Light: Embracing emerging technologies Dr Scott Hollier UWA 2018 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dr Scott Hollier UWA 2018

The Seeing without Light: Embracing emerging technologies

Technology for everyone

• Supportive family, friends and

mentors

• Education
• Perseverance with employment
• Getting out the front door
• Parallel development of my life and

the ICT revolution Embracing life as a person with a disability

• Retinitis Pigmentosa, first eye

specialist pessimistic about the future

• Second eye specialist couldn’t

provide solutions, but did provide hope

• Parents as teachers helped to make

sure I got a good education Diagnosis

• Key people make a difference
• Steve Kessell story
• Thanks to Steve saving me from

termination, achieved:

• BSc Computer Science major, creative

writing minor

• Master (Internet Studies)
• PhD (Internet Studies)
• Master (Community Management)

Education

• Most of my friends got jobs quickly

after university, I kept missing out

• Needed to find something I was

passionate about and prepare for disability-related questions

• Wrote letter to every ISP in WA,

eventually got my first job Employment

• Travel agent story
• Have travelled to all seven continents

Getting out the front Door

and so it begins! ICT revolution

1980s – Dawn of software AT

• Hardware-based text-to-

speech showcased at 1981 International Year of Disabled persons

• SAM (Software Automatic

Mouth) released in 1982

• n various 8-bit systems

such as Commodore 64, Atari and Apple

1980s – Dawn of software Assistive Technology (AT)

• Hardware-based text-to-

speech showcased at 1981 International Year of Disabled persons

• SAM (Software Automatic

Mouth) released in 1982

• n various 8-bit systems

such as Commodore 64, Atari and Apple

1990s – Internet and independence

• For the mainstream population,

Internet was viewed primarily as an information and communication resource

• For people with disabilities, the

equation was far more important

• Disability + Technology =

Independence

Today - Current engagement factors

• Mainstream computers and mobile

devices include a wealth of accessibility features

• Web and app accessibility is critical

in making assistive technologies work

• Expectations of government (NTS,

NDIS) has increased significantly

Types of AT

• Screen reader: A text-to-speech application that

reads out computer and internet-related information to assist people who are blind or vision impaired;

• Screen magnifier: A magnification tool (for example

zoom text) for enlarging screen content;

• Themes: High contrast themes allow people with

visual impairments to change the colours to a more comfortable setting such as white-on-black), and increase the size of mouse pointers and text

• Braille: support for a hardware Braille display

Desktop - Windows 10

• Change the icon and text size
• Mouse pointer size & movement
• High contrast colour themes
• StickyKeys & ToggleKeys
• Visual alerts
• On-screen keyboard
• Magnifier
• Narrator screen reader
• Cortana
• Dual interface: keyboard & touch
• Braille support
• Eye control
• NVDA: free alternative to Narrator

Demonstration – Desktop

• Windows 10 Narrator
• Windows 10 Magnifier
• Hollier.info consultancy website

Desktop - Mac

Improvements over Windows:

• Better screen reader

VoiceOver However…

• VoiceOver doesn’t work well

with Office for Mac

• Lacks touchscreen support,

restricting interface choice

Mobile & tablet - Apple iOS iOS (IPhone/iPad)

• Great access:

VoiceOver, zoom, captioned video, colour changes, switch key

• Helpful apps like Seeing

AI and Eye-D

• Talkback screen reader,

magnifier, colour contrast adjustments, global caption support

• Good third-party apps like

BIG Launcher and Eye-D

• More affordable than

Apple equivalent

Mobile & tablet - Google Android

Demonstration - mobile

• Android TalkBack screen reader
• CNN app

WCAG 2.0 terminology

• W3C Web Content Accessibility

Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 is the world standard to make content accessible

• Three implementation levels: A, AA

and AAA

• In Australia, the AHRC recommends

WCAG 2.0 Level AA

WCAG 2.0 overview

Perceivable:

• Provide text alternatives for non-text

content.

• Provide captions and alternatives for

audio and video content.

• Make content adaptable, and make it

available to assistive technologies.

• Use sufficient contrast to make

things easy to see and hear.

WCAG 2.0 overview

Operable:

• Make all functionality keyboard

accessible.

• Give users enough time to read and

use content.

• Do not use content that causes

seizures.

• Help users navigate and find

content.

WCAG 2.0 overview

Understandable:

• Make text readable and understandable.
• Make content appear and operate in

predictable ways.

• Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust:

• Maximize compatibility with current and

future technologies.

• WCAG 2.1 arriving this year to help

make the mobile web more accessible

• Internet of Things (IoT) likely to have

significant impact

• VR, AR and Driverless cars
• W3C Silver to make it all accessible

The future

• Kevin Ashton generally credited for

coining term in 1999, said that:

• “Today, computers, and therefore the

Internet, are nearly wholly dependent on humans for information. The problem is, people have limited time and accuracy, all of which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the real world. And that’s a big deal”

Why the Internet of Things?

IoT is not as new as you might think!

• Connectivity
• Environmental feedback
• Affordability
• User interface: now

conversational Four reasons for the rapid rise in IoT popularity

IoT at CES 2018

• Next-generation accessibility standard
• One accessibility standard to provide

guidance on:

• Web
• Apps
• Wearables
• Internet of Things
• Virtual Reality
• Augmented Reality
• Driverless Cars
• Things that haven’t been invited yet

W3C Silver

Outrunning the Night available now!

Outrunning the Night: a life journey of disability, determination and joy. Editions:

• Paperback
• Kindle e-book
• Audio book

Go to outrunningthenight.com for more information and sample chapter

Further information

• E-mail:

scott@hollier.info

• Website:

hollier.info

• Mobile:

+61(0)430 351 909

• Twitter:

@scotthollier

• Newsletter: newsletter@hollier.info
• Book:
• utrunningthenight.com