April 23rd, 2006 — Accessibility
Photo credit: © Fraunhofer IITB
Mobile impaired but want the freedom of being able to get around any terrain? Check out the new GPS enabled four-wheel drive wheelchair, from Otto Bock HealthCare and the Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Data Processing IITB. This innovative system can check the user’s pulse rate and blood values and even calls for help in emergencies.
This Superfourin, as it’s known, is basically a modified ATV with a high-performance hybrid engine, roll bar, on-board computer, and embedded sensors to monitor both vital signs and vehicle status.
“Our test driver, a multiple sclerosis patient who has been wheelchair-bound for many years, was enthused. For the first time in a long time, he was able to visit the Thüringer Forest with his family without having to rely on outside help.”
Source: Extreme wheelchairing
December 12th, 2005 — Accessibility
The call for review of the draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 was mentioned multiple times at last week’s OZeWAI conference.
All comments should be sent in by 21st December 2005.
December 11th, 2005 — Accessibility
I’m back from this year’s OZeWAI conference, held at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The focus of the conference is accessibility and adaptability of the web. The program included a range of speakers from various backgrounds, including (but not limited to):
Some of the key topics that stuck in my mind included adaptability (about adapting the web to the user rather than having the user adapt to the web), the different types of disabilities and accessibility testing. There were many more topics covered during the conference as can be seen by the program.
Vision impairment is one of the most talked about areas of accessibility, but it is important to keep in mind that there are other disabilities that we, as web designers, must design for. In regards to the other types of disabilities, cognitive disabilities are an area that still requires a lot more work. It can be one of the harder areas of disabilities to design for, due to lack of knowledge within this area, and also the diversity that’s within the “cognitive” category.
One of the best things about this conference is getting to meet other people who are also interested in this area of accessibility, and whom many are heavily involved in moving accessibility forward.
Many thanks to Liddy Nevile and her team for organising this conference. Thanks very much to Shane Anderson, his lovely wife, Rachelle and their gorgeous baby Ella, and Paul Bohman who, despite it being very out of their way, rescued me when I was stranded at the wrong Safeway in Melbourne (who would have thought that there were three Safeways in a row! And why is it called Safeway instead of Woolworths?). Despite all that hassle, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Namaste Indian Restaurant.
My OZeWAI Flickr photos are now available. Here’s a quick preview:
October 27th, 2005 — Accessibility
Steve Faulkner from Vision Australia has just released the latest version of the Web Accessibility Toolbar EN 1.2. You can download the toolbar here.
I did use the older version of the Toolbar at one stage, but with keyboard conflicts interfering with my web development work, it meant that I had to remove it from my work machine. This newer version seems to address this issue, among other things. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate the latest version yet, but it’s always great having these tools….especially when they’re free (I’m sure donations would be greatly appreciated)!