A mobile communication aid system for persons with physical disabilities

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Top Highlights

• Assistive technology (AT) is becoming increasingly important in improving mobility, communication and learning capabilities of persons who have disabilities, enabling them to function independently and to improve their social opportunities

• rehabilitation for people with various conditions such as spinal cord injuries, non-vocal quadriplegics, and vocal, visual or hearing impairments

• Many adapted and alternative input methods have now been developed to allow these physically handicapped users to use a computer.

• These include modified direct selections

• scanning methods (row–column, linear, circular) and other ways of controlling a sequentially stepping selection cursor in an organized information matrix via one or two switches

• However, they were not designed for mobile phone devices

• Eye-controlled input, for instance, requires only little energy, so it is often used by individuals with severe disabilities who are unable to speak, and unable to move any portion of their body other than the face. On the other hand, eye-controlled input is expensive and bulky

• Speech recognition is an adaptive method for users with disabilities who want to use a computer, especially for people who are visually impaired and people with spinal cord injuries

• Mouse emulators, hand-mice, joystick mice, trackballs, and touch windows are used by speech impaired users and users with moderate cerebral palsy; the mouse-driven keyboard is used by individuals with disabilities who are unable to use a keyboard effectively but can use a mouse

• A Morse code based input system is a good alternative in cases where the above-mentioned methods cannot be applied.

• Usually persons with disabilities will face problems, like high equipment cost, an accurate recognition, expansibility, portability, and availability