For 27 years, the California State University of
Northridge, through the organization of the international conference on
assistive technology for persons with disabilities, has offered
researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users and other participants
an unparalleled opportunity to share knowledge and best practices relating
to the industry.
In 2011, the conference drew to San Diego over
4,800 visitors, setting itself apart as the reference point for
leading-edge technologies and practical solutions that can be utilized to
remove the barriers that prevent the full participation of persons with
disabilities in their everyday educational, workplace and social
life.
The CSUN Conference (California State University of Northridge)
was this year again the most important world event in the field of
assistive technology:
in the exhibit hall, 127 exhibitors were present
at their booths; more than 350 workshops dedicated to researchers,
designers, professionals, end users, manufacturers and distributors took
place in the meeting room areas and dealt with the various subjects and
applications relating to social inclusion, independent life, and the right
to citizenship of persons with disabilities.
Next to the exhibits,
there were forums and seminars, the foundation of the conference, of
in-depth presentations of new products, analytical comparisons between
competing solutions and systems, perspectives on a variety of aspects
relating to technology with open-minded points of view between reality and
innovation, present and future.
And as though this were not enough,
there were also hands-on labs organized in the margins of the program and
in other areas not necessarily reserved for the event in order to allow
the broader public to have direct experience and knowledge, which is no
doubt much more efficient than any verbal presentation. At least a couple
of seminars focused on the results of sociological surveys regarding the
effects of social media such as Facebook on the daily life of persons with
disabilities. Moreover, there was: a state-of-the art presentation of the
production of accessible digital books, according to the most advanced
standards utilized by the publishing industry; a "head-to-head comparison"
between mobile telephone and communication systems by Apple and
Google to assess their level of usability with screen readers for people
living with vision loss; the new JAWS features, the most well-known
screen reader in the world, now able to interpret and read graphic texts;
and so much more.
In the specific area of visual disability, we noted
an increase in the offering of mobile communication devices as well
as stand alone devices like simple wireless terminals: phones,
tablets, laptops, integrating connections for reading devices and Braille
displays.
Apple, Google and Microsoft with their operating systems
and mobility devices always focus a great deal on universal accessibility
and design, aiming at equipping their devices with screen reading features
to provide alternative ways of using them through voice, enlarged text and
Braille.
The iPhone and iPad are going a step further, but it seems
Android by Google will take the lead, while Windows seems to be dragging
behind, even if the accessibility experience acquired throughout the
years in regards to laptops lets us imagine a wide array of possibilities
for growth, once the convergence in their own fixed and mobile systems is
reached.
For the specific field relating to mobility and autonomy,
there are a wide variety of solutions, even if all
manufacturers always recommend considering them as a supplement
and not a substitution of the white cane or guide dog.
Next to
sophisticated GPS navigation systems, we found audio-guide devices adapted
to make itineraries accessible to citizens guided inside and outside
public buildings and facilities.
Devices for use at home were
offered in a wide range of tactile and audio solutions in order to make
things easier for people living with vision loss in their daily life:
measuring, counting, classifying, selecting, archiving, and
differentiating.
Talking clocks with the possibility of adding vocal
commands; and talking scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors,
measures, ovens, photocopiers, colour identification devices.
There
were also numerous tactile solutions to identify, mark, and label objects,
books, DVDs, food cans and medicine bottles.
Among these, in
particular, there were small barcode readers and identifyers
of products linked to a special database, product names
are then read out loud with their main characteristics.
There
was also a wonderful optic "pen" providing auditory feedback for labels so
that users can pre-record by tracing patterns of the object that needs to
identified, recognized and classified.
Finally, educational and game
products of all sorts were available for children. A variety of products
for recreational and educational activities: shapes, sounds, surfaces,
materials, colours address abundantly the needs of children during their
pre-school and school years.
Just a negative note in regards to the
organization of the event, if we may, relates to a certain difficulty with
mobility in the exhibit hall as it is difficult to recognize the booths
that people want to go to in particular and visit.
The numbering of
stands with very small characters, some of them are not even identified,
nonexistent floor guides and booths that are not always placed in a
rational manner.
It must said, however, that there was a remarkable number
of people available to help, assist and intervene in case of difficulty to
provide information, orientation, directions, and assistance.
Finally,
it was possible to identify hotel rooms perfectly, thanks to Braille and
large print signs next to every door.
San Diego is a welcoming city,
even if this is one of the places where the most striking contradictions
between North and South meet on earth. Characterized by a mild and stable
climate, friendly people who work largely in the field of tourism, the
main industry, and where can be found some of the largest military bases
in the United States as well as state-of-the-art University research
labs.
It is a comeback city, considering that it is already organizing
the 28th edition of the conference which will take place at the end of
February 2013.
We need to ask ourselves how Italy, a nation abounding
in great minds, inventiveness and creativity, is so sadly absent. But,
that is another story which goes beyond today's account, but requires some
thought nevertheless.