From Disney to Dinner
Seeing New PDA Technology
From: Ability Magazine - Montel Williams Issue - page 24
By: Romney Snyder

It wasn't long ago that technology produced a minicomputer so small that it
could fit in the palm of your hand. This powerhouse can maintain your daily
schedule, record the contact information of every person you've ever
encountered, beam data to other systems with the touch of a button and run a
multitude of games and other tasks. Welcome the personal data assistant, or
PDA. For those who quickly caught the tidal wave of excitement, it suddenly
became unfathomable how businesses succeeded prior to the PDA. While the
industry pursues tireless effort to make PDAs smaller, faster and somehow
better, it is also recognizing the importance of making the PDA fully
accessible for everyone. 

Previously, PDA technology had been developed for people who were blind or
hadlow vision, but it wasn't exactly comparable or compatible with mainstream
applications. Various hand-held devices served the functions of a contact
database, notepad and scheduler. Made fully accessible to the user, these
small PDAs commonly utilized Freedom Scientific's JAWS software, the world's
most popular screen reader, for Braille and speech output. The drawback was
that these devices utilized dedicated operating systems (programs
specifically designed for the blind or low-vision user) and were not
compatible with standa.rd applications, thereby inhibiting information
exchange among colleagues, friends and family. 

During the 2004 Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference,
which focused on the newest developments for accessibility, portability and
compatibility with mainstream technology, PDAs seethed to steal center stage.
Hewlett-Packard showcased the latest iPAQ Pocket PC, which has become the
template for a variety of hand-held computers focused on improving the
quality of life for people with disabilities. Disney is currently employing
an iPAQ Pocket PC to provide captioning throughout their theme parks for
people who are deaf or hard of hearing. VisuAide has introduced Trekker, a
product that uses the iPAQ Pocket PC as a global positioning system (GPS)
device with talking menus, talking maps and GPS information for those who are
blind or low-visioned. In addition, Freedom Scientific unveiled PAC Mate, an
accessible pocket PC that runs from a Microsoft Windows platform and
integrates with desktop computers. 

Disney has enabled guests who are deaf or hard of hearing to have captions
available (via a modified iPAQ) at specific theme park attractions where
monitors or television screens were previously impractical or unattainable.
"To develop the hand-held system, our Disney engineers looked at all of the
recent advances in wireless communication and took it one step further," said
Greg Hale, vice president of safety, accessibility and advanced technology
for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Hand-held captioning is currently
available at twenty Walt Disney World attractions. 

VisuAide's Trekker assists those with low vision by featuring talking menus
and maps, and also enables a person to determine his or her position by
providing the street address and surrounding intersections. Trekker provides
search functions for an exhaustive database of points of interest such as
restaurants, hotels or office buildings. Similar to having a personal guide
on hand,. Trekker increases independence as people who are blind feel a
greater confidence both locally and when traveling for business or leisure.
"My wife and I love to walk and to try different routes," explains Trekker
user Doug Wakefield, "With Trekker we never get lost, so we go exploring in
areas we probably wouldn't otherwise. My wife says it's like having your own
talking signs."  

The Windows operating system in the latest version of Freedom Scientific's
PAC Mate is far more flexible than a dedicated (and often non-compatible)
operating system, a benefit that really sets this PAC Mate apart from
previous accessible PDAs. By utilizing a common operating system, PAC Mate is
able to run Microsoft Office applications, such as Word and Internet
Explorer, and is designed to integrate seamlessly with a desktop PC, which
makes users' work compatible with their associates and increases
collaboration. Essentially, the PAC Mate is an iPAQ in different packaging.
Offering both a QWERTY (standard) and Braille keyboard, the PAC Mate differs
from the iPAQ primarily in the modes of input and output of information.
While the iPAQ utilizes the familiar stylus and touch screen, the PAC Mate
uses speech technology or (for the more discreet user) a Braille display. 

While some professionals insist a PDA is essential to business, many
ultimately admit it's a fun toy to have, but it seldom replaces the laptop
computer. This is not the case for PAC Mate users who often find that their
new PDAs become their primary computing devices. 

"By making an industry standard platform accessible, we've opened the door
for our customers not only to access Microsoft's Pocket PC software, but
we've also made it possible for them to add other third-party software ...
which means that you will continue to have access to the latest software and
hardware," said Brad Davis, vice president of hardware product management for
Freedom Scientific, Inc. 

Recently, a third-grader who had been blind since birth was introduced to the
PAC Mate and it's capabilities - one of his favorites was the instant
messenger feature. His excitement was captivating and his response nearly
brought tears to the eyes of those around him when he said simply, "I'm no
longer afraid to grow up."  

Freedom Scientific is also working to make dinner more enjoyable through the
development of ScanTalker, a bar code reading application for the PAC Mate.
Soon, with the new scanning technology, a user will be able to scan a can
from the cupboard and the speaker will read refried beans or dog food, saving
what might have been a dinner disaster. ScanTalker includes a built-in
database that allows blind and low-vision users to identify more than 300,000
products including groceries, health sup- plies and beauty goods, as well as
audio and video com- pact discs. 

The ScanTalker allows a user to identify common items using the UPC bar code
that is printed on most product labels. ScanTalker also provides information
found on the product label that people who are sighted sometimes take for
granted, such as preparation instructions and nutritional values. A person
can hear as much or as little as he or she wants using keyboard commands. 

While this latest technology is already proving to be an important key in
creating greater independence for people with disabilities, the long-term
benefits still remain to be seen. As the technology becomes more mainstream,
there is no doubt that business will grow with the use of synchronized
applications and the dinner hour might become more interesting, thanks to
some exciting recipes scanned from the back of a soup can.  


For more information, please visit:

ATIA Conference
http://www.atia.org

Hewlett Packard
http://www.hp.com/accessibility

Freedom Scientific
http://www freedomscientific.org

VisuAide
http://www.visuaide.com