Abstract
As mobile-phone design moves toward a touch-screen form factor, the visually disabled are faced with new accessibility challenges. The mainstream interaction model for touch-screen devices relies on the user having the ability to see spatially arranged visual icons, and to interface with these icons via a smooth glass screen. An inherent challenge for blind users with this type of interface is its lack of tactile feedback. In this paper we explore the concept of using a combination of spatial audio and accelerometer technology to enable blind users to effectively operate a touch-screen device. We discuss the challenges involved in representing icons using sound and we introduce a design framework that is helping us tease out some of these issues. We also outline a set of proposed user-studies that will test the effectiveness of our design using a Nokia N97. The results of these studies will be presented at ICCHP 2010.
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Neff, F., Mehigan, T.J., Pitt, I. (2010). Accelerometer & Spatial Audio Technology: Making Touch-Screen Mobile Devices Accessible. In: Miesenberger, K., Klaus, J., Zagler, W., Karshmer, A. (eds) Computers Helping People with Special Needs. ICCHP 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6179. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14097-6_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14097-6_28
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