Implementing assistive technology on wearable computers

Abstract

W hat might seem perfectly intuitive to a young rehabilitation engineer designing assistive devices might not be intuitive at all to a disabled or elderly person experiencing a serious loss of function for the first time. When designers understand the complex nature of disabilities, they're more likely to meet the disabled users' needs.Using the results of my work in designing assistive technology, this article describes impaired people's needs and offers design strategies to accommodate them. It also presents my research to develop a wearable computer-based orientation and wayfinding aid for the severely visually impaired. The nature of disabilityApproximately 54 million Americans are classified as disabled; 1 that is, they have a physical, cognitive, or sensory impairment-or a combination of the three-making it difficult or impossible to perform daily living activities. Disabilities might result from a disease, a birth defect, or a traumatic accident.The disabled population is heterogeneous, with a wide range and variety of functional differences within each of the three types of functional impairments. For instance, sensory impairment might include loss of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, heat sensitivity, or pressure sensitivity. A single disease or accident can impact function in more than one of the three impairments. For instance, a spinal cord injury can cause the loss of both physical and sensate function.The range and variety of functional losses increase with aging. Two-thirds of disabled Americans are over the age of 65. 1 As people with a primary disability grow older, many experience the onset of comorbid functional losses, such as the progressive loss of physical, sensory, or cognitive functions. Such comorbidities might drastically affect the aging person's ability to continue using his or her assistive devices. For instance, as a blind person with diabetes ages, he or she might experience progressive peripheral neuropathy, resulting in loss of touch in the fingers, making it difficult and eventually impossible to read Braille or use a tactile map.The fastest growing disabled group is not people aging with a disability; rather, it is people aging into disability. These people have lived normal lives; however, as they pass the 60-year mark, they begin to experience age-related accidents and diseases. 1 Incurable age-related diseases exact a great toll. In the US, 40 percent of people over 65 are losing their vision as a result of glaucoma, macular degeneration, or diabetes. 2 Diabetes also causes atrophy of peripheral nerves in the hands and feet, resulting in a loss of sensation that can cause accidents and even loss of a hand or foot. Losing cognitive functions can lead to various stages of dementia and finally total loss of functional independence.Older people who were once capable can find it difficult to learn to function independently with a disability. After retirement, people have less incentive to use unfamiliar technology or learn a new way of doing things. Also, third-party agencies...

SWAN: System for Wearable Audio Navigation

“…That is, end users refuse to wear headphones that block out the ambient sounds. In the past, other researchers have suggested a number of potential solutions to this critical problem, including shoulder-mounted speakers [22], speakers suspended away from the ear [23], and even using "audio spotlights" to target the ears from some distance [24]. None of these suggestions has met all the criteria for a successful display, especially in terms of user acceptability.…”

Robot-assisted wayfinding for the visually impaired in structured indoor environments

“…More recently, a radio frequency identification (RFID) navigation system for indoor environments was developed at the Atlanta VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Center (Ross, 2001; Ross and Blasch, 2002). In this system, the blind users' canes are equipped with RFID receivers, while RFID transmitters are placed at hallway intersections.…”

Lessons Learned in the Design of Configurable Assistive Technology with Smart Devices

“…Between (1) and (3), there are investigations of co uting [7], end-user programming of hardware platforms sical") means and languages for programming [9], bu domains. Between (2) and (3), the use of wearable comp in [10] and advanced work has been done in the rehabil 1]. Most of these focus on engineering aspects.…”