Acta Informatica Pragensia 2019, 8(1), 38-65 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aip.1243397

Automatická asistencia pre nevidiacich ľudí pri práci v oblasti elektrotechniky a informatiky

Milan Hudec
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Matej Bel, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic

Zrakový hendikep úplnej slepoty v človeku podnecuje rozširovanie schopností v iných oblastiach. Ide najmä o výrazné zlepšenie zručností pri používaní hmatu, sluchu a pamäte. Tieto zručnosti môžu nevidiaci ľudia využiť s pomocou asistenčných technológií pri hľadaní uplatnenia na trhu práce. Cieľom článku je predstaviť, ako navrhnuté riešenie v podobe ambientného systému podporuje prácu nevidiaceho v oblasti elektrotechniky a informatiky. Tým prispieva tento článok do znalostnej bázy o návrhu riešení v oblasti aktívnej podpory pracovného uplatnenia nevidiacich ľudí. V tomto článku je opísaná asistenčná technológia, ktorá dokáže využiť rozšírené zručnosti nevidiacich ľudí pri práci v oblasti odbornej informatiky a elektrotechniky. Asistenčná technológia je súčasťou prototypu ambientného systému v inteligentnej budove. Automatická asistencia sa pritom týka aj praktickej elektrotechniky, kedy nevidiacemu umožňuje zapájanie zložitejších obvodov a konštrukciu hardvéru. Nevidiaci človek pritom využíva bežné elektrotechnické komponenty bez potreby výroby špeciálnych dielov na kompenzáciu zrakového hendikepu. Zložka asistencie pri odbornej práci v oblasti informatiky obsahuje špeciálne prostredie HANIBAL zamerané na vytváranie programových kódov. Využíva bezkontextové jazyky na prácu s informáciami grafického charakteru a tiež aj na modifikácie samotného používateľského rozhrania. Prototyp ambientného systému s asistenciou pri bývaní a pri výkone práce v zamestnaní umožňuje použitie bežnej elektrotechnickej výbavy ako napr. multimeter alebo osciloskop, ktorú v ambiente inteligentnej budovy nevidiacemu sprístupní špeciálnym spôsobom pomocou umelo produkovanej reči alebo pomocou hmatu. V článku takto poukazujeme aj na novú možnosť uplatnenia nevidiacich ľudí na akademickej pôde pri vývoji v oblasti informatiky a elektrotechniky.

Keywords: Ambientný systém, Ambient assisted living, Asistencia v zamestnaní, Inteligentná budova, Multimeter, Osciloskop, Používateľské rozhranie pre nevidiacich, RUDO

Automatic Assistance for Blind People in Electrical Engineering and Informatics

The visual impairment of a completely blind person encourages them to develop their abilities in other areas. This concerns mainly a significant improvement in the use of touch, hearing and memory. Blind people can use these skills with the help of assistance technologies when looking for employment. The aim of the article is to show how the presented solution – an ambient system – assists a blind person in their work in the area of electrical engineering and informatics. The article thus contributes to the knowledge base of solution design in the area of active support of visually impaired persons’ employment. This article describes an assistance technology capable of using the increased skills of blind people for work in informatics and electrical engineering. The assistance technology is part of an ambient system prototype in an intelligent building. The automatic assistance extends to practical electrical engineering, helping a blind person to connect complex circuits and construct hardware with the use of standard electrotechnical components, with no need for specially manufactured components that would compensate for the visual impairment. The assistance for specialized work in informatics includes a special environment HANIBAL focused on creating source code. It uses context free languages to work with graphics related information and also for modifying the user interface. The ambient system prototype for assisted living and occupational assistance enables the use of standard electrotechnical equipment, e.g. multimeter or oscilloscope, made available to a blind person in the environment of an intelligent building by means of touch or synthesized speech. The article thus outlines a new possibility for visually impaired people to find employment in academic environment and participate in informatics and electrical engineering development.

Keywords: Ambient system, Ambient assisted living, Intelligent building, User interface for the blind, Multimeter, Occupational assistance, Oscilloscope, RUDO

Received: April 23, 2019; Accepted: June 28, 2019; Prepublished online: July 2, 2019; Published: July 10, 2019  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Hudec, M. (2019). Automatic Assistance for Blind People in Electrical Engineering and Informatics. Acta Informatica Pragensia, 8(1), 38-65. doi: 10.18267/j.aip.124
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Aaliance. (2014). AALIANCE<sup>2</sup> Summary of Standards. Retrieved June 22, 2019, from http://nero.offis.de/projects/aaliance2/start
    2. Aicha, A.N., Englebienne, & G., Kröse, B. (2015). Continuous Gait Velocity Analysis Using Ambient Sensors in a Smart Home. In Proceedings of the European Conference on Ambient Intelligence (pp. 219-235). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-26005-1_15 Go to original source...
    3. Aitta, M., Kaleva, S., & Kortelainen, T. (2008). Heuristic evaluation applied to library web services. New Library World, 109(1/2), 25-45. doi: 10.1108/03074800810845985 Go to original source...
    4. Arshad, F., Nnamoko, N., Wilson, J., Roy, B., & Taylor, M. (2015). Improving Healthcare System Usability Without Real Users: A Semi-Parallel Design Approach. International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics, 10(1), 4. doi: 10.4018/IJHISI.2015010104 Go to original source...
    5. Choras, M., Kozik, R., D'Antonio, S., Iannello, G., Jedlitschka, A., Miesenberger, K., Vollero, L., & Wo|oszczuk, A. (2015). Innovative Solutions for Inclusion of Totally Blind People. In Ambient Assisted Living (pp. 401-434). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b18520 Go to original source...
    6. Dafalla, T. D. M., Kushniruk, A. W., & Borycki, E. M. (2015). Beyond Effectiveness: A Pragmatic Evaluation Framework for Learning and Continuous Quality Improvement of e-Learning Interventions in Healthcare. In Studies in Health Technology and Informatics (pp. 119-124). Amsterdam: IOS Press. doi: 10.3233/978-1-61499-488-6-119 Go to original source...
    7. Darwish, M., Senn, E., Lohr, C., & Kermarrec, Y. (2014). A Comparison between Ambient Assisted Living Systems. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics (pp. 231-237). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-14424-5_26 Go to original source...
    8. Dasios, A., Gavalas, D., Pantziou, G., & Konstantopoulos, C. (2015). Hands-On Experiences in Deploying Cost-Effective Ambient-Assisted Living Systems. Sensors, 15(6), 14487-14512. doi: 10.3390/s150614487 Go to original source...
    9. Dresch, A., Lacerda, D.P., & Antunes J.A.V. Jr. (2015). Design Science Research: A Method for Science and Technology Advancement. Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-07374-3 Go to original source...
    10. Emiliani, P.L., & Stephanidis, C. (2005). Universal access to ambient intelligence environments: Opportunities and challenges for people with disabilities. IBM Systems Journal, 44(3), 605-618. doi: 10.1147/sj.443.0605 Go to original source...
    11. Gallagher, T., Wise, E., Yam, H.C., Li, B., Ramsey-Stewart, E., Dempster, A.G., & Rizos, C. (2014). Indoor navigation for people who are blind or vision impaired: Where are we and where are we going?. Journal of Location Based Services, 8(1), 54-73. doi: 10.1080/17489725.2014.895062 Go to original source...
    12. Gerharth, P. J. (1996). Cognitive engineering principles for enhancing human-computer performance. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 8(2), 189-211. doi: 10.1080/10447319609526147 Go to original source...
    13. Goodman, E., Kuniavsky, M., & Moed, A. (2012). Observing the User Experience. Waltham: Morgan Kaufmann.
    14. Hill, C., Raymond, G., & Yeung, I. (2013). Ambient Assisted Living Technology (Final report of project E-project-051113-192757), Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved June 22, 2019, from https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-051113-192757/
    15. Hudec, M. (2002). Vektorový priestor pohybu osôb. In Proceedings of the ITAT 2002: Information Technologies - Applications and Theory (pp. 103-111). Košice: Pavol Jozef Safarik University.
    16. Hudec, M. (2011). Kompenzačný softvér pre nevidiacich v oblasti vedeckej informatiky. In Proceedings of the 17th annual national conference DidInfo 2011. Banská Bystrica: FPV UMB.
    17. Hudec, M. (2008). Vývojové prostredie na prácu s hlasom a neurónovou sieťou pre zrakovo hendikepovaných. Informatika v škole, (35), 37-43.
    18. Hudec, M. (2009). Konštrukcia neurónových sietí skladaním jednotiek stratovej kompresie. Banská Bystrica: FPV UMB.
    19. Hudec, M. (2013). Naprogramujte si svoj rečový syntetizér s neurónovou sieťou. Banská Bystrica: FPV UMB.
    20. Hudec, M. (2016). Inteligentné budovy s asistentom pre nevidiacich. Acta Informatica Pragensia, 5(1), 4-17. doi: 10.18267/j.aip.81 Go to original source...
    21. Hudec, M., & Karabas, J. (2018). Návrh softvérovej vrstvy pre používateľské rozhranie podporujúce nevidiacich ľudí pri práci s ambientným systémom RUDO. Banská Bystrica: FPV UMB.
    22. Hudec, M., & Smutny, Z. (2017). RUDO: A Home Ambient Intelligence System for Blind People. Sensors, 17(8), 1926. doi: 10.3390/s17081926 Go to original source...
    23. Hudec, M., & Smutny, Z. (2018). Advanced Scene Recognition System for Blind People in Household: The Use of Notification Sounds in Spatial and Social Context of Blind People. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Computer Science and Application Engineering (no. 159). New York: ACM. doi: 10.1145/3207677.3278101 Go to original source...
    24. Ince, A. N. (1992). Digital Speech Processing: Speech Coding, Synthesis and Recognition. New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4757-2148-5 Go to original source...
    25. Johannesson, P., & Perjons, E. (2014). An Introduction to Design Science. Berlin: Springer. Go to original source...
    26. Koza, J.R., Keane, M.A., Streeter, M.J., Mydlowec, W., Yu, J., & Lanza, G. (2003). Genetic Programming IV. Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/b137549 Go to original source...
    27. Mariani, J. (2009). Language and Speech Processing. London: ISTE.
    28. Mekhalfi, M.L., Melgani, F., Zeggada, A., De Natale, F.G.B., Salem, M.A.-M., & Khamis, A. (2016). Recovering the sight to blind people in indoor environments with smart technologies. Expert Systems with Applications, 46, 129-138. doi: 10.1016/j.eswa.2015.09.054 Go to original source...
    29. Melichar, B., Češka, M., Ježek, K., & Richta, K. (1999). Konstrukce překladačů (2 části). Praha: Česká technika - Nakladatelství ČVUT.
    30. Miller, J.F. (2013). Cartesian Genetic Programming. In Cartesian Genetic Programming (pp. 17-34). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-17310-3_2 Go to original source...
    31. Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann. Go to original source...
    32. Nikolaev, N., & Iba, H. (2006). Adaptive Learning of Polynomial Networks: Genetic Programming, Backpropagation and Bayesian Methods. New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/0-387-31240-4 Go to original source...
    33. Psutka, J., Muller, L., Matousek, J., & Radova, V. (2006). Mluvíme s počítačem Česky. Praha: Academia.
    34. Salman, H. M., Kamaruddin, A., Affendey, L. S., Mansor, E. I., Rahmat, R. W. O. K., & Jantan, A. H. (2015). Using heuristic evaluation to improve the usability of electronic medical record (EMR) mobile interface of the cardiothoracic surgery and anesthesia system (CSAS). Jurnal Teknologi, 77(7), 91-96. doi: 10.11113/jt.v77.6254 Go to original source...
    35. Sanches, E.C.P., de Macedo, C.M.S., & Bueno, J. (2018). Three-Dimensional Tactile Images for Blind People: A Proposition for a Translating Model of Static Two-Dimensional Images. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (pp. 465-476). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-60597-5_44 Go to original source...
    36. Sein, M.K., Henfridsson, O., Purao, P.S., Rossi, M., & Lindgren, R. (2011). Action design research. MIS Quarterly, 35(1), 37-56. Go to original source...
    37. Šíma, J., & Neruda, R. (1996). Teoretické otázky neuronových sítí. Praha: Matfyz Press.
    38. Teizer, J., Venugopal, M., & Walia, A. (2008). Ultrawideband for Automated Real-Time Three-Dimensional Location Sensing for Workforce, Equipment, and Material Positioning and Tracking. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2081(1), 56-64. doi: 10.3141/2081-06 Go to original source...
    39. UseIt. (2019). Jakob Nielsen on Usability and Web Design. Retrieved June 22, 2019, from http://www.useit.com/
    40. Ventriglia, F. (1994). Neural Modeling and Neural Networks. Oxford: Pergamon. Go to original source...
    41. Wieringa, R. J. (2014). Design Science Methodology for Information Systems and Software Engineering. Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-43839-8 Go to original source...
    42. Winter, R. (2008). Design science research in Europe. European Journal of Information Systems, 17(5), 470-475. doi: 10.1057/ejis.2008.44 Go to original source...
    43. WHO. (2018). Visual impairment and blindness, fact sheet. Retrieved June 22, 2019, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content