IS101Y/CMSC101IS101Y/CMSC101

Dr. Ravi KuberDr. Ravi Kuber

Importance of AccessibilityImportance of Accessibility

rkuber@umbc.edurkuber@umbc.edu

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Universal UsabilityUniversal Usability

• Universal usability refers to design of information

and communications products and services that

are both accessible and usable by all

• Ideally, this should come at no additional cost to the user

• Relates to the disabled community

DisabilitiesDisabilities

Visible disabilities

• Blind

• Deaf & hard of hearing

• Physical disabilities

Invisible disabilities

• Color blindness

• Learning disabilities

• Speech or language disabilities

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QuestionQuestion

Why should we take into account the needs of disabled communities when developing systems?

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Why accessibility is Why accessibility is important?important?

• We are good people and want everyone to benefit from our systems, at no additional expense

• We want to enable everyone to do tasks independently, with minimal reliance on others

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Why accessibility is Why accessibility is important?important?

• Statistics for unemployment among disabled groups

– 17.8% of individuals with disabilities were employed in 2012

– 63.9% of people without a disability were employed in 2012

• Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012

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Why accessibility is Why accessibility is important?important?

• Legislation

– Section 508

– Designed to eliminate barriers to technology

– Federal web sites need to be accessible to people of all abilities

• Law suits filed

– Target (2009)

– More recently Penn State University

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So what can I do?So what can I do?

• Careers in accessibility consultancy

– Examine web sites or applications within organizations

– Identify the barriers faced by disabled users

– Try to rectify these through redesign using Section 508 guidelines

– Extensively test systems with disabled users

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So what can I do?So what can I do?

• Careers in research

– Examine the challenges affecting disabled groups

– Build new technologies to support them

– Keep the user at the center of the design process

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Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Assistive camera technology (Jayant et al., 2011)

• PortraitFramer (Android)• Number of faces detected voiced by mobile app• Vibrations presented to help user identify position of faces

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Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Money detector

– UMCP developed system where cell phone takes pictures of bills

– Presents them in speech format

– More information at: http://src.acm.org/liu/liu.html

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Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Color Detectors

– Color Teller (Brytech www.brytech.com)

– Handheld device detects colors, tints and shades

– Color is spoken out to user

– Can also tell you if lights are on in room or not

Research to Support Blind UsersResearch to Support Blind Users

• Games include RockBand, GuitarHero – Check out the ASSETS Conference for more papers

Folmer, E. (2011) Human Computer Interaction of Video Games: Game Accessibility

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Research to Support Physical Research to Support Physical DisabilitiesDisabilities

• Can help with guidance to hyperlinks or various items within a document

• For users with tremor, spasm, muscle weakness, partial paralysis, or poor

Hwang et al. (2003) Multiple Haptic Targets for Motion-Impaired Users. Proceedings of CHI’03.

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Research to Support Physical Research to Support Physical DisabilitiesDisabilities

• Alternative entry devices

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Research to Support Cognitive Research to Support Cognitive DisabilitiesDisabilities

• Carelli et al. (2011)– Study conducted to understand route planning by

older adults– Virtual Reality mazes created

Carelli L., Rusconi M.L., Scarabelli C., Stampatori C., Mattioli F., Riva G.The transfer from survey (map-like) to route representations into Virtual Reality Mazes: effect of age and cerebral lesion Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, (2011),

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Research to Support Behavioral Research to Support Behavioral DisordersDisorders

• Lanyi et al. 2006– Virtual classroom developed

– Aim is to improve confidence in virtual school environment to transfer to real school• Public speaking

Working with others

Lanyi et al. (2006) Virtual Reality in Special Needs Early Education. International Journal of Virtual Reality, 2006, 5(4):55-68

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Research to Support Speech and Research to Support Speech and Language DisordersLanguage Disorders

• VR has been used– Aphasia (to name common items in the house)

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Motek - http://www.motekmedical.com– Users can interact with virtual worlds– Improve physical and cognitive abilities– Treatment for head injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis,

motor neuron disease, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy

– Game (below) requires user to steer the dragon around an environment, testing orientation skills

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Motek - http://www.motekmedical.com– Patient mimics posture of an avatar to balance on

the boat– Waves are presented, so participant should stay in

control

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Research to Support Research to Support RehabilitationRehabilitation

• Simone Concepts simoneconcepts.com– Retraining users with TBIs to drive again– Simulation presented– Distracting tasks given– Checking participants behavior over time

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Accessibility is not always prioritized

• How to use low-cost technologies

• Designing for multiple disabilities

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Design for an aging population

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Biggest ChallengesBiggest Challenges

• Supporting disabled kids in the classroom

• Facilitating collaboration between disabled and non-disabled individuals

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Practical ChallengesPractical Challenges

• Obtaining participants

• Communication

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What can I do?What can I do?

• Take IS303 for a stronger background in Human-Centered Computing

• Look at the proceedings of the ASSETS conference (http://assets13.sigaccess.org/)

• Think about getting involved in research at UMBC

– Volunteer to participate in research studies

– Work with faculty on projects

– URA

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Recruiting an undergraduate Recruiting an undergraduate student for two semestersstudent for two semesters

• Project looking at intellectual disabilities

• Student needed to:

– Review technologies developed

– Develop a simple mobile application

– Test this with target population

• Can be registered as an independent study (IS400/469)

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Recruiting an undergraduate Recruiting an undergraduate student for two semestersstudent for two semesters

• Requirements:

– Programming knowledge (IS147/CMSC201 is fine)

– Mobile development experience is good, but not essential

– Able to analyze data and write-up findings

– Student must be within first four semesters at UMBC

• If interested, please contact Dr. Kuber (rkuber@umbc.edu).