IBM Will Research Mobile Access for the Elderly, Illiterate
From: IDG News Service - 03/09/2010
By: John Ribeiro

Researchers at IBM Research India, India's National Institute of Design
(NID), and the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and
Technology (RCAST) are investigating a common, open source user interface for
mobile devices that will ease their use by older or illiterate people. IBM
Research India's Nitendra Rajput says the goal of the research is to uncover
common points and differences in the response to IT by both the aged and the
illiterate, and to develop a multimode interface that both groups can access.
He notes that although voice would seem to be the most applicable technology
for access to information on mobile phones for illiterate people, it may not
be the optimal choice for communicating information such as statistical
tables or pictorial data. The researchers also are exploring other
information accessibility options, including the use of images as an
accessory to text and audio material. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9168718/IBM_will_research_mobile_access_for_the_elderly_illiterate

Links:
IBM to Collaborate With Universities to Make Mobile Devices More Accessible
http://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/topics/2010/0310/

Nitendra Rajput
http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/research_people.nsf/pages/rajput.index.html
http://www.hindawi.com/23427475.html

RCAST
http://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/

NID
http://www.nid.edu/