Wednesday 7 December 2011
Sunday 4 December 2011
Differential keyboard - Samchillian
Overview
The Samchillian Tip Tip Tip Cheeepeeeee (or Samchillian, for short) is a type of electronic keyboard instrument invented by Leon Gruenbaum.
The Samchillian keyboard uses keys to trigger melodic intervals aka changes of pitch, rather than the traditional fixed pitches.
Because of the syntactical patterns also in music, as in many other progressions, indicating only the differences from previous allows to play the musical notes in the case, with minimal overhead and hence incredibly quickly.
The Samchillian can play very complex structures also.
Further Resources about the Samchillian Differential Keyboard
- Leon Gruenbaum is a winner at the 2011 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition
- Samchillian explanation, demo and performance at Harvard Reunion - 2010
- 3D CAD Video animation - Ergonomic further development
Please add Comments on the Samchillian differential keyboard or suggestions for potential innovations, other applications, or developments based on this technology below.
Go to: Observed Technology
Saturday 3 December 2011
Eyetracking Software Overview Summary
Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze ("where we are looking") or the motion of an eye relative to the head.
Eye trackers are used in number of different areas in research and analysis, as well as in product design.
Examples Implementations and Systems
We highlight some different implementations of eye-tracking.
- LinkedIn Aideas Group - article The Engineer : Eye-tracking technology could benefit disabled children
- Eyetracking Web Usability (usability findings from eye tracker research)
Book about Nielsen Norman Group's eye tracking studies with links to articles presenting findings in more detail. - Eye Trackers - COGAIN: Communication by Gaze Interaction
A catalogue of currently available eye trackers, categorized into systems for assistive technology, research purposes etc.
PD Development Environments / Platforms
Some Public Domain development environments for eye-tracking software appliocation developnenet are:
- Open source gaze tracking and freeware eye tracking on COGAIN Wiki:
This list contains low-cost, free and open source eye tracking systems and research prototypes, and information that should help in building your own eye tracker. Some of them are targeted at people with disabilities (eye-control systems), some for more general eye tracking and research.
Please add Comments on eye tracking technologies below, or suggest potential innovation or development.
Go to: Observed Technology - Overview blog entry.
Ecological Green Carbon-footprint
Overview
The ecological green carbon footprint entries in the theaideascompany.blogspot.com blog are focussed generally on technology overviews and innovations for private home housing and individual families, rather than large scale society developments.
- Heating
- Wind turbines
- Solar panels
- Solar Panel Calculator
Thursday 17 November 2011
Trains & Rail travel Ramps - Transportation Accessibility Travel
In this blog entry we initially highlight two designs from newer trains where the access design for ramps for people dependent on wheelchairs and also ramp-operators railway-staff could be improved significantly.
The trains are:
Reference
- old rolling stock train types: Class 313, 315, and 317
New trains British Rail Class 379 "Electrostar"
The new Class 379 Electrostar initially introduced on the Stansted Express to and from London and Cambridge services, and recently also started to be used between London Liverpool Street, Cambridge and Kings Lynn.
Continuing on from the more considered holistic design seen in the British Rail Class 365 train design discussed below, the Class 379 "Electrostar" has had significant considerations with regard to accessibility in its' design.
However, the ramps fixing attachments to the train are protruding spikes (several inches long) perpendicular from the end of the ramp.
It seems an accident waiting to happen. Either to staff trying to help wheelchair dependent passengers on or off a train, or a wheelchair users, or anybody else on the platform at all.
Go to: top of page.
New British Rail Class 365 "Networker Express"
This was the new rolling stock of trains that was introduced by the then WAGN Train Operating Company on the Kings Cross to Cambridge line in 1994. This line include stations King's Cross to Cambridge and on to King's Lynn.
The Class 365 was also used on King's Cross to Peterborough and return lines.
The Class 365 was a significant improvement in accessibility, in that this had actually been though of positively during the design of it.
The Class 365 trains had wider iles in the carriage. Just wide enough for a wheelchair to pass if there was a 'must' situation. A carriage specifically for wheelchairs had also be designed and was on every train. It was the train carriage that had the toilet. The toilet had also been designed to allow access for wheelchairs.
The number of seats had been reduced in all carriages to allow more space a comfort for all passengers.
All these improvements were massive enhancement over what had been before.
The intent was outstanding and in our opinion should be hugely applauded.
Some details that probably could have been completed somewhat better, however, if a little more consideration and customer-r&d had been done.
The nearly more than twice as wide door opening, which was also a significant reason for reduced number of seats, also meant it was now very difficult for the fitter active wheelchair user to reach to the side of the doors as is a practical must if he or she was to get himself or herself in our out of the carriage.
I.e., by good intent the design had reduced abilities of a significant proportion of wheelchair users.
The other design feature of the Class 365 train was that the door opening now had a small step. The step was not deep enough for anybody to stand or step on, it was simply a halfway protruding lower extension that if considered from a sideways profile would give a quite nice gentler graduation of now two steps to push/pull a pram, a shopping cart, or a wheelchair up or down.
Again very admirable design intent.
The problem with it is that the extra (halfway) step, that is not deep enough to step or balance on, made the distance from the platform to the carriage floor that much further, that a shorter wheelbase wheelchair that is desirable by all wheelchair users as it makes the turning circle of the wheelchair smaller and therefore the chair more manoeuvrable, no longer could bridge the distance from the platform to the carriage floor.
I.e., again by good intent, the design had reduced abilities of an even greater proportion of wheelchair users.
Go to: top of page.
Old trains types Class 313, Class 315, Class 317
The more extreme wheelchair and fit sports wheelchair users could get themselves on and off the by an extreme backwheel balance and then pull themselves up into the train carrigage by pulling on the handles at the sides of the quite narrow doorway.
Once inside, however, the wheelchair user would have to stay in the intrance gangway, as the opening to the seated areas of the the train compartment was too narrow for a wheelchair to enter. (Nor was there any room for the wheelchair inside the carriage.)
Go to: top of page.
Trains Rail Travel Transportation Accessibility Overview Summary
Overview Summary – Trains & Rail Travel Transportation – Accessibility
Train and rail travel is obviously a massive topic only from perspective of accessibility alone. We will not attempt to cover all on the blog, as that would be blinkered of the other many different resources there already are on this.
The blog will focus on train and rail travel accessibility, from perspective of personal recounts and observations of travellers, encouraging highlights of both bad and good experiences, and looking particularly at ways and suggestions for how things might be improved also from technological and equipment perspectives (both simple and more advanced).
- UK
- Regional Train Operating Companies
- See also:
- Ramp accessibility blong entry.
- Eurostar
UK Trains and Railways
In the UK the national trains system was separated in to a number of regional independent Train Operating Companies (TOCs) during the railway privatisation 1993/1994. Each TOC operates as an independent business unit under the collective National Rail brand. (More information is available at Wikikedia.)
The current TOC (Train Operating Companies) are listed below:
Find contact information, ticketing and fare options and be sure to checkout the onboard facilities. Contact information availble for each of the Train Operating Companies individually. Their contact details from the National Rail website at the below links.
Eurostar
More about Eurostar accessibility to be added shortly.
This will include:
- Booking process - 'useful tips'
- Travel - 'useful tips'
- Accessibility new and older Eurostar trains
Add feedback or requests for design solutions in the Comments box below.
Subscribe to updates and gain access to the latest developments in the Aideas design community by submitting your email in the Follow by Email box on the right-hand side of this blog page.
Go to: Transportation — personal-mobility, vehicles and travel overview blog entry.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Transportation — personal-mobility, vehicles and travel
Transportation — personal-mobility, vehicles and travel
The below sections summarise Aideas work highlights in the transportation, personal-mobility, vehicles and travel sectors:Transportation
- Train - Overview
- UK
- Eurostar
Personal Mobility
Hotels and Accommodation - Travel
Travel, Holidays, Vacations and Activity-Breaks
Subscribe to updates and gain access to the latest developments in the Aideas design community by submitting your email in the Follow by Email box on the right-hand side of this blog page.
Add feedback or requests for design solutions in the Comments box below.
Go to: Development overview.
Friday 28 October 2011
Wheelchairs Toilet Commodes and Shower-chairs - also for Travel
Design Objective – Design Problem Statement
The design requirement 'problem statement' for the potty toilet commode product is simply:
a modular and versatile potty suitable for young children through to small adults.
The shower-chair requirement for wheelchair users for travel is similarly:
a foldable - and easily transportable - shower-chair, that is stable and affordable.
Shower-chair – also for Travel
For many wheelchair users a travel shower chair that folds up and is light is a must if wanting to travel.
Availability of well designed and reasonably priced options seems minimal.
Children's Potty Commodes
Disabled children potty commodes are distinct from travel shower chairs but a similar product sector and again lacking in reasonable designed or priced product options.
Highlighting some issues with existing products:
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Please add Comments below on this topic generally or existing product, or suggest new or improvements to design.
Go to: Medical Products, Systems and Services developments overview.
Acrobat Reader - Accessibility Options
There are a number of other simple things you can do to make your document more accessible.
Visibility
Zoom
A fast way to make your PDF document more readable is to change the Zoom.
Zoom can be changed:
- from the View > Zoom menu option.
- from the Toolbar (if shown, Toolbar is shown as default).
- using the Ctrl+Y, Ctrl+0, Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3, or Ctrl+4 keys.
Colour
Under Accessibility from the Preferences menu option, you can changing the Document Colors.
For example, you can choose to replace the page background and text colors, if this may make the document easier to read for you.
Navigating through Document
Automatic Scrolling
The Automatic Scrolling feature lets you move through a PDF document without relying on the mouse.
To Scroll Automatically:
- Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
The document will start scrolling slowly down your screen.
Use the keyboard to control speed and direction of scrolling.
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Number keys to control the speed of the scrolling,
with 9 being fast, and 0 being slow.
Use
- up and down arrow keys, to change the direction of scrolling.
- hyphen or minus key, to go backward.
- left or right arrows, to go to the previous or next page.
Go to: Adobe - Accessibility - Overview blog entry.
Observed Technology - Overview
This theaideascompany.blogspot.com blog entry summarises interesting technology, developed independently from Aideas that we think could form basis for some interesting product innovation that we are keeping a watch on.
Please add Comments or suggestions of other interesting technologies below, or suggest potential innovation or development.
Go to: Development overview blog page.
Acrobat Reader - Testing accessibility of a PDF document
You can check how accessible a PDF document is.
Acrobat will report on the following accessibility features:
- alternative text for figures,
- specified languages for text,
- reliable character encodings, and
- logical structural tree referencing for the contents of the PDF file.
To Check for Accessibility:
- Choose Advanced > Accessibility > Quick Check.
A window will appear, with a brief report on the accessibility of your document.
Go to: Adobe - Accessibility - Overview.
Thursday 27 October 2011
Development - IT - Overview
Information Technology / IT - Desktop and Mobile
The below sections summarise Aideas work in the Information Technology / IT — Desktop and Mobile sector:Desktop
- Adobe - Accessibility - Overview
- Adobe - Acrobat - Reader - Read PDF Aloud
- Testing accessibility of a PDF
- Adobe - Acrobat - Reader - Download and Installation
- Windows Accessibility Overview
- Skype Accessibility - Desktop
Mobile
- Gizmo Developments - Overview
- What people want from Gizmos
- Mobile Phone Usability
- Mobile Phones and Services – Untapped Market Opportunities
See Also
Subscribe to updates and gain access to the latest developments in the Aideas design community by submitting your email in the Follow by Email box on the right-hand side of this blog page.
Add feedback or requests for design solutions in the Comments box below.
Go to: Development overview.
Adobe - Acrobat - Reader - Download
The Adobe - Acrobat Reader program can be downloaded from here:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
This webpage will normally detect which type of computer (PC or Mac) that you are using and also the operating system, and present the appropriate version of Acrobat Reader.
If the version suggested is not the correct version for the target computer or operating system, a different version of can be selected from the page, by following the link:
Do you have a different language or operating system?
, which is situated immediately underneath
Your system: Windows 7, English example, will depend on actual
computer & operating system
An Anti-Virus program may be 'bundled' with the free Acrobat Reader installer.
You may not be interested in this anti-virus program, as it can slow down your computer performance, particularly if you already have a different anti-virus solution installed.
You can avoid installing the anti-virus program by de-selecting the tick-box, as shown in the screencapture below.
Once the Acrobat Reader installer program has been downloaded and saved on your computer, you can install Acrobat Reader by running the installer and following the instructions you are presented with in the dialogue boxes.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Adobe - Acrobat - Reader - Read PDF Aloud
This theaideascompany.blotspot.com blog entry describes the Read Out Loud Text-to-Speech feature built in to Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program.
The Read Aloud feature converts text to spoken words.
You can choose to have one page read, or the whole document, and you can choose the reading order.
While a PDF is being read out loud, you can always pause or stop the reading.
Using Read Out Loud
To use the Read Out Loud function:
- Navigate to the page that you want to read.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read This Page Only.
- Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read To End Of Document.
To pause or stop the Read Out Loud function,
Do one of the following:
- Choose View > Read Out Loud > Pause.
- Choose View > Read Out Loud > Resume.
- Choose View > Read Out Loud > Stop.
See also:
- Checking document accessibility blog entry.
- Setting Reading preferences below.
Setting Reading preferences
Go to: Adobe - Accessibility - Overview.
Thursday 13 October 2011
Adobe - Accessibility - Overview
They include:
- Acrobat Reader - Read PDF Aloud function
- Acrobat Reader - Other Accessibility Options
- Testing accessibility of a PDF
- Downloading and installing Acrobat Reader
Please add any general comments or request for more on Adobe Accessibility in the Comments box below.
Go to: Web Accessibility Overview entry
Accessibility features - Windows - Overview
Summary
Windows offers a number of built-in accessibility features.More information about accessibility and assistive technology products is available on the Microsoft Accessibility website.
For a step-by-step tutorial about accessibility settings that are available in Windows, see Introducing Accessibility in Windows.
Below an overview of the accessibility features built into Windows7.
Overview of accessibility features in Windows7
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Ease of Access Center | Provides a centralized location in the Control Panel where you can adjust accessibility settings and programs. You can also get recommendations for settings to make your PC easier to see, hear, and use. |
| Magnifier | Magnifies the screen or a portion of the screen to make text, images, and objects easier to see. |
| On-Screen Keyboard | A visual, on-screen keyboard with all the standard keys that you can use instead of a physical keyboard. On-Screen Keyboard also lets you type and enter data with a mouse or other pointing device. |
| Narrator | Reads aloud on-screen text and describes some events (such as error messages appearing) that happen while you're using the computer. |
| Speech Recognition | Enables you to interact with your computer using only your voice while maintaining, or even increasing, your productivity. |
| Change text size | Lets you make text and objects larger and easier to see without losing graphics quality. |
| Personalization | You can add a personal touch to your computer by changing the computer's theme, color, sounds, desktop background, screen saver, font size, and user account picture. You can also select specific gadgets for your desktop. |
| Touch | If you've got a touch-screen monitor, you can just touch your computer screen for a more direct and natural way to work. Use your fingers to scroll, resize windows, play media, and pan and zoom. |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Keyboard combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort. |
| Sticky Keys | Instead of having to press three keys at once (such as when you must press the CTRL, ALT, and DELETE keys simultaneously to log on to Windows), you can press one key at a time when Sticky Keys is turned on. |
| Mouse Keys | Instead of using the mouse, you can use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad to move the pointer. |
| Filter Keys | Ignore keystrokes that occur in rapid succession and keystrokes that are held down for several seconds unintentionally. |
| Visual Notifications | Replace system sounds with visual cues, such as a flash on the screen, so system alerts are announced with visual notifications instead of sounds. |
| Captions | Get information via animations and video that some programs use to indicate that activity is happening on your computer. |
Add Comments below or requests for further theaideascompany.blogspot.com entries on Windows Accessibility features
Go to: the Web Accessibility Overview entry