Paul Boughton
Now in the marketplace is a comprehensive guide aimed at engineers and
technicians to make the accessible ICT systems they design and manufacture
more useable by disabled and older people.
A wide range of application areas and technologies are covered - from
household appliances and transport to biometrics and information displays.
Guidelines for the design of accessible ICT systems are divided into four
sections:
User groups provides demographic information and details about the types of
disabilities that designers need to consider, including impairments such as
visual, hearing, deaf and blind, physical, cognitive and language, and to
cater also for older people. There are direct web links to each area.
Application areas are the everyday situations and environments where
accessibility should be a major consideration.
The technology section refers to specific technological systems such as
radio frequency identification (RFID)and smart media and how accessibility
issues can be addressed within these.
Related aspects are the more general areas and everyday situations that
people with disabilities and older people will encounter, where
accessibility is again an issue.
Tiresias, which is the RNIB scientific research unit's website, also offers
in-depth information on more than 2,000 devices, some 1,000 agencies for
blind and partially sighted people, current and future research across 33
countries, and more than 100 scientific and technological reports on topics
ranging from smart cards and biometrics to Braille and tactile data.
Dr John Gill, Chief Scientist at the RNIB, who produced the Guidelines, said
that the greater enjoyment of life of people with disabilities and older
people lay in the hands of our engineers and technicians.
"They are the people who design and make ICT systems and we urge them to
look at the recommendations contained in Guidelines and to give some thought
on how greater improvements can be made", he said.
"The need to do so grows apace as, added to the several millions of Britons
with disabilities, we have to help the increasing number of older people".
Dr Gill said that people with disabilities had very varied needs and
aspirations. When designing systems for use by the general public it was
important for engineers and technicians to have an understanding of the
implications of different impairments. For instance eight percent of the
male population had difficulties in distinguishing red and green, and many foreign visitors may prefer information in their own language.
"The number of people with impairments will increase as life expectancy
increases", said Dr Gill. "Among older people it is common to have a
combination of impairments which can result in problems in using information
and communication technology systems".
Guidelines for the design of accessible ICT systems
technicians to make the accessible ICT systems they design and manufacture
more useable by disabled and older people.
A wide range of application areas and technologies are covered - from
household appliances and transport to biometrics and information displays.
Guidelines for the design of accessible ICT systems are divided into four
sections:
User groups provides demographic information and details about the types of
disabilities that designers need to consider, including impairments such as
visual, hearing, deaf and blind, physical, cognitive and language, and to
cater also for older people. There are direct web links to each area.
Application areas are the everyday situations and environments where
accessibility should be a major consideration.
The technology section refers to specific technological systems such as
radio frequency identification (RFID)and smart media and how accessibility
issues can be addressed within these.
Related aspects are the more general areas and everyday situations that
people with disabilities and older people will encounter, where
accessibility is again an issue.
Tiresias, which is the RNIB scientific research unit's website, also offers
in-depth information on more than 2,000 devices, some 1,000 agencies for
blind and partially sighted people, current and future research across 33
countries, and more than 100 scientific and technological reports on topics
ranging from smart cards and biometrics to Braille and tactile data.
Dr John Gill, Chief Scientist at the RNIB, who produced the Guidelines, said
that the greater enjoyment of life of people with disabilities and older
people lay in the hands of our engineers and technicians.
"They are the people who design and make ICT systems and we urge them to
look at the recommendations contained in Guidelines and to give some thought
on how greater improvements can be made", he said.
"The need to do so grows apace as, added to the several millions of Britons
with disabilities, we have to help the increasing number of older people".
Dr Gill said that people with disabilities had very varied needs and
aspirations. When designing systems for use by the general public it was
important for engineers and technicians to have an understanding of the
implications of different impairments. For instance eight percent of the
male population had difficulties in distinguishing red and green, and many foreign visitors may prefer information in their own language.
"The number of people with impairments will increase as life expectancy
increases", said Dr Gill. "Among older people it is common to have a
combination of impairments which can result in problems in using information
and communication technology systems".
Guidelines for the design of accessible ICT systems
