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Computer tools for disabled need cash

Voice-activated computers and equipment that can scan text and then read it out to deaf people are just some of the applications technology is making available to disabled people, a group of computer professionals said yesterday.

However, the limited market for such tools means government support is necessary to bring bright ideas for helping disabled people to fruition.

"Only with synergy between the government and computer professionals can hindrance-free computer programs be fully developed, as the development of such projects is time-consuming and costly," said Ray Chao (晁旭光), managing director of IQ China Technology Inc (網際智慧股份有限公司).

The seminar was directed by the Council of Labor Affairs, the Cabinet's Development and Evaluation Commission and the Department of Social Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior to discuss the problems faced by the disabled and come up with solutions.

IQ China Technology Inc was one of the private sector organizations there to discuss the development of computer technology for the disabled.

According to Chao, IQ China has already developed hands-free systems that allow physically disabled people to operate the computer with voice commands instead of using hardware peripherals.

"Voice command has long been available. However, an effective noise filter has yet to be developed," Chao said.

"This voice command program will not be as user-friendly if the computer cannot separate voice commands from background noises," he said.

According to Chao, this system will be available next year.

As well as voice-controlled computers, the company is also developing tools that speak to the user.

"A program that is still under development can scan a newspaper story and convert the words into voice. Basically, the computer can scan and then read out a newspaper article for those who are visually impaired," Chao said.

Chao said he had been working with many schools for the blind and other specialized educational institutions to come up with better products for the disabled.

Educational software programs are also available for children with learning disabilities.

"Very soon, learning software will hit the market to help children with brain damage, autism and learning disabilities to learn to talk. This software is designed to be topical and practical," Wu Whang-rong (吳煌榮), an advisor at the National Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, said.

According to Wu, this software provides several scenarios where children up to the age of six can learn to say simple expressions.

"For instance, one scenario in this program is set in a ... restaurant. Children can learn to order from the menu and tell others what they need by learning to say expressions like `I want' and `I need.' These are expressions used in daily life," Wu said.

Besides the efforts of the private sector, the government is also passing regulations to better serve the disabled population.

"On July 11, 2003, the Executive Yuan's Development and Evaluation Commission passed a Regulation for Hindrance-free Web sites (無障礙網頁開發規範) to enforce Web site development that aims to serve the disabled," said Chou Er-ming (周二銘), director of the Mobility Aid Technology Development Association.

Chou said that starting with the Web sites of government administrations, special devices such as audio and voice operation will be available to the disabled.
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