Underlying Access Principles and Strategies for Access

- Today and Tomorrow

Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.

Trace R & D Center

University of Wisconsin – Madison

NIST IT Access Conf.

May 2001

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Trace R & D Center

Trace is a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center – funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)

Primary focus is access to Information Technologies and Telecommunications (joint with Gallaudet U.)

Balanced Program Research Solution Development Tools Development Technical Assistance / Tech Transfer Training

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Trace Center Focus RE 508

Trace is a research center and resource to the process by all sides

Funded by Government The primary direct customer of our products/output is Industry Primary Beneficiaries are people with disabilities (access) and industry

(ideas).

Section 508 sets the government requirements

These were purposely left vague to allow both for innovation and for application across technologies

Leaves it up to companies to figure out how to achieve these on their different technologies

Trace’s efforts are in this are are focused in 6 areas - all in support of companies’ efforts to create more accessible products for people with disabilities.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

6 Principal Areas of Effort

1. Doing research to find new, more effective ways to provide access that is

easier to incorporate seamlessly and inexpensively in standard products.

2. Working with a variety of companies to: Identify opportunities for making their products more

accessible Help them solve problems that arise with certain products or

features

3. Collecting and condensing different ideas 1000+ 200 - 300

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

6 Principal Areas of Effort

1. Doing research to find new, more effective ways to provide access that is

easier to incorporate seamlessly and inexpensively in standard products.

2. Working with a variety of companies to: Identify opportunities for making their products more

accessible Help them solve problems that arise with certain products or

features

3. Collecting and condensing different ideas 1000+ 200-300

4. Helping to identify prioritization strategies.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Usable Without VisionPriority 1 – Provide a means for the user to:

1. To perceive all (non-decorative) information (without vision). Including all control labels and all control status. (without requiring the user to know Braille).

2. To discern controls from their surrounding (without vision). Only necessary for those controls needed to access all functions of product.

3. To tell when (these) controls have been activated.

4. No controls which would be accidentally activated when locating or operating the “non-visual access mode” controls. (e.g. touch activated)

If public or shared / occasional Easily discover the instructions on how to operate the aid without vision

(if the product is not always in a mode that can be used without vision).

If they are unable to operate it directly (and their AT would allow them to) OR they need to and are unable to operate it efficiently enough (e.g. personal workstation) to connect the assistive technologies they need to use the product .

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Additional Strategies for Access without Vision

Strategies with varying levels of importance

Ability to interrupt and advance speech cues.

Error prevention, consequence minimization, and recovery

Strategies for increasing predictability

Strategies to facilitate searching for and locating controls

Strategies to help remember location of controls

Strategies to facilitate personal labeling of product

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

6 Principal Areas of Effort

1. Doing research to find new, more effective ways to provide access that is

easier to incorporate seamlessly and inexpensively in standard products.

2. Working with a variety of companies to: Identify opportunities for making their products more

accessible Help them solve problems that arise with certain products or

features

3. Collecting and condensing different ideas 1000+ 200-300

4. Helping to identify prioritization strategies.

5. Developing basic solution sets for different technologies Touch screen Kiosks Voting ATM Computers

Phones Copiers Security systems V2 etc.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

PBX - Blurred Vision of PBX Phone

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Example of EZ Button Help on a PBX Phone Preliminary Compilation

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Stationary vs Moving Scales

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Stationary vs Moving Scales

Reference Design for a Cross-Disability Accessible Cell

Phone

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Reference Design

Created to address Requests for examples on how to

meet guidelines Concerns that solutions for different

disabilities would conflict with each other To demonstrate how mass market features could

be used to address disability access issues (and vice versa).

To show that not all techniques had to be used to make a product accessible.

To demonstrate how much of the access requirements could be met purely with changes to software.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Achieving access via Mass Market Features Basically starts with a Standard Phone

With vibrating ringer, menu buttons, headset jack, nib on 5

That is hearing aid compatible That implements the Lucent or Ericsson (built in) TTY sol’n. [S]

Then adds the following General Purpose features

1. A baby sitter feature (auto dial and answer) [Software]

2. A Silent operation mode (text chat) [Software]

3. A QuickHelp feature [Software]

4. A No Timeout Option [Software]

5. “Eyes Free” Mode (One item on menu) [Software]

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

You now have a phone….

Accessible across major disability areas Blindness Low Vision Hard of Hearing Deafness Physical Disability Cognitive Inability to read

Cost All 5 features are software

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Other Touches (optional)

Shape of keys to reinforce function Nibs on other keys Ridge above and below the 3x4 block Optional “Email in the Hotel Room” Keyboard Speakerphone function Voice Dialing Voice Typing for SMS

But you don’t have to do these to make phone accessible.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Who is not able to use it today…

People who are Deaf-Blind People who are Paralyzed

How in the future… V2 - A new remote interface standard being developed

by the industry group NCITS coupled with emerging wireless networking (Jini, UPP etc.)

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

Far in the future?

It is possible to implement all features today with only software modifications

Ericsson has a prototype phone with some of these features today Standard phone programmed to add features.

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

KIOSK DEMO

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

6 Principal Areas of Effort

1. Doing research to find new, more effective ways to provide access that is

easier to incorporate seamlessly and inexpensively in standard products.

2. Working with a variety of companies to: Identify opportunities for making their products more

accessible Help them solve problems that arise with certain products or

features

3. Collecting and condensing different ideas 1000+ 200-300

4. Helping to identify prioritization strategies.

5. Developing basic solution sets for different technologies

6. Providing training opportunities to industry and to industry consultants

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

© 2001 Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin

For more information

http://trace.wisc.edu/

http://trace.wisc.edu/ufcdesign

Thank You