Assistive Technology
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I did an ATIA webinar today and learned about the Mouthpad.
www.augmental.tech AugmentalAugmental's MouthPad, a hands-free trackpad operated by the tongue, revolutionizes digital interaction. As a wearable smart mouthwear device, it enhances accessibility and provides touchless control for your devices. Ideal for assistive technology applications and promoting digital accessibility,...
It's like a dental retainer with a touchpad to control devices with your tongue.
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Floorboard Is A Keyboard For Your Feet - Hackaday
hackaday.com Floorboard Is A Keyboard For Your FeetWhether you have full use of your hands or not, a foot-operated keyboard is a great addition to any setup. Of course, it has to be a lot more robust than your average finger-operated keyboard, so b…
- hackaday.com A Puzzle For The Visually Impaired, Or Blindfolded
There’s no reason why a visually impaired person can’t enjoy putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It just needs to look a little different. Or, in this case, feel different. 16-year-old [f…
- hackaday.com Stretch Goal: 300X Arduino
The Faboratory at Yale University has set a number of stretch goals. We don’t mean that in the usual sense. They’ve been making, as you can see in the video below, clones of commercial …
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Tactile Communication Board Speaks The Truth - Hackaday
hackaday.com Tactile Communication Board Speaks The TruthSometimes, simple things can make a world of difference. Take for example a non-verbal person who can’t necessarily control a touch screen in order to tell someone else what they need or want…
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Top 15 Open Source Speech Recognition/TTS/STT/ Systems - Fosspost
fosspost.org Top 15 Open Source Speech Recognition/TTS/STT/ SystemsThere has been many open source speech recognition, TTS, STT and ASR libraries developed in recent years. Here's the top ones among them.
- www.theverge.com Arc’teryx’s new powered pants could make hikers feel 30 pounds lighter
One step closer to Iron Man.
Their pitch expressly claims the device isn't AT... But it is to help more people access the outdoors, which I think counts to an extent.
- hackaday.com Apple May Break Into The Hearing Aid Industry
When the entry of a tech giant such as Apple into a market represents its liberation from exploitation, that market must be really broken, yet the reported FDA approval of the hearing aid feature i…
- www.theatlantic.com A Logo on a Prosthesis Is Like a Tattoo You Didn’t Ask For
As artificial limbs become more advanced, branding is becoming almost inescapable.
- www.scientificamerican.com John McFall Is Breaking Barriers as the World’s First Parastronaut
Paralympian and surgeon John McFall is redefining the astronaut image and proving that space travel is achievable for people with physical disabilities
- www.w3.org How People with Disabilities Use the Web
Introduces how people with disabilities, including people with age-related impairments, use the Web.
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How useful are YT auto-subs to those with limited hearing?
I am working on a project that archives 80s and 90s tech documentaries and TV segments. The goal is to archive them to multiple platforms, to attempt to better ensure they don't become lost media.
Many of these videos don't have their original closed-captioning retained, so the only option is the generated subtitles.
I want my archives to be as accessible as possible. So my question is, are the YT auto-generated subtitles useful for those with limited hearing? Or maybe the question is, are they better than nothing?
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BBC Technology and Visual Imparement Segment - Matthew J (@[email protected])
mastodon.online Matthew J (@[email protected])If anyone out there is really, really board, the BBC did a technology and visual impairment retrospective, talking about how tech has changed the lives of blind folk. I feature, talking about the law and AI, at about the 17 minute mark: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0021j0v
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Disability campaigner unable to collect award on stage due to no ramp
www.bbc.com Freedom of City award winner criticises disability accessAnna Landre got an award for her disability work but was denied the chance to accept it on stage.
- spectrum.ieee.org Biocompatible Mic Could Lead to Better Cochlear Implants
The implantable device is as sensitive as today’s best hearing aids
I went to university with someone who had a cochlear implant, and he rarely used it because of the reasons listed in this article. Instead he'd just rely on his excellent context awareness and us other students' meager sign language attempts.
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Tim Doucette, a blind astronomer who built the Deep Sky Eye Observatory
I came across this and found it too interesting not to share.
- www.nature.com Bionic leg moves like a natural limb — without conscious thought
Computer interface links signals from the brain to an artificial limb, giving the wearer better balance, flexibility and speed.
- bc.ctvnews.ca Abbotsford student's speech about accessibility challenges at her school censored by administrators
As part of her Grade 12 art activism class, Lexis De Meyer was tasked with investigating accessibility challenges faced by people with disabilities in her community of Abbotsford.
cross-posted from: https://startrek.website/post/11926067
- www.nature.com Adaptive tactile interaction transfer via digitally embroidered smart gloves - Nature Communications
Adaptive tactile interactions transfer across users, space, and time, via embroidered smart gloves is reported by the authors. The scalable fabrication and adaptive computation pipeline enable tactile occlusion alleviation, human skills transfer, and interactive teleoperation.
- www.kalb.com Menard robotics team makes wheelchair for puppy without front legs
A Central Louisiana robotics team finished their first wheelchair prototype for a small puppy without her two front legs.
Via a FIRST newsletter.
- hackaday.com Wearable Robot Makes Mountain Climbing A Breeze For Seniors
You know, it’s just not fair. It seems that even if we stay active, age will eventually get the better of our muscles, robbing them of strength and our bodies of mobility. Canes and walkers d…
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Rea11y-easy-form – accessible React forms
Via Hackernews: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38855802
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Blog post about case managers and purchasing AT
accessible.substack.com How Case Managers "Say Yes" To Purchasing Assistive TechnologyI’m a board member of Minnesota Network & Education for Assistive Technology, where we did a live webinar for and by case managers around obtaining assistive tech for their clients. You can watch the full webinar here when we post it. Community supports and staffing for those aging and with disa...
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Github interviews on Accessibility
github.com From gaming with your eyes to coding with AI: New frontiers for accessibilityOpen source offers developers with disabilities the flexibility needed to participate and collaborate. Their contributions and involvement in the research, design, and development of software are i...
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Different Ways of Moving Through the World - via Logicmag
Subtitle: "Technology’s failure to serve disabled people is ultimately a failure of imagination."
Logic(s) is one of my favorite things on the internet, and in this article they wrote about technology and assistive design.
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Out of sight - via Kottke.org
This came in through my RSS subscription to Kottke. It's a childrens' video about adventure. It's not specifically AT design oriented, but it is a wonderful story that I think is worth sharing here.
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Hackaday - Prosthetics made from recycled plastic
hackaday.com Precious Plastic ProstheticsPlastic waste is a major problem, but what if you could turn the world’s trash into treasure? [Yayasan Kaki Kita Sukasada (YKKS)] in Indonesia is doing this by using recycled plastic to make …
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BrailleRAP DIY Braille embosser - Hackaday IO
hackaday.io BrailleRAP DIY Braille embosserA full documented open source DIY Braille embosser, with associated open source translation software. Based on a 3D printer controller board, BrailleRAP can emboss Braille "dots" anywhere on a A4 sheet. You can use 160g paper, thin metal or plastic sheet. The average total cost is about 250 $ if you...
Follows the REPRAP standard to create a Braille embosser for ~$250.
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Electromechanical Refreshable Braille Module - Hackaday Prize 2023 Winner
hackaday.io Electromechanical Refreshable Braille ModuleThe big drawback to refreshable braille devices has always been their cost. The loose rule of estimation applied to these products has translated into something like $100 to $150 per braille cell. A 40-cell display, in other words, may cost $4,000 to $6,000, while an 80-cell model will cost $8,000 t...
The project documentation is absolutely worth a read through. It's well made with example GIFs to illustrate design and test components.
- web.archive.org Onero - Sign Language Translation Device
According to WHO, over 5% of the world's population suffers from disabling hearing loss. That is over 360 million people whose lives are affected and these people suffer from a communication breakdown. This breakdown can have a large impact on the persons life, from education to social and emotion d...
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Stroke Rehabilitation Through Biofeedback - MIND Biomedical Engineering Club
hackaday.com Hackaday Prize Entry: Stroke Rehabilitation Through BiofeedbackStudents at Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering created ExoMIND, an Arduino-powered glove that helps a stroke victim recover by tracking the range of motion the patien…
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First bookmarked in 2017, this website is from a Canada based nonprofit and is one of the best things going on in the AT world right now. They have a catalog of hacker and DIY friendly AT devices, and work to help pair "makers" with "users" so that the devices get put to use. Awesome stuff.
- itsfoss.com Meet Ali, A Blind Open Source Programmer
Continuing the MyStory series on It’s FOSS, today I am sharing with you the story of a blind computer programmer from Iraq who goes on the internet by the name of Ali Miracle. By the time you finish reading this article about Ali and his works, I am sure
An oldie but a good one. Via It's FOSS this article is an interview with Ali of Iraq, who is a blind contributor.
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Electrotactile Arrays for Texture and Pressure Feedback During Robotic Teleoperation - Web Archive
Original site shows a database error.
This article from 2010 is pretty neat. It discusses using electrodes to simulate haptic feedback.
- www.frontiersin.org A new dynamic tactile display for reconfigurable braille: implementation and tests
Different tactile interfaces have been proposed to represent either text (braille) or, in a few cases, tactile large-area screens as replacements for visual displays. None of the implementations so far can be customized to match users' preferences, perceptual differences and skills. Optimal choices ...
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Accessibility in Linux is good (but could be much better) (2015)
opensource.com Accessibility in Linux is good (but could be much better)Linux accessibility is good, but could be much better. Learn about many of the free accessibility tools Linux and open source solutions offer, and find out about the areas that need improvement.