Some thoughts on assistive technology for the blind

ABSTRACT

As a youngster, the principal assistive technology I had was Braille. Braille was, and still remains, the most important assistive technology for a blind person. It is the basis of literacy. A blind person must have much more information about computers than his sighted colleague to do the same job. Not only must he know how to run the application programs that he uses daily, but he must also know how to operated all the assistive equipment he uses to run those applications. His colleagues can help him with the application programs, but they know nothing about the assistive devices he must use. And such devices am proliferating in number and in complexity all the time.

Not every assistive device needs to be high tech Some skills of daily living unrelated to a computer can be very effective. Imagination, resourcefulness, and memory skills can be regatded as assistive techniques even if they do not quality as technology. There is also the problem of putting useful devices into the hands of those who can benefit from them. Money is one obstacle; adequate training is another. Of course, all of the above themes will be elaborated when developing the text of the full presentation.

Index Terms

• Computer systems organization

  • Embedded and cyber-physical systems

    • Embedded systems

      • Embedded hardware

• Hardware

  • Very large scale integration design

    • Application-specific VLSI designs

      • Application specific integrated circuits

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

• Social and professional topics

  • Professional topics

    • Computing profession

      • Assistive technologies

  • User characteristics

    • People with disabilities