Annual Report 2006
1. Aims of the Unit
- To influence and encourage external research and development of future benefit to blind and partially sighted persons.
- To influence the design of equipment and systems for the general public such that they are accessible to blind and partially sighted persons.
- To influence the development of relevant standards.
2. Staff
Current staffing of the Unit is:
John Gill - Chief Scientist
Antoinette Fennell - Human Factors Scientist
Linda Newson - Research and Information Officer
Katherine Carter- Research and Information Editor
3. Research Activities
In collaboration with Hyperion, the Unit developed accessibility guidelines for smart card and biometric systems for the National Disability Authority.
The European standard EN 1332-4 Coding of User Requirements was further refined and was circulated for formal vote. Work concentrated on developing practical applications; a demonstration system was produced in collaboration with SmartCitizen.
Research continued, as part of a large European project, on the use of ambient intelligence to help disabled people particularly when travelling.
The Unit is a partner in a new European project to improve identification of medicinal products and compliance with dosage by blind and partially sighted people.
The Bionic project has been completed. The Unit's contribution to this project was the development of guidelines for controls which could be used with little or no vision.
Guidance on design for accessible card-activated devices has been published as a CEN Technical Specification 15291.
The Unit collaborated with PhoneAbility in organising a seminar on location-based services for people with disabilities. This seminar brought together a number of projects active in this area.
A project on accessible tourism has been funded by the European Commission. The Unit's contribution is a web-based information resource including:
Colour Schemes
Lighting
Queue Management Systems
Signage
Tactile Maps
Textured Surfaces
Alarm Clocks
Audio Guides
Reading Lamps
Telephones
Further research has been undertaken to refine Tiresias Keyfont which is a typeface for labelling the tops of keys. The new version is available as a download.
Publications and Reports
Packaging and Labelling of Medicines for Use by Blind and Partially Sighted People. Proceedings of Pharmaceutical Packaging and Labelling Conference, London, February 2006.Investigation into the Legibility of Tiresias Keyfont
Proceedings of Seminar on Location-based Services for People with Disabilities
Guidelines for Accessible Tourism
Guidelines for Privacy shields
Guidelines for Biometric systems
Developments in RFID
Developments in Near Field Communication
Pharmaceutical Packaging and Labelling for Blind and Partially Sighted People. Pharmaceutical Technology Europe, Vol 18, No 11, November 2006, pp 34-36.
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