iPad dock will add gesture control
A dock for the Apple iPad will allow users to sweep and swipe in mid-air, as far away as a foot from the iPad. No word yet on what gestures will be included, but they will let you control regular apps. We may also see special apps written for the dock; maybe someone will be smart/kind enough to write apps for people with dexterity limitations, cognitive disabilities, etc. — this is a perfect gadget for adding even more accessibility to the already-stellar iPad. Not having to hold the iPad will make it easier for dexterity impaired users, and with a camera-equipped iPad, it may facilitate sign language video. (Not that the combo would recognize ASL — having the iPad in a dock, controllable from a certain distance would make it easier for someone standing back and signing.)
CES 2011: iPad dock with Motion Sensing Controls to Debut – I4U News
Optical character recognition tool might have applications for assistive technology users
WordLens is a new iPhone app that can be used to recognize text within graphics and translate it (just Spanish->English and English->Spanish for now). Because this uses optical character recognition, we wonder if the technology could also be used to address the inaccessibility of bitmapped text on Web pages by capturing text and relaying it to a speech output program instead of a translator.
TechCrunch: Word Lens Translates Words Inside of Images. Yes Really.
Clock provides visual cues on appropriate sleep/wake times
We’ve previously covered persistent alarm clocks, but never appreciated the need to address a complimentary problem: people who wake up early and don’t realize that others in their household still need to sleep. Now there’s the Stoplight Alarm Clock, which flashes red at “appropriate” sleeping times and green at customary wake-up times. Could be useful for some folks with autism or other cognitive disabilities.
Ready, set, Odiogo
One of the most popular assistive technology features we’ve been asked about in recent years is the ability to convert text to downloadable audio files on the fly. Now there’s Odiogo, a free, mainstream service that does the same thing for “news sites and blog posts.” Great for anyone who prefers audio format or who benefits from simultaneous reading and listening. The only drawback is that it’s not controllable by the end user; instead, the website owner has to sign up for it.
Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?
The AlphaUi keyboard is an interesting concept: you hold it like an iPad, but you press actual keys on the bottom with eight fingers rather than virtual keys on the top with your thumbs. The screen has a display that lights the keys as you press them. Our jury’s out as to whether the physical setup will provide an accessibility edge. Instead, what really intrigued us was the key order–alphabetic rather than QWERTY, which is great for people with cognitive disabilities as well as those who’ve never learned touch typing. Has QWERTY finally met its match? Will we see this reflected in other keyboard designs?
Engadget: AlphaUi Back-Type keyboard for tablets will never catch on, but we wish it would
Yakkity yak
The Conversacube is a small box that “listens” to ambient conversations and provides the user with cues about chiming in. Theoretically created for the shy, but could easily be helpful for people with disabilities such as autism, and possibly as a supplement to lipreading for some Deaf folks as well. That is, as long as they’re not too put off by the ugly green color.
Not-so-silly wabbit
Turns out the Nabaztag bunny’s story isn’t over after all…after the original manufacturer, Violet, filed for bankruptcy, the little rabbit became Real got bought up by Mindscape and released in a new version called–oh please–Karotz. In addition to its traditional roles such as reading RFID tags, new capabilities will include a webcam for face recognition.