[real-eyes] Fw: More Power for Play
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 16:18:24 -0600
Here's a great article from another list.
Reg
For the Disabled, More Power for Play
GPS devices and airport videophones are just some of the latest gadgets that
can help people with disabilities enjoy travel and leisure
By Suzanne Robitaille
Assistive technologies are prevalent in the workplace, but when people with
disabilities gear up to have some fun their options are more limited. This may
seem like an oversight, but it's not: Disability protections have mostly
focused on boosting jobs for this group, and employer demands for computers,
mouse alternatives, and similar assistive technologies have soared over the
last decade.
With the New Year, the landscape will be altered-for the better-for the
nation's 56 million disabled Americans. President Bush in September signed the
Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, which will go into effect Jan. 1,
2009. The act will expand on the original 1990 law to include more disabilities
that affect "one or more major life activity," such as learning disorders,
among many others. It will also clarify that a major life activity doesn't just
include work. The act expands this definition to include communicating,
reading, and other activities of central importance-such as plain old fun. The
new requirements for businesses have not yet been spelled out.
Big Market
The ADA Amendments Act marks an important milestone for Americans with
disabilities, and also offers new opportunities for companies to design and
market more accessible products and services . Even without the law, doing so
makes good business sense. One in five Americans has a disability, representing
a $200 billion market of consumers eager to spend on technologies that will
improve their lives.
A handful of technology providers have taken the lead in putting more pleasure
into pastimes for people with disabilities. Some companies, such as Microsoft
(MSFT), already have a foothold in workplace assistive technologies, and
they're now expanding into new scenarios. Others came to the assistive
technology market by accident-having realized their products were life-changers
for the disabled at play. Either way, they've all had a hand in opening the
market for technologies that are making life more playful and productive for
people with disabilities.
The travel industry is at the forefront of providing accessible technologies,
partly because airports and airlines are public spaces and must comply with
many ex isting ADA rules. Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports are
exceptionally innovative. In September 2007, O'Hare began offering public
videophones that let deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers place calls in sign
language with the help of a 24-hour, free video relay service. At the push of a
button, a human sign-language interpreter comes up on the screen to help the
customer place the call and communicate their message. These multilingual,
touchscreen videophones also provide tourist and transportation information and
read airport announcements. Midway began offering the videophones in early
2008, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport now provides a similar
service. "If the travel industry doesn't adapt, its customers will be literally
stuck at home," says Eric Lipp, founder of Open Doors, an organization that
promotes accessible travel. The cost of each videophone to the airport: $8,500,
but they're free to use by anyone in the airport.
As many road-trippers know, traveling in unfamiliar territory can be an
exercise in frustration, one that's made easier with global positioning
systems. Unfortunately, most GPS programs are designed for car travel, not
pedestrian travel, which renders it useless to people who are blind. One
solution: Mobile GEO from Barcelona-based Code Factory, which makes the only
GPS navigation software for Microsoft Windows' Mobile-based smartphones, pocket
PC phones, and PDAs. With Mobile GEO the listener, using a Bluetooth headset,
hears a voice give detailed instructions on how to get from here to there, like
so: "Walk 200 yards south, cross the street, and Starbucks (SBUX) will be on
the northwest corner of 18th Street and Broadway." Landmarks are preprogrammed,
but users can insert their own notes to help them avoid scaffolding or
blockades. Mobile GEO, which was released in July in the U.S., runs on devices
from AT&T Wireless (T), Sprint (S), Verizon Wireless, T -Mobile,
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Motorola (MOT), Samsung, and other manufacturers. It
costs around $900 for the mobile phone, software, and headset.
Temporary Help
Even those who don't have a permanent disability-a bad fall on the ski slopes,
perhaps?-can benefit from assistive technology. Take Arel Wente from Livermore,
Calif., who broke her foot and considered canceling an upcoming cruise with her
husband. Instead, she used a wheelchair, and luckily, she sailed on Royal
Caribbean's Celebrity Solstice, which has introduced new accessibility
standards for the high seas: pool and whirlpool contraptions that lift
wheelchair users in and out of the water; automatic doors for the ship's 30
accessible staterooms; and for the deaf, lights that flash when a restroom
stall is occupied.
Walt Disney World (DIS), quite possibly the epitome of fun, "goes above and
beyond what the ADA requires in it s theme parks," says Stephen Ashley, author
of Walt Disney World with Disabilities. Deaf and hearing-impaired park-goers
can follow the thrills at Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Hollywood Studios in
Orlando with a PDA-sized closed-captioning device that's free to use with a
$100 refundable deposit. The sleeker, lighter 2008 version of the narration
device now has descriptive audio for visually impaired guests. Disney also
offers several wheelchair-accessible rides.
Those looking for a more mature experience can enjoy many national parks and
zoos with the GPS Ranger, a handheld that uses GPS coordinates to trigger an
audio and video commentary of the immediate area. Software designer Lee Little,
founder of BarZ Adventures, invented the GPS Ranger after a family visit to
Yellowstone National Park, where there was no ranger available to answer his
questions about the park's geysers. Little realized his new device could also
be useful for for people with all kinds of disabilities, including those with
hearing, sight, and mobility impairments. The GPS Ranger is truly a
multitasking gadget. Since March 2008, deaf users have been able to watch a
sign-language video interpretation of a park or zoo tour on the device's
four-inch screen. Those with mild or moderate hearing loss can watch with
subtitles. Real-time audio descriptions aid visitors with vision impairments,
and for wheelchair users, an interactive GPS map provides the location of
accessible ramps, parking, and restrooms. The GPS Ranger can be rented at two
dozen zoos and parks, including the Dallas Zoo, Zion National Park in Utah, and
Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It costs about $15 to rent for the day.
Apple (AAPL) has been making a serious footprint with accessibility, including
improvements in September to the latest version of its popular iPod music
player and the iTunes 8 music library. The fourth-generation iPod nano now has
speech capability that can be enabled via iTunes on a Mac or PC during the sync
process that creates spoken names for everything on the iPod. The font sizes
can also be enlarged from the settings menu. Apple also plans to install
technology in iTunes by June 2009 that will make the entire library accessible,
guided by a voice that calls out whatever a mouse pointer slides over,
including file commands and music and movie titles. The price for the iPod nano
starts at $149.
From Word to Audio
Not to be outdone, Microsoft opened its Inclusive Innovation Showroom in
October to demonstrate how various assistive technologies can work as a system.
One popular technology is "Save as DAISY," a free plug-in for Microsoft Word
that allows text to be converted into voice and searched with vocal commands
using the digital accessible information system format, or DAISY. This is the
standard audio file for the blind and is consider ed superior to MP3 because
DAISY uses metadata to find chapter headings, bookmarks, and page numbers.
"There's no way to tell an audio file to go to page 20 unless it's in DAISY
format," says Daniel Hubbell, accessibility technical evangelist for Microsoft.
The best use for "Save as DAISY" is for blind students seeking audio versions
of class lessons, or avid readers seeking a talking version of say, the latest
Oprah book pick, which usually can be found on Audible.com and Bookshare.org
for a small membership fee. Using DAISY format, a talking book
can be played using Windows software such as EasyReader, which is $60, or on a
portable DAISY player.
Readers with dexterity issues may appreciate the electronic page turner on
Kindle, Amazon's wireless book reader, which costs around $350. However,
there's currently no DAISY support to aid people who are blind, though this
could change as Amazon (AMZN) purchased Audible.com in Janu ary. Under the new
ADA amendment, the disabled can expect more accessible options if Kindle
becomes the de facto e-reader for students and professionals.
Due out in 2009, the Survivor Speech Companion System from Kessler Foundation
and O'Brien Technologies will offer a new communications option for people who
cannot speak, often because of a stroke or brain injury. Speech Companion is a
handheld touchscreen device that comes preloaded with a list of places,
conversations, and pictures, such as popular phrases, stores, and restaurants.
Basically, it is a talking machine that's customized to resemble the user's
natural voice while he recovers. Survivor Speech Companion is best used with a
family member or caregiver who can intercept specific requests, such as "Please
take me to Best Buy so I can purchase a TV." It can also, for example, ask a
waitress, "Can I have a hamburger, cooked medium well, with lettuce and
American cheese?&quo t; Many insurance plans, including Medicare, will cover
the cost of the device, which will run around $6,000.
Larger technology providers may already have an edge-and an audience-for
bringing new assistive technologies to disabled consumers. Yet the field is
wide open for companies seeking a lucrative new niche in a growing market that
would undoubtedly welcome more fun and games.
Suzanne Robitaille writes on disability issues and assistive technology. Her
blog is Profoundly Yours http://profoundlyyours.blogspot.com/
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ATI (Adaptive Technology Inc.)
A special interest affiliate of the Missouri Council of the Blind
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