Technology to Improve Learning for Visually-Impaired Children
From: IST Results - 04/27/2006

Haptics and multimodal-human-computer interaction leaders in Europe and other
parts of the world are using a common software architecture to develop
interfaces and applications that visually-impaired children can use to handle
data, work with and communicate with others, and be creative. The IST program
is funding the construction of the multimodal software architecture, and
participants in the MICOLE project have begun to test interfaces and
application prototypes. The use of haptic technology will allow the visual
applications to also take advantage of the sense of touch, and the multimodal
capability enables the system to accommodate users' different levels of
disability using touch and hearing. "The system adapts to the users," says
project coordinator Roope Raisamo of the University of Tampere in Finland.
"It is aimed at visually-impaired children, but because it facilitates
collaboration among sighted and visually-impaired children, its also supports
sighted children." An electronic browser, rhythm reproduction, post-its with
a haptic bar code, virtual maracas (percussion instruments), a tactile maze
game, memory games, a haptic version of Pong, and explorative learning of the
internal layers of the earth are among the interfaces and application
prototypes that have been developed or tested so far. A three-year
initiative, the MICOLE project will continue until August 2007. 

Read the entire article at:
http://istresults.cordis.lu/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/ID/81631/BrowsingType/Features

Links:
MICOLE website
http://micole.cs.uta.fi:8080/Plone/