Introduction

The technology and the computers are very important for everyone, but they are more important for the disabled. No matter if a person is blind, deaf or motor impaired, now they can do their life activities like another person without disabilities by assistive technology.

This material contend many of the devices for the disabled, like braille and embossers keyboards, screen magnifiers, Optical Character Recognition, Electronic notetaking, Textphones, ergonomic keyboards, electricpower

wheelchairs, and another devices that not only help disabled people to do their activities, besides this technology give them rehabilitation.

Devices for the disabled

1.1 Computers for the disabled and Assistive Technology
Individuals with disabilities are any persons who have a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working. In our society computers have taken a dominant role, meaning most jobs now require access to computers and the internet. But what happens if a person is blind, deaf or motor-disabled? The answer is AT. Assistive technology (AT) enables disabled individuals to have greater control over their lives, participate in and contribute more fully to activities in home, school, work and community or benefit from opportunities that are taken for granted by individuals who do not have disabilities.

Assistive technologyis designed to help them use computers and do theirs jobs in the office, learn at school, or interact with their families at home. It is a term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices. AT promotes

greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to or changed methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.

1.2 Devices for blind person

To work effectively, most blind users need to have their computers adapted with technologies such as Braille, screen magnifiers, speech synthesis and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing. It was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Braille keyboards have Braille lettering on keyboard overlays, allowing the blind user to easily identify each key. Braille embossers are printers that produce tactile Braille symbols on both sides of page at high speed. These devices print a hard copy of a text document in Braille. Braille embossers usually need special Braille paper which is thicker and more expensive than normal paper. Some high-end embossers are capable of printing on normal paper.

A screen magnifier is software that interfaces with a computer's graphical output to present enlarged screen content. It is a type of assistive technology suitable for visually impaired people with some functional vision. This type of software can enlarge text and images appearing on the screen by up to 16 times. The greater the magnification the smaller the proportion of the original

screen content that can be viewed, so users will tend to use the lowest magnification they can manage.

A speech synthesisis the artificial production of human speech. It is used to read aloud the work on the computer. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, which produces the audio output and can be implemented in software or hardware. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal language text into speech. Other systems render symbolic linguistic representations like phonetic transcriptions into speech. A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. It sent to standard output, whether a video monitor is present or not. This program reads aloud text and menus from word processors, databases and the Web. Some screen reading programs include language verbosity, which automatically detects verbosity

settings related to speech output language. For example, if a user navigated to a website based in the United Kingdom, the text would be read with an English accent. An Optical Character Recognition (OCR) uses a flatbed scanner and specialized OCR software to read printed material and sent the text to the computer. Then, the PC can produce a copy of the text in Braille, a magnified copy, or a version that can be read aloud by speech synthesis system. All OCR systems include an optical scanner for reading text, and sophisticated software for analyzing images. The potential of OCR systems is enormous because they enable users to harness the power of computers to access printed documents. OCR is already being used widely in the legal profession,

where searches that once required hours or days can now be accomplished in a few seconds.

1.3 Devices for deaf person

This kind of users can overcome many communication difficulties with the aid of visual alerts, electronic notetakers and textphones. Visual alerts are indicators that alert the deaf user when they receive new mail or when there is a system error. The deaf user, instead of hearing a sound, is alerted by a blinking menu bar or by a message on the screen. Electronic notetaking is a communication service in which an operator produces a typed summary of a meeting, lecture or presentation for a deaf or hard of hearing person. Electronic Notetaking enables deaf and hard of hearing people to fully access meetings, classes, seminars and lectures of all types. Electronic notetakers use software that types a summary of what is said in meetings onto the computer screen. Textphones, also called Telephone Devices for the deaf (TDDs) or TeleTypewriters (TTYs), allow the deaf to type and read phone conversations by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking and listening. To make a call, someone with such a device would type out a message, which would go via phone line to another person's Teletype. Teletype mode is the capability of a keyboard, computer, application, printer, display, or modem to handle teletypewriter input and output. This device puts the responsibility on the deaf person to overcome his handicap. Light signaler alerts monitor computer sounds and alert the computer user with light signals. This is useful when a computer user can not hear computer sounds or is not directly in front of the computer screen. As an example, a light

can flash alerting the user when a new e-mail message has arrived or a computer command has completed. A hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer, who has a bit of sense of hearing.

1.4 Devices for motor-impaired person

Motor Impairment is a loss or limitation of function in muscle control or movement or a limitation in mobility. This may include hands that are too large or small for a keyboard, shakiness, arthritis, paralysis, and limb loss, among other difficulties. We can become disabled by accident or illness. Motor-impaired workers unable to type on a standard keyboard can employ expanded or ergonomic keyboards, on-screen keyboards, adaptive switches and voice recognition systems. An expanded or ergonomic keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain and a host of related problems.That means that your hands, wrists,

shoulders and back are the areas of your body most vulnerable to repetitive strain injury (RSI). This is due to how we sit and move about when using computers under normal circumstances. A good ergonomic computer keyboard is going to keep your hands, wrists and shoulders in a better position than a standard keyboard would. On-Screen Keyboard is a utility that displays a virtual keyboard on the computer screen that allows people with mobility impairments to type data by using a pointing device or joystick. Besides providing a minimum level of

functionality for some people with mobility impairments, On Screen Keyboard can also help people who do not know how to type. On-screen keyboards are software images of a keyboard that appear on the screen and may be activated with a trackball, touch screen, screen-pointing device, or eye movements. People with a mobility impairment use trackballs as an assistive technology input device. Access to an alternative pointing device has become even more important for them with the dominance of graphically-oriented operating systems. The control surface of a trackball is easier to manipulate and the buttons can be activated without affecting the pointer position. Electronic pointing devices are used to control the cursor on the screen without use of hands. Devices used include ultrasound, infrared beams, eye movements, nerve signals, or brain waves. Switches are operated by muscle movements or breath control. For example, a pneumatic switch, known as a sip and puff, allows someone with quadriplegia to control the PC by puffing and sipping air through a pneumatic tube. People with quadriplegia can also use sip and puff joysticks. Joysticks are manipulated by hand, feet, or chin and used to control the cursor on screen.

Wands and sticks areworn on the head, held in the mouth or strapped to the chin and used to press keys on the keyboard.

Eyegaze technology consists of a video camera and image processing software, which determines the eyes gazepoint on the screen. In an eyegaze system, the keys on the virtual keyboard are activated by the users eyes when they pause on a key for two or three seconds.

Another important assistive technology is the speech recognition or voice recognition program, used to allow people to give commands and enter data using their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard. Voice recognition systems use a microphone attached to the computer, which can be used to create text documents such as letters or e-mail messages, browse the Internet, and navigate among applications and menus by voice.

An electricpower wheelchair is a wheelchair that is moved via the means of an electric motor and navigational controls, usually a small joystick mounted on the armrest, rather than manual power. For users who cannot manage a manual joystick, headswitches, chinoperated joysticks, sip-and-puff or other specialist controls may allow independent operation of the wheelchair. Apples iPhone can now be considered accessibility product, enabling powered wheelchair users to use them as normal while also gaining access to detailed information and control system access of their chair using the device. iPhone or iPod touch (iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPod touch V2.0 and 3.0) can be connected to the wheelchair system, and as result can display chair information in real time. This includes speed in kph or mph, compass heading and detailed wheel chair diagnostics that interprets problems with the wheel chair

1.5 The future of Assistive Technology

Consumers, especially those with disabilities, have a much greater need for flexibility in how they interact with computers and technology. More and more, computers will adjust to a person and the environment dynamically rather than requiring a person to adjust to how they use the computer like they do today. Our hope is to see technology that is flexible and portable enough to be accessed by anyone, anywhere, no matter what their abilities are.

These devices include everything from wheelchairs to a wide assortment of high-tech tools and many companies today are turning their research and development to assistive technologies.

Eventually more accessibility devices will be integrated to work with mobile technology like GPS, radio frequency identification (RFID), text-to-speech, and even Tag technology. These mobile devices might be woven into clothing, worn in the ear, attached to a wheelchair, or even become a new form of fashion jewelry. They will not only be able to manipulate our environment by turning lights on or off or adjusting a thermostat, but they will also inform us of where we are and provide critical information about our environment.

Honda announced the personal mobility device, the U3-X. Device looks like robotic unicycle, and is designed to help people with disabilities to move around.

The next generation of technology will be life changing for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities. When an employee who is blind can easily navigate through a new office building with no assistance other than the computer he always carries with him as a lapel pin, well know the future has arrived.

Conclusion

It is great to know that the technology is creating devices to help the disabled, who in the past, could not do the activities they can do actuality. The future of the assistive technology will be better than today, because it will be more flexible and portable, enough to be accessed by anyone anywhere.

If you are a person with any disability, don't let your disability or sensory loss infringe on your lifestyle, especially when tools and devices exist to help you overcome these obstacles.

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