운동기능이 약한 장애인들을 위한 아이패드 이용도구를 '조지아텍'에서 새로 개발하다..

 

‎'죠지아텍(Georgia Tech)'에서는 터치스크린이 있는 아이패드나 스마트폰을 사용할 때

손가락 기능이 약해서 어려움이 있는 장애아동을 위해서

 Access4kid라는 도구를 개발했다. 손가락으로 오무렸다 폈다 하는 대신 팔에 장착하여

주먹이나 머리 등을 이용하여 문지르거나 두드리는 횟수에 따라 같은 효과를 나타내어 사용에 용이하게 만드는데,

 안드로이드 용도 일 년 안에 개발할 것이라는 전망이다.

 이 도구는 죠지아 텍의 Ayanna Howard교수와 대학원생 Hae Won Park(박해원)씨가 공동개발했다.

또한 장애를 가진 성인들을 위해 발이나 다른 신체부위를 이용해서 터치스크린을 활성화시키는 TabAccess도 개발 중이다.

 

 

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/12/12/researchers-ipads-accessible/16943/

Researchers Look To Make iPads More Accessible

By Michelle Diament

December 12, 2012 Text Size  A  A

A new device could make it possible for kids with motor skills difficulties to utilize iPads and other touch-screen technologies.

Though tablets are often hyped as beneficial for kids with disabilities, touch screens present a unique hurdle for those with motor impairments. Now a team of engineers at Georgia Tech has developed a sensor-based device to allow people with disabilities to control tablets even if they can’t make a pinching or swiping motion with their fingers.

The wireless tool known as Access4Kids enables a tablet or smartphone to respond to various physical movements. The device can be worn on a person’s forearm or positioned on the arm of a wheelchair so that the user can touch or swipe the sensors with their fist.

“Every child wants access to tablet technology. So to say, ‘No you can’t use it because you have a physical limitation’ is totally unfair,” said Ayanna Howard, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech who has led development of the tool. “We’re giving them the ability to use what’s in their mind so they have an outlet to impact the world.”

Developers are currently working on additional designs so that the device can be controlled by movements from a user’s foot or head, for example. A version for adults called TabAccess is also in the works.

Clinical trials are planned soon and the device could be commercially available for use with Android devices in a year, with a version for Apple products to follow.

 

 

 

http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/11/access4kids-helps-disabled-kids-rock-out-on-their-tablets/

 

Here’s a bit of heart-warming tech on a fine Tuesday morning. It’s called Access4Kids and it’s a device that lets you control a tablet with gross motor movements. Rather than tapping on a screen, you can touch various parts of a control pad that sits on your wrist, allowing you to select on-screen items and swipe away items in order to scroll down pages of text.

Built by Ayanna Howard, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech, and graduate student Hae Won Park, the device works with Android tablets and offer an alternative keyboard for kids who may have problems handling regular tablet interaction. The current model has three “force-sensitive resistors that measure pressure.” Kids with problems like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy can swipe along the pad to select on-screen items, something that is impossible for children with fine motor skill issues.

There are no plans to manufacture this yet but Howard is optimistic. From the release:

“We can’t keep it in the lab,” Howard said. “It doesn’t make sense for me to have one child, one at a time look at it and say ‘Hey that’s really cool’ and not have it out there in the world. The real goal is to make it safe and efficient so someone can make it into a commercial product.”

via Georgia Tech