Communications of the ACM

I M A G E C O U R T E S Y O F I B R A I L L E R . C O M

When a blind person touches each cell, the pin configurations are recon-figured to represent the next line of the text being read. Some examples of these types of refreshable braille displays include the 40-cell Freedom Scientific’s Focus 14’s Ultra-Portable Wireless Braille Display ($1,295) and the larger, 80-cell Alva BC860 Braille Display ($8,995), which offers simultaneous connectivity with two computers or a computer and a smartphone.

Manufacturers of smartphones have not ignored this market, either. Apple patented a technology for “ hover-sen-sitive devices” in 2011 that could detect hand gestures made near the screen. Rival Samsung has provided support for its Airview feature, which lets users enlarge text or activate apps without touching the screen, on certain Galaxy devices running Google Android.

Frederic Pollmann, a researcher at
the University of Bremen’s Digital Media
Group in Germany, has been working on
the issue of accessibility and smart de-
MORE THAN 20% of U.S. adults live with some form of disability, ac- cording to a September 2015 report released by
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The latest generation
of smartphones, tablets, and personal
computers are equipped with acces-
sibility features that make using these
devices easier, or at least, less onerous,
for those who have sight, speech, or
hearing impairments. These enhance-
ments include functions such as screen-
reading technology (which reads aloud
text when the user passes a finger over
it); screen-flashing notification when a
call or message comes in for the hear-
ing impaired; and voice controls of ba-
sic functions for those who are unable
to physically manipulate the phone or
computing device’s controls.

Other technologies that can help the disabled have or are coming to market, and not all of them are focused simply on providing access to computers or smartphones. Irrespective of the accessibility provided, most market participants agree more needs to be done to help those with disabilities to fully experience our increasingly digital world.

Mobile Access Technologies

Thanks to the ubiquity of PCs, smart-
phones, and tablets, a significant
number of accessibility-related ap-
plications and enhancements are in
use today. The aforementioned screen
readers are interfaces that have been
developed to make it easier for people
to view and interact with content on
their computers, and vary in complex-
ity and features offered. Screen reader
software can range in cost from free,
such as the Orca software that works
with applications such as Open-
Office, Firefox, and the Java platform,
to for-pay options such as Serotek’s
System Access, which provides access
to Microsoft Windows, Outlook, Adobe
Reader, and Skype.

While each screen reader features its own command structure, most are designed so the operator can send commands via keystroke or a braille display to the computer and instruct it to read text out loud, and then have the computer’s voice synthesizer read a line or full screen of text. More advanced features allow for voice or braille control over spellchecking, verifying the position of a cursor, or modifying content.

Other technology designed to help people who cannot see interact more easily with their computing devices includes a software/hardware solution that reads content on the computer and then provides output in braille. The software captures words and images from web pages, then converts that content into a digital version of braille, which is then used to electromechanically control a set of pins contained in cells, which are arranged side-by-side.