AbstractsComputer Science

Abstract

According to a report from the Department of Justice on Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities (2011), 36% of people with severe disability, aged between 15 and 64, used a computer, and 29% used the Internet at home. This low percentage of computer users, who are disabled at different levels, could be boosted by the development of a Natural User Interface. However, the study at hand considers focuses on building a development framework of a Natural User Interface for the physically impaired people, affected by upper limb disorders. The present study explores the potentials of Text-To-Speech and Speech-To-Text technologies, as well as hand gestures’ recognition, adapted for people with upper limb motor disorders, in the development of a Natural User Interface. This research was conducted qualitatively, and it is explorative in nature. As the base for conclusion drawing is represented by a continuously developing application (STTK), based on people’s needs (a tester) and feedback, the study was built based on the Design Science framework. STTK, was tested twice by a person with motor disabilities caused by an upper limb disorder, and was developed based on their needs and feedback. The resulting prototype makes the voice and Text-To-Speech input available and accessible for the focus audience, and its core functionality can be flexibly extended according to the type, severity and peculiarities of user’s disorder. The importance of an application’s clear User Interface, which can be used from a great distance and which is permanently responsive, despite the number of applications running in the background, was pointed out as a result of the study. Furthermore, punctuation and other “details” as such, have proven to be of a great importance for application users. The STTK application should be further developed according to the findings of the study. A Natural Computer Interface can be implemented without custom, very expensive, or rare devices.