with
  stuttering?
• A Check out this amazing work at ECU!
  http//www.speecheasy.com/

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Accessible Maps
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Accessible Maps

• Previous work display WHERE things are
• Passively listen as map is scanned
• Move a cursor, hear what is nearby
• User discovers RELATIONSHIPS
• Suppose we display RELATIONSHIPS?
• One web-page for each place
• Links to pages for nearby places

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How about this?

• Sitterson Hall Home of the department of
  computer science. You are facing west on the west
  side of Sitterson near the bus stop on Columbia
  street.
• Links
• Carolina Inn is west across Columbia.
• Turning right, Peabody hall is north on Columbia.
• Phillips hall behind you to the north east across
  a parking lot.
• Turning left, ROTC is south on Columbia.

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How can I help?

• Ideas
• Content Art / Music / Maps
• Accessible web pages
• Community education
• User studies

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Why at the University?

• Commercial assistive technology is expensive
• Low volume
• All the prices are high
• Agencies often pay
• 80 dont get AT because of
• Students are motivated by projects that matter
• Were supposed to do public service
• If not the University, then who?