Dawn explorer: a framework for multimodal accessibility to computer systems

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, automating many everyday chores in the process, changing the way we perform work and providing various forms of entertainment. Makers of technology, however, often do not consider the needs of the disabled in their design of products by, for example, providing some alternative means of input. The use of computers presents a challenge to many disabled users who are not able to see graphical user interfaces, use a mouse or keyboard or otherwise interact with standard computers. This paper presents a multimodal user interface, emulating and extending the functionality of the Windows Explorer application, with alternative input and output methods. The project utilizes auditory and visual interaction technologies, comprises a modular and extendible architecture and utilises off-the-shelf hardware to reduce implementation cost and maximize accessibility.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: OZCHI
• Authors: Frank Loewenich, Frédéric Maire
• Keywords: Computer Human Interaction, Graphical User Interfaces, Multimodal User Interface, OZCHI 2005, User Interface