Introduction
The possibilities that new technologies can bring to people with disabilities...
As well as the 32 million people from overseas who came to visit the UK in 2006, a large number of UK residents also travel to events and destinations within the UK. Throughout Europe people travel to cities, events, museums, galleries, stadiums and festivals. In 2012 the Olympics will be held in the UK.
Visitors and tourists use public transport, airports, hotels, theatres, stadiums and venues. In doing so they need access to information and to use ticket machines, maps, turnstiles, elevators, bus stops, automatic doors, trains, taxis and public telephones.
A significant percentage of all tourists and visitors will be elderly or will have a disability, and there is an increasing requirement to make appropriate provision for people with disabilities. This is partly driven by legislation, but also economic and logistic considerations show that using new technologies can be a major benefit to both the people who need these improvements and the organisations and businesses who provide and manage visitor venues and events.
To date, most of the special provision for visitors with a disability relates to providing access for wheelchairs or the installation of hearing aid loops. However, the advent of a range of new mainstream technologies offers exciting possibilities for providing new services which can greatly help blind and partially sighted visitors, or people with other disabilities, or those who need assistance in other ways. It is important to remember that in most cases improving these services will also be of benefit to non-disabled visitors.
So, what do visitors and tourists need?
Accessible, intelligent information systems
Most information, whether it be about a museum, train times or a sports venue, is provided in print. This is often of limited use to blind and partially sighted people. Therefore, they may rely on other people passing on the information, or they try obtaining the information from the internet. The problem with many web sites is that they are difficult or impossible to use by people who rely on assistive technology such as screen readers with speech output.
A traveller will also need to find out the possible methods of reaching a destination. This may involve more than one mode of transport, and maybe this person cannot walk up more than ten steps. Ideally, there should be a unified information service which can provide this information, taking into account the user's special needs. As well as the total journey time and the total cost of the various options, it would be helpful if the information service was able to indicate where stairways and elevators are situated.
Other information may be needed when a person is actually on their journey. In the event of a service disruption, an information system should be able to reroute the user, taking into account their special needs. Although this sounds futuristic, pilot schemes have been developed to provide such a service.
For partially sighted visitors it is essential that signage has high contrast, preferably with white or yellow characters on a dark background, with a clear typeface. Sign systems that are consistent in the positioning of the signs are highly desirable, together with a consistent use of arrows to indicate direction.
For blind visitors, conventional signage is of limited value. However, an embossed map can be useful if it is combined with non-visual landmarks. A variety of electronic systems have been developed for indicating landmarks. These include beacons which give out an audible message which has been triggered from a device carried by the blind person.
An alternative approach is to use audio guides. Digital systems can be triggered automatically at various locations to provide a flexible range of information. However, these systems are usually restricted to a predefined area.
Satellite navigation systems, coupled to a detailed digital map of the area, are more flexible but are limited to outdoor use where there is line of sight to a number of satellites. It is possible to combine satellite positioning with a mobile phone incorporating a camera so that the blind user calls a service centre to receive audio guidance from a human operator; the operator has a computer display showing the map of the area and the position of the caller combined with photographs from the camera.
This type of system can cope with complex navigation problems such as queues where it is not obvious to the blind person where the queue starts or even the purpose of the queue.
Another complex situation is when an area has to be evacuated since an alarm has been activated. Supplementing visual signals with directional audible signals will help but is not the complete answer in a complex unknown environment.
Machines that are easy to use
On public transport it is often necessary to purchase a ticket from a self-service terminal. Many of these machines are not well designed, in that the instructions can be difficult to read and the sequence of actions difficult to follow. A lack of consistency in the user interface can make a purchase difficult and slow for an occasional user, even for people with good eyesight.
There are many options for improving access to public terminals. For example, the coding on a person’s bank card can indicate their preferences, such as large characters on the screen.
In the foreseeable future a pre-purchased ticket may be held within a mobile phone handset or a PDA and the user just touches the handset to the entrance and exit gates in a similar way to a contactless smart card.
Ambient intelligent systems
In the longer term, ambient intelligent systems offer the possibility to provide an integrated seamless system for a range of services.
Ambient intelligence is where people are surrounded by intelligent intuitive interfaces that are embedded in all kinds of objects, and an environment that is capable of recognising and responding to the presence of different individuals in a seamless, unobtrusive and often invisible way. Such a system may store the special requirements of the user (e.g. cannot comfortably climb more than five steps); an intelligent agent could process the output so that the user only receives appropriate information.
This publication briefly describes the main technologies that have the potential to help visitors with disabilities, and how these technologies can be of practical benefit. More detailed information can be found on this web site, which includes guidelines for system designers.