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Your weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Show Notes:
Haptic Interfaces with Ali Israr from Disney Research (http://www.disneyresearch.com/)
A Ring Device ‘Reads’ Sign Language Out Loud – ABC News http://abcn.ws/18kfLct
Why Don’t We Design a Better Wheelchair? http://bit.ly/INFsWI
An Overview of OS X Mavericks, the New Apple Operating System for Macs – AccessWorld? – December 2013 http://bit.ly/18keHW1
The Eye Tribe shows off its $99 eye-tracking device for tablets | Digital Trends http://bit.ly/18kdWfp
Rethinking the Role of Keyboards in Accessible Technology – Part One – Microsoft Accessibility Blog – http://bit.ly/18kdGNt
Rethinking the Role of Keyboards – Part Two – Microsoft Accessibility Blog – http://bit.ly/INE8mG
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—- transcript follows —–
ALI ISRAR: Hi, my name is Ali Israr, and I’m a research engineer at Disney Research, and this is your Assistive Technology Update.
WADE WINGLER: Hi, this is Wade Wingler with the in data project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana with your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of technology, designed to assist people with disabilities and special needs.
Welcome to episode number 133 of Assistive Technology Update. It’s scheduled to be released on December 13 of 2013. We hope that you enjoyed the last two weeks we exposed our holiday shopping episode, part one and two, talk about all kinds of cool gifts and devices for folks that might make great gifts around the holiday season.
This week we have an interview with a Disney researcher named Ali Israr who’s going to educate us a little bit about haptic phases and how that might impact folks with disabilities, especially folks who are blind or visually impaired and rely on tactile drawings, braille, and those bumpy sort of interfaces. You got a story about designing a better culture, some information about how OS 10, Mavericks, might impact folks were voice over users, a $99 eye tracking system that’s going to be available for tablets, and rethinking the role of keyboards in assistive technology.
We hope that you will check out our website at EasterSealstech.com. Check us out on Twitter @IndataProject, or give us a call on our listener line. We love to hear your tips; we love to have your questions; you can reach us that way at 317-721-7124.
I’ve had several people in the last couple of weeks email me a story from ABC news about some rings and bracelets that are supposed to convert American Sign Language into spoken language. The idea is that the deaf person with some rings and bracelets, it follows that movement, and then converts that into spoken text for a hearing person. Then, when the hearing person speaks, the bracelet converts the spoken word back into text so that the deaf person can understand what was said. I’ve been in the situation a long time, and I know that that sounds pretty lofty in terms of being able to convert American Sign Language into spoken text, but I think it’s technology that we need to keep an eye on and check out. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. I’ll pop a link into the show notes over to ABC news and you can read this new story about a ring that reads sign language out loud.
The title of this blog post reads: why don’t we design a better wheelchair? And I have to say, it’s a little controversial, and I think a little bit fascinating two. Sarah Hendren is somebody who runs a blog about assistive technology called Abler which recently became part of the Gizmodo family. The argument that she makes here is that people with and without disabilities use assistive technologies all the time. She uses the example that wearing glasses are something that people do very routinely, and we don’t really typically consider that assistive technology, but it will cheer we do. She talks about how we need to return the term, assistive technology, to its rightful place. In fact there’s a quote here, she says, “By returning assistive technology to its rightful place as just technology, no more, no less, we start to understand that all bodies are getting assistance all the time, and then design for it, everyone becomes much more interesting.” Interesting article, interesting blog as well. I’ll pop a link in the show notes. You can go over there and read that blog post and gather your own opinion how you feel about why don’t we design a better culture.
If you’re somebody who’s upgraded your Mac to OS 10 Mavericks, and also somebody who uses the voice over screen reader, you really need to check out Janet Ingber’s article at AFB Access World Magazine. I’ll stick a link in the show notes. She talks about how Mavericks and that upgrade will impact folks who are voice over users. She talks about some of the changes related to installation, how it might handle email, iBooks, dictation and with some changes with the power button, also some things related to the app store, Safari, and battery usage. Again, I’ll pop a link in the show notes, and you can go over to AFB Access World Magazine and read what Janet has to say about OS 10 Mavericks.
When I started working in the field of assistive technology over 20 years ago, we looked at eye tracking as something that was amazing and futuristic and really, really expensive. However, in the last few years with the advent of some of the gaming technology and less expensive cameras, I tracking systems are coming down and cost dramatically. In fact, just last week in an event in Berlin, there’s a Danish firm that the next thing called the Eye Tribe, which is an eye tracking system that’s supposed to retail for US$100, $99. It connects via USB 3.0 into your Windows laptop or Microsoft surface tablets or android, and I guess iOS is in the works to as I’m looking at the article. I have to say that I’m surprised. $100 eye tracking system is really a game changer for the industry. I’m going to stick a link in the show notes over to digitaltrends.com where you can read more about this, and they have a video as well that explains more about the technology. But seriously, eight $99 eye tracking system is pretty remarkable news, so check our show notes.
In a blog post written by Alex Lee, who is a senior accessibility policy and standards strategist at Microsoft, he talks about rethinking the role of keyboards in accessible technology. In fact, it’s a two-part blog post where he brings out the point that years and years ago, you really couldn’t do assistive technology in a keyboard contacts, especially for folks who were blind or visually impaired without focusing on the keyboard as a primary input method. However, with the advent of touch interfaces and lots of new kinds of mobile technology, the keyboard, and the role of the keyboard, is changing. In the article, he goes and talks about different kinds of input devices like sip-and-puff and touch interfaces and switches and those kind of things, and really doesn’t get under the hood a little bit to talk about the changing role I guess of the keyboard. Check our show notes. I’ve got a couple of links to part one and part two of rethinking the role of keyboards in accessible technology for Microsoft.
And we’ve got two calls on our listener line this time. One is from Danny who’s talking about ways to get assistance with Apple products and accessibility, and then another one about AbleGamers.
DANNY WAYNE: Hi, Wade, it’s Danny Wayne with the Wabash Independent Living and Learning Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Apple access number for person with a disability I wanted to share with you. It’s 1-877-204-3930. Individuals who use Apple products like the iPad, iPhone, the accessibility resources, if you’re having questions about something, you can give them a call. I actually called on a Sunday night, three rings and I started talking to Ebony Love. It’s a great resource for you. Give it a try. 1-877-204-3930. A day or two after the phone call, expect an email if you’re interested in participating in giving them feedback. It’s an accessible form to give them feedback with. I used it and Microsoft Word, gave them my feedback, hit submit and just a couple of minutes. Have a great week, thank you. Bye.
WADE WINGLER: It’s that time of year when everybody’s thinking about the holidays. We got a call hear from our buddy, Mark Barlet, over at AbleGamers, about something they are doing with a holiday gaming guide. Check this out.
MARK BARLET: Hi, this is Mark Barlet with AbleGamers, wanting to tell you about a 2013 holiday gift guide for the disabled gamer in your life. Gamers with disabilities have a great opportunity to check out some of the technology that we are recommending for you so that you can get back into the game. Please check out our website at www.ablegamers.com, it should be right there at the top of the list, Just look for the snowman. Again, that’s www.ablegamers.com
WADE WINGLER: Each week one of our partners tells us what’s happening in the ever-changing world of apps. So here’s an app worth mentioning.
BETSY FURLER: Hi, this is Betsy Furler with BridgingApps, and these are some apps worth mentioning. The apps I’m going to tell you about today are all great for the upcoming holidays. The first app is Peekaboo Present, from Day and Night Studios. This app is a great way to help young children learn cause and effect. The app shows a present on the screen, and the child must touch the present to unwrap it. When the present is unwrapped, the app names the object that was in the box. The child then touches the apple again to unwrap the next present. This app teaches holiday and everyday vocabulary, encourages a position of words come and helps develop cause and effect. It’s a great app to use to add some holiday spirit into a child’s learning. We have used this app with kids between the ages of 18 months and five years old with diagnoses of autism, cerebral palsy, and speech delay. Peekaboo Present is available in the App Store and was $1.99 at the time of this recording.
The second app I’m going to tell you about today is Storybook Maker by Merge Mobile. Storybook Maker is an app that allows the user to write, illustrate, and publish their own story. Using text, photos, graphics and audio recordings, the app allows an adult or child to design their own book. This is a great app for the holidays due to all the changes in schedules and unusual activities. Using Storybook Maker, a caregiver can write a social story about the holiday season. Using actual photos, the story can be customized for the user. Older children and adults can use Storybook Maker to write stories about holidays and then share them with family and friends. It’s a great way for a child to share the holiday experiences with their friends and teachers when they return to school. If used this app with children between the ages of two and 10 years old with a diagnosis of down syndrome, speech delay, autism spectrum disorders, and anxiety. Storybook Maker is available in the App Store and was $1.99 at the time of this recording.
The last app I’m going to tell you about today is Sleeps to Christmas Light. This app is a Christmas countdown app. The app shows Santa and other Christmas characters holding a sign, and it shows how many more nights we have to sleep until Santa arrives. The free version of this app shows four different characters: Santa, a snowman, and elf, and a gingerbread man. The app plays Christmas songs, and the user can choose from a familiar Christmas tunes. As we all get excited about Christmas coming soon, this app is great to use as a visual reminder of how many days are left, and to put us in the holiday spirit. It used this app with children from the age of two until 15, with a variety of diagnoses such as speech delay, autism, and it down syndrome. Sleeps to Christmas Light is available in the App Store and was free at the time of this podcast.
For more information on these apps and others like them, visit bridgingapps.org. Happy holidays from BridgingApps.
WADE WINGLER: Today on Assistive Technology Update, I’m excited to be joined via Skype by Ali Israr, who is – wait for it – a research engineer for Disney Research, working in the field of haptic interfaces among other things. Ali, are you there?
ALI ISRAR: yes, I am.
WADE WINGLER: Good, hey, thank you so much for taking time to chat with me and my audience today. I know that you’ve got a busy day there in Pittsburgh, and I see a Mickey Mouse statue in the back of your room there which reminds me that were talking with somebody from Disney. I’m very excited to hear about what you’re doing with haptics, but before we jump into that, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and Disney Research. I didn’t understand that Disney had a result on. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
ALI ISRAR: Sure, I’m a research engineer at Disney Research and Disney Research is the research arm as you said of the World Disney Company. At Disney Research, we explore novel and innovative ways for people to interact with new technologies.
WADE WINGLER: That’s a pretty exciting thing, and can you tell me a little bit about the work that you’ve done in terms of – well, let’s start, I guess, but talk about haptic interfaces. I assume that you’ve worked on more than just haptic interfaces there, but let’s talk a little bit about haptic and what that means.
ALI ISRAR: Sure, one of the fields we are actively exploring and Disney Research is new and smart haptic interfaces, so just like a TV or a computer where we watch and listen to content. Haptic interfaces allow viewers to feel the content, so it’s a third dimension that we’re putting in our content. In addition to listening and watching the content, we want viewers to also feel the content and be immersed in the content.
WADE WINGLER: Can you give me maybe some examples that my listeners may be familiar with related to haptic interfaces? Because I’ve had people say I don’t understand what haptic means and why you need to feel something. Why might that be important?
ALI ISRAR: Sure. The big use of haptic interfaces are in the gaming industry. For example, right now there is a joystick that rumbles, and when there is a collision in the game, or when there’s certain type of event happens, it provides rumble to the hand, it shakes hand. So this is one example of haptic feedback. Other haptic feedback interfaces are on your mobile phone. Once you put it on vibrate, instead of linking, it vibrates, so it also gives some information that some event had happened but instead of hearing it or looking at it, you feel it through your skin.
WADE WINGLER: I think we take those interfaces for granted sometimes. I’m somebody whose phone is always on vibrate, and I’ve even got mine set up with particular vibratory patterns. My wife and I love Christmas for example, so when she calls me, it goes kind of in the jingle bell pattern so that I know that’s my wife. That’s the way I use haptic all the time. That’s the kind of common use that I think about. You guys are doing more elaborate and fancy things with haptics there. Can you tell me a little bit about how you and Disney Research got into haptics and how the project came about?
ALI ISRAR: Sure. A few years back, we coined our term “surround haptics.” Like a surround sound system that gives spatially varying audio content in living rooms, the surround haptics systems will allow people to feel the contents all around and all across the body. So we started exploring this new way to communicate with people, with audiences, with guests, and we divided this whole area into three subcategories. First one is what we call tactile brush. That allows us practical implementation of rendering rich and high definition haptic content on the user’s body. Second one is freer haptics, in which a user could feel expressive and varying haptic content in the mid-air. And the third one we explored, electrical vibration-based haptic feedback that would allow us to create dynamic and controllable tactile content on such services.
SO these three are brought categories, it kind of encompasses all of the applications, all of the interactions that we mostly due in our daily routine. We are not only exploring technologies that would allow us render haptic feedback, but also the content, how the content could be produced in all of these categories.
WADE WINGLER: So I’m somebody who thinks about hardware interfaces a lot, being kind of a technology guy. But I know that you’re working on ways for the content to be designed in such a way that it works well with haptics. Do you have any examples of how that might be done?
ALI ISRAR: Sure. In the last 10 years, we have seen popularity of touch and gesture-based interactions in daily use devices. However, we felt that inability to feel the content somehow hinders the performance of these devices, and limits the experience they provide to users. So our group explored novel materials, novel actuation technologies, and develop different systems for one of that systems is to Tesla touch haptic interface that creates texture like content on surfaces without actually moving the service, so in terms of implementation, it becomes very practical to use such technology to create texture like content on for example smartphones where the fermentation is you don’t want to move the whole screen to create any haptic feedback.
WADE WINGLER: So I’m envisioning a tablet or a smartphone or something that has maybe a glass interface, and you’re telling me with the Tesla haptic interface, you can feel something that’s not actually there, right? Is that fair to say?
ALI ISRAR: Exactly. And we can create, we can render tactile content on demand. It’s a very fast process. We can call the content. We have several ways to create not only texture like content, but also content that users would feel that they are three-dimensional, they are not only two-dimensional content on the screen. So for example, if you have a protrusion, or if you have a bump on an image, then we can make people believe that this is a bump they are feeling instead of moving their hand on a flat surface.
WADE WINGLER: Well, so let me take a stab at this. You can create through this haptic interface the feeling of something that’s rough, for example, or something that is smooth, or even resent bumps. So you could probably create raised lines so you can draw shapes and things like that. Is it that detailed yet?
ALI ISRAR: Yes.
WADE WINGLER: And based on your answer, it may be more so?
ALI ISRAR: Yes, there are definitely some limitations. For example, on a flat surface, we cannot create perception that this is a ball, so we can’t create a whole, round surface. But if you think about it that there is a surface which has certain small bumps, not only texture, but also some peaks and valleys, we can make people believe that there are some bumps and valleys on the flat surface.
WADE WINGLER: So then with my background working with folks who are blind or visually impaired, I’m immediately thinking about things like braille and raised line drawing so that I might be able to understand a diagram better because it could have a race line drawing. That’s a leading question, but tell me how this interface might impact with disabilities, specifically folks who are blind or visually impaired or have other kinds of disabilities. What are your thoughts?
ALI ISRAR: As you said, this technology has broad range of applications, especially for visually impaired community. For example, it can produce tactile representation of images, sketches, photographs. They can be used to create new games, navigation tools, and rapid feedback such as rendering traces of handwriting. This is one of the issues that we understood from the community, that what they write, they do not get a feedback what has a written or how their finger spell or how their handwriting is like. But with this technology, they will be able to feel the traces of their writing on the fly. So these are just a few applications, but these applications can be further elaborated and have much more uses in it.
We did publish some papers for where we explored applications for blind communities, and we’ll talk about more later how to access those publications.
One of the advantages of this technology is that this is an expensive and highly scalable. So on one case, it can be used on smart phone or tablets, and on the other case with very little modification, a whole wall in a room can become haptic interface. We can create different content based on where people are touching on the wall. We can make people feel different content all across the wall.
WADE WINGLER: So if you’re in a classroom, you can have a chalkboard recently that would be an entire haptic interface.
ALI ISRAR: Exactly. It could be a chalkboard, it could be walls, doors, it can be a table. It doesn’t have to be a smartphone or tablet.
WADE WINGLER: So my listeners are you really going to say, okay, I’m sold. Where do I get one of these things? And I know that you’re a researcher and products are going to need to be developed out of this. But can you give us some words about what we might see some of these things, and how these products will go from research into purchasable, implementable kind of things?
ALI ISRAR: Yes, as you said, we are associated with the research part of the Disney Company and we do not have the freedom to talk about the production. We don’t make the decision about production of these technologies. However, having said that, we do publish, and most of the implementation and production techniques are stated in the papers that we have published. So if somebody wants to explore the technology and wanted to make one, then all the information is presented in the papers.
WADE WINGLER: So it sort of an open-source kind of approach of this technology?
ALI ISRAR: Exactly.
WADE WINGLER: That’s excellent. Ali, if folks wanted to learn more about the research that you are doing. If they wanted to download and take a look at those papers, or if they want to interact with folks there on this topic, what kind of contact information which you provide for folks to reach out to?
ALI ISRAR: The best place is to Web and to Google Disney research, or go to www.disneyresearch.com and explore research areas for previous and recent research projects. But if folks want to leave comments or noncommercial inquiries, then they can email us at info@teslatouch.com
WADE WINGLER: Excellent. I’ll pop both of those things into the show notes for folks who are interested in reaching you. Ali, I got about a minute left before we need to close out the interview. Tell me what you see as the future for haptics. As you look into your crystal ball, how do you think haptic interface are going to change the world?
ALI ISRAR: One of the big impacts haptic technologies would break is how we watch movies and play games. With this haptic technologies, people would be more immersed in the movie would be a part of the game. These technologies are also useful for impaired communities, not only for visually impaired communities, but deaf, blind communities as well as people with disabilities, other types of physical disabilities. I think there will be a lot of medical advances by putting these haptic technologies in them, and I hope that people would go and explore this haptic technologies in extent and see how these technologies can be useful.
One thing that we really want to do is we really want to make these technologies accessible to a normal person. In this way, we don’t have to go about creating new technologies or new application space, but folks who have need for that, for new technologies or new applications, they can do this. We do have a product, not specifically related to Tesla touch, but with the bigger surround haptic concept. We have a gaming chair for people to feel the content directly extracted from the music or the audio of games and movies for example.
WADE WINGLER: Ali, it sounds be like you’re describing an interface that’s going to make a more rich, a more robust, and a more accessible and inclusive interface, whether or not we are talking about people who have disabilities or not. So I’m thankful for the work you’re doing there and hopeful. I think there’s a lot of implication with what’s coming out with haptic interfaces, and I’m glad you had the chance to talk with us today to: spread the word. I’m sure folks are going to be keeping an eye out to see how the stuff turns into real world commercial products that really leveled the playing field with folks with disability is. So thank you so much for being with us today.
ALI ISRAR: Thank you for having me.
WADE WINGLER: Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? Call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Looking for show notes from today’s show? Head on over to EasterSealstech.com. Shoot us a note on Twitter @IndataProject, or check us out on Facebook. That was your assistance technology update. I’m Wade Wingler with the Indata Project at Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana.