Free Webinar for the Tobii Sono Flex iPad App

Free Webinar for Tobii Sono Flex for the iPad
Webinar Registration

Tobii Sono Flex is an AAC app for the iPad that turns symbols into speech. In this webinar, you will learn how to use and customize Sono Flex. We will teach you customization skills such as how to change the button text and how to add pictures from your iPad library onto existing buttons. You will also learn how to adjust the Sono Flex settings, and add new vocabulary. Join Tobii ATI to get all your questions answered in this action packed hour-long webinar!

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/772743145

Talk to me, with your eyes

Eye tracking technology allows ALS sufferers to express creativity

http://scienceline.org/2011/10/talk-to-me-with-your-eyes/


When Los Angeles graffiti artist Tony Quan, otherwise known as Tempt1, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he lost all muscle function in his body – except in his eyes. His brain was fully functioning, but he could not speak nor move a limb. His ideas were as abundant as ever, but he was an artist without any form of expression.
And then came The Eyewriter, a combination eye-tracking and drawing software that enabled Tempt1 to draw with his eyes. From a small hospital bed, Tempt1 drew the images in his mind while artists and hackers from the Free Art & Technology Lab drove around, downloading the images from the trunks of their cars and projecting them onto buildings for all of downtown L.A. to see.
Zach Lieberman, one of the creators of The Eyewriter, spoke about the impact of this technology for artists like Tempt1 at the October 18th “Talk to Me” symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The auditorium was filled with Radiolab enthusiasts eager to hear the NPR program’s co-hosts Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad banter about the relationship between people, objects and design, but it was Lieberman’s video of Tempt1 using The Eyewriter that stunned the audience.
The first half of The Eyewriter can be made from any old pair of glasses retrofitted with some copper wire, a micro-camera and near-infrared LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to illuminate the entire eyeball, making the pupil appear darker in comparison. This contrast makes it easier for the camera to detect and track the position of the pupils, enabling the eye-tracking software to map their coordinates onto a computer screen.
The second part of The Eyewriter, the drawing software, uses a time-based interface so that the user can focus on a position on the screen for a specific amount of time to trigger different buttons (such as a color change) or create a new drawing point.
Lieberman and his team wanted The Eyewriter to be available to anyone – they offer the source code for the drawing software for free online, complete with step-by-step instructions on how to set it up. And for around $50 and the time it takes to learn how to engineer the eye-tracker, anyone eager enough can make The Eyewriter.
While not perfect, Lieberman said the software is pretty accurate. He explained that “your input is your output” – in other words, the user sees the dot show up on the point of the screen where their eye is looking.
One audience member asked how Tempt1 was able to take a break, to think about what he wanted to draw without the software still tracking his eyes.
Lieberman explained that it was hugely important to have a safe zone where Tempt1 could look to pause the system and look at what he was doing, so they made sure this was part of The Eyewriter’s design.
“With an eye tracker it’s really hard to use your peripheral vision to get a complete sense of what you’re doing,” said Lieberman. “You never really get the full picture.”
Despite its imperfections, Lieberman said the best moment of the project was watching Tempt1’s face light up seeing the work that he made.
“It was amazing watching him use it,” said Lieberman. “You could really learn what he was thinking, watching him map what he was going to do.”

Posted in: The Urban Scientist

Free Webinar: Things to consider when designing an eye tracking usability study

November 10, 2011, 15:30-16:30 CET (GMT +1)

Online

http://www.tobii.com/en/eye-tracking-research/global/services/training-events/free-webinar-things-to-consider-when-designing-a-eye-tracking-usability-study/

In this 1 hour (45 minutes + time for questions) Eye Tracking Academy Webinar we will go through things that should be considered when designing a usability study where an eye tracker is used.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

• What to consider during the recruitment
• How the lab should be set up
• What to consider when designing tasks
• The consequences of using think aloud
• The importance of a script

Objective:
Our objective is to help our users to avoid common mistakes done when performing eye tracking research within the field of usability.
Please note: This is not a webinar about how to use Tobii Studio or set up Tobii Eye Trackers. The focus of the webinar is methodology and common mistakes made when doing eye tracking studies.
Audience and prerequisites:
This webinar is for usability or market research professionals who have experience of doing usability studies. Basic knowledge about basic eye tracking terms like gaze plots and heatmaps is necessary in order to fully understand this webinar.
About the Instructor:
This webinar is taught by Anneli Olsen, Usability Trainer and Researcher at Tobii Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.



Dates and registration:
Date & time: November 10, 2011 at 15:30-16:30 CET (GMT +1)
Price: FREE
Registration: Pre-registration is mandatory. Please register here.

How Rehab Engineering Students are Helping the Disabled

Engineering students aid disabled community

http://www.thevarsitynews.net/engineering-students-aid-disabled-community-1.2665629

By By Nina Carter

VN Special Writer

Published: Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Updated: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 21:10

Delbert McCoy had not been able to eat a bowl of soup since age 19 – first because his hands (like 90 percent of his body) had been severely burned and then because of later-in-life onset of Parkinson's Disease.
But that changed when University of Detroit Mercy mechanical engineering students tackled McCoy's challenge.
Each year, students of Dr. Derek Kleinke, a UDM professor of four years, have the opportunity to change the lives of several people by creating "assistive technology" for clients with physical challenges.
Kleinke was inspired by the professor before him to assign the difficult projects to his senior students.
"At first, I was worried that the student team would feel uncomfortable being around the client," he said. "Our first was a man suffering from MS (multiple sclerosis). But the client was so determined to overcome MS that he inspired myself and the students."
The students face the formidable task of figuring out a client's problems and designing a device to ease them.
In one case, students worked with a paraplegic man who was comfortable with his manual wheelchair and did not want to own a power chair. But he constantly struggled with everyday tasks, such as laundry, because he would drop things he set on his lap when he had to use his arms to move the chair.
In response to this man's wishes, the students designed a power pack that could easily attach to an ordinary wheelchair and provide electric power for as long as the client wished and could be removed when done.
This particular project is one of many featuring a student design that has potential to turn into a business, said Kleinke.
The projects can put a lot of pressure on the students, who are trying not only to please an actual client but also to achieve a high grade for their work.
"At first, students are apprehensive and they tend to feel the pressure halfway through the semester," said Kleinke. "That's what I want. But in the end when they have to deliver the product to the client and look them in the eyes, there is no doubt whether they have done a good engineering job."
The program, branded Faces by Design, gives students a hands-on experience and prepares them for situations that they may face in their careers, according to their teacher.
Kleinke, who worked many years for Ford before coming to teach at UDM, said that in large companies many engineers have very specific tasks. He likes giving students the opportunity to work the design process from beginning to end.
"I was worried that we would run out of projects as the years went on," said Kleinke. "But the disabled community gets overlooked and there are projects everywhere. Knowing that your students helped at least one client with a design (and could possibly help thousands more) is inspiring."
Delbert McCoy stirred the UDM mechanical engineering students to try to help him eat soup on his own again without spilling from the tremors caused by his Parkinson's.
The student team engineered the Spill-Proof Balloon Spoon, which allows clients to suck liquid into a balloon at the handle of the spoon and then squeeze the balloon releasing the liquid once the spoon is in the mouth.
"With each design, we know that we have helped at least one person," said Kleinke. "But with designs like the Spill-Proof Balloon Spoon, we could help thousands across the country by distributing to nursing homes."
That thought pleases Kleinke and his student engineers.

24 hours of talk to celebrate AAC Awareness Month

This is tomorrow.  Read up...it's interesting!


http://blog.eastersealstech.com/24-hours-of-talk/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+INDATAblog+%28INDATA+Blog%29

The Evolution of Voice Recognition Technology

Interesting article on the history of voice recognition technology.  Dragon Dictate has come a long way!

http://voicesofdragon.com/2011/10/24/the-evolution-of-voice-technology/

October is International AAC Awareness Month

AAC Awareness
For more information, go to www.aacawareness.org

International AAC Awareness Month is celebrated around the world each October. The goal is to raise awareness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and to inform the public about the many different ways in which people communicate using communication devices.

International AAC Awareness Month was established by ISAAC’s LEAD Project Committee in October 2007. Thirteen countries participated in the first Awareness Month, and events have been increasing in number and scope ever since.

Activities scheduled each year during the month of October vary from country to country. Some people host conferences and awareness days. Social events, such as morning or afternoon teas and open houses, help create a sense of community. International events, such as the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon and published collections of stories, videos and songs, are other exciting ways that people come together from around the world to promote AAC.

Join ISAAC’s annual celebration of International AAC Awareness Month. We invite you to plan or attend an AAC awareness event in your community, or participate in an online event.