Abstract
This chapter aims to address a study in which it is intended to conceptualize, develop, and evaluate an aggregation platform of accessible solutions target to Portuguese people with visual impairment, incorporating not only an information layer but also a training layer using, for example, explanatory videos and tutorials. The platform contents will be nourished through a logic of volunteering and be available through an interactive television (iTV) application and a web/mobile application accessible to visually impaired users. In this chapter, a state-of-the-art survey is made to identify types of digital solutions target to visually impaired users. Based on this survey, an analysis is made to understand what features and functionalities the proposed platform can integrate and how it can become a powerful solution for people with visual impairment. In addition to the state-of-the-art survey and its analysis, the chapter includes the identification and description of the system architecture that will support the proposed platform.
TopTheoretical Background
As Castells (2007) argues, information technologies triggered a technological revolution that caused significant social impacts, such as the production of exclusion phenomena and the establishment of isolated communities. For the author, in the informational and global economy, individuals, companies, and regions are dependent on technologies, information and knowledge, making the economy more susceptible to the production of exclusion phenomena. In other words, for the author, the digital exclusion does not mean simply considering the lack of equipment or information systems accessible to citizens, it is also a process of social, economic and cultural exclusion. Thus, there is little space for people who are not familiar with technology, for people who consume less information and for territories not updated with communication, creating a boundary between people 'with' and 'without' access to information.
Similarly, Hamelink (2000) considers that the potential of information technologies is ambivalent. On the one hand, they can induce positive changes, but on the other hand, they can have heavy social costs, since despite the advocacy of free and universal access to ICTs, this scenario is still made up by a minority, which must be become a large majority.
For Morin (1999), cultural production in a context of mass culture is a process where productive needs and standardization techniques are faced with an individualized character. According to the author, mass culture meets the average quality required by the average consumer. This fact influences the participation process of consumers with special needs, because individual differences are not considered leading to their discrimination.
It is also in this sense that Wolton (1999: 299) states that: “It is possible that there is equal access, but there is no equality in the capacity to use it.”. Universal Design tries to answer this question, seeking to satisfy the needs of all types of users and responding to the diversity of user experiences and contexts of use.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Voice Control: It is a system that allows user to control devices (e.g., computers, television, and mobile phone) only with his voice.
Accessibility: The capability given to as many people as possible to access and use products, systems, services, devices, and environments, regardless of their physical or technological abilities. Assistive products are essential means to facilitate the access and participation of a person with special needs in different fields, allowing different activities to be carried out.
Information Society: It is based on a model of economic development, in which information and communication technologies, as a means of producing knowledge, plays a fundamental role in the generation of wealth and in the quality of life of all citizens.
Audio Description: An audiovisual translation technique targeted to visually impaired people enabling them the full access of visual content. This technique can be applied in several contexts, as is the case of Television, where a professional storyteller describes the visual scenes not perceptible by viewers with blindness and low vision, based on a pre-produced script made by a screenwriter.
Voice Over: It is a technology based on a screen reader that describes aloud the text that appears on digital screens (e.g., computers, television, and mobile phone).
Interactive Television: All television systems with a return channel that allow the user to perform interactions, with content or services, which go beyond the operation of traditional teletext, changing channels and image and sound adjustments.
Visual Impairment: It is divided in distance and near presenting vision impairment. Distance vision impairment includes mild, moderate, and severe visual acuity (worse than 6/12 to 6/60) and also blindness (visual acuity worse than 3/60). In near vision impairment, visual acuity is worse than N6 or M.08 with existing correction.