Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

Beginner Tip #2 – Color Dependency

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

• Presentation

Individuals with color-blindness or color deficiency may have difficulty in differentiating between certain color combinations. This affects approximately 7% of males and .1% of females. Difficulty in differentiating red and green is most common – these are most often the colors used to convey meaning or differences. While using appropriate colors, providing good color contrast, and not using color as the only means of conveying content
is important for those with color-blindness or color deficiency, these techniques may also improve accessibility to those who are blind (screen readers do not typically identify color) or have low vision (these users may override
page colors to make the page more readable). An easy test for color dependency is to print the page on a black and white printer and see if any information is missing when the color is removed from the page.

Building an Assistive Technology Prototype, by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP

Earlier this week, I met with two volunteer engineers working in conjunction with V-Linc, which was featured in a previous blog
post. Our goal is to create a SONAR navigation device for use by the blind.

The initial baseline will be modeled upon the Tacit Project (http://grathio.com/2011/08/how-trying-to-make-a-video-game-created-sonar-for-the-blind-2/), created by Grathio Labs.

In essence, the Tacit device employs two ultrasonic sensors which use reflected sound waves to build a tactile model of a user’s
surroundings.  The entire device is small enough to fit on the back of the hand.

Many electronic mobility aids for the blind have been created over the last few decades.  Some of them, such as the LASER cane required training and were prohibitively expensive.  There have been many other ultrasonic devices as well, but most use auditory signals or vibrations to signal information.  One of the unique features of the Tacit device is how it harnesses variable pressure to allow the wearer to feel their surroundings at a distance.

We expect to have the initial build completed around the first week of January.  I plan to test it extensively, and to also seek input from others.  A second round of development may include improvements as well as modifications for ruggedization and
miniaturization.  Future blog posts will detail the progress and implementation of this device, so stay tuned!

The 2012 Expo for Transitioning Youth will be held March 10th, 2012 from 8:30am – 1:00 pm at the Bel Air High School. The event is hosted by the Harford County Commission on Disabilities, Harford County Public Schools Department of Special Education, The Arc of Northern Chesapeake, Division of Rehabilitation Services, Abilities Network, the Office of Mental Health/Core Services, and the IMAGE Center.

For more information on how to participate or register, contact Sharon Grzanka at 410-683-3373 or email disability@harfordcountymd.gov.

AT in the news for the week of 12/12 – 12/16

Send Talking Christmas wishes

WHILL Transforms Wheelchairs into an Electric Vehicles

Major technology breakthrough unveiled to counter abuse of disabled

Teen develops eyeball-tracking technology for the disabled

Goodbye Textbooks, Hello iPad – PCWorld

Magic at their fingertips

Start-to-Finish Accessible Book Collection Opens the World

Amid Complaints, TSA To Launch Disability Hotline

Created by industry leaders and CTIA, the Access Wireless website helps people match their accessibility needs to different handsets and services. Created to serve as a first stop to learning about cell phones and wireless service, it covers hearing, vision, mobility, speech, and cognitive disabilities. Access Wireless also provides specific information on phones, features, services, how-to’s and accessible apps.

Beginner Tip #1 – Descriptive Link Text

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

• Content
• Presentation

Screen reader users often navigate a page by reading only
the links. The link text (typically blue, underlined text) is read. The function
of the link should be available from the link text itself. Ambiguous links, such
as “click here”, “more”, etc. do not provide useful information to these users.
The user must navigate or read the link’s surrounding context to determine what
they link does or where it goes. These ambiguous links should be avoided and can
almost always be made clearer.

Example:
Change “To perform a search, click here” to “Perform a search“.