>>Los Angeles Times
>>Monday, January 18, 1999
>>High-Tech Tools Give Disabled the Senses of Accomplishment
>> Innovations Make Life Easier, With as Little as a Raised Eyebrow
>>By KAREN KAPLAN, Times Staff Writer
>>
>>Imagine being able to type simply by looking at the letters on a keyboard.
>>Or being able to hear the Internet "spoken" by a Web browser.
>> For most people, such innovations could make life more convenient. But
>>for people with disabilities, they could change the way they live.
>> New high-tech inventions promise to allow quadriplegics, the blind and
>>other people with disabilities to use computers without relying on a
>>keyboard and mouse. Other devices, such as wheelchairs and canes, are
>>getting "smarter," making it easier for the disabled to interact with the
>>world.
>> These advances are spinoffs from other research or adaptations of
>>products developed for the general public. They join the vast array of
>>products that use voice-recognition technology to aid people with
>>disabilities.
>> "New stuff is coming out almost overnight," said Kirk Behnke, training
>>coordinator at Cal State Northridge's Center on Disabilities. "A lot of
>>technology that's out there is now getting transferred to folks with
>>disabilities. We're only limited by our creativity in applying assistive
>>technology to persons with disabilities."
>> For instance, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena
>>are turning an eye-tracking device--developed to help astronauts dock their
>>spaceships in orbit--into a tool to allow people who can't type with their
>>hands to use their eyes instead.
>> The system uses an infrared beam to illuminate the user's face and a
>>small video camera to record the position of the eyes. It calibrates itself
>>while the user stares at a series of markers that appear at specific
>>locations on the computer screen. Then the markers are replaced with an
>>on-screen keyboard.
>> By moving his eyes, the user can direct a small red dot around the
>>keyboard and "type" a specific letter by holding his gaze on it for half a
>>second. Other commands, such as saving or printing a file, can be executed
>>by looking at particular places on the screen. In addition, the system could
>>be rigged to control household appliances and to play prerecorded phrases
>>such as "Hello, my name is Clayton," said Clayton LeBaw, technical manager
>>and specialist in imaging technology who is leading the project.
>> Similar systems are commercially available. But JPL engineers expect
>>theirs to be seven times lighter and 10 times cheaper--at 20 pounds and
>>$2,500, LeBaw said. The system, which is expected to be available later this
>>year, will also have significantly improved performance.
>> "If you think about the family of a sufferer and the demands on their
>>time, this could be a big help," LeBaw said.
>>
>>* * *
>> If that system is too bulky, there's the CyberLink Interface headband
>>from Brain Actuated Technologies, a small company in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
>>The company took technology originally developed to give jet pilots
>>hands-free control of cockpit switches and put it in a cloth headband that
>>can act as keyboard and mouse.
>> Brain Actuated Technologies ultimately plans to sell its headbands to
>>video game enthusiasts as a high-tech alternative to the joystick. But, at
>>the request of a teacher with a paralyzed student, the company first
>>developed a version for quadriplegics, President Andrew Junker said.
>> CyberLink contains three plastic sensors that measure electrical
>>signals from the brain and from slight muscle movements in the forehead.
>>Those signals are converted into digital signals that are fed into a
>>computer and split into about a dozen readings that are displayed on a
>>computer screen.
>> The trick for users is to channel their brain waves and subtle muscle
>>movements so they can control the readings on the screen. Brain Actuated
>>Technologies designed a series of 10 computer games to help people learn to
>>use CyberLink. Once they've mastered the games, users can type and move a
>>cursor anywhere on the screen.
>> "It's actually a lot of fun," said Bruce Davis, a quadriplegic in
>>Florham Park, N.J., who started using CyberLink nearly a year ago after he
>>became frustrated with voice-recognition software. "You can get a cursor to
>>go left or right or up and down just by raising your eyebrow."
>> CyberLink went on sale last fall for $1,495, but the price could drop
>>as low as $299 when it can be sold to video game players as well as to
>>people with disabilities, Junker said.
>>
>>* * *
>> Typing may be less of a problem for the visually impaired, but it can
>>be difficult for them to appreciate the text, pictures and graphics on the
>>Web. A nonvisual Web browser called pwWebSpeak alleviates some of that
>>problem with the help of computer-generated speech.
>> The $150 browser from Trenton, N.J.-based Productivity Works Inc. reads
>>HTML code--the language of the Web--just like Netscape Navigator or
>>Microsoft Internet Explorer does. But it displays text in large, plain
>>letters and doesn't bother to download time-consuming graphics. Instead, it
>>reads the site aloud as the user punches computer keys to move around the
>>page.
>> If the synthesized speech is hard to understand, the user can hit a key
>>to have the browser spell the confusing word. Other keys allow users to skip
>>around within a page or type in the address of a new page.
>> "It's very friendly software," said Bill Pasco, who is blind and uses
>>pwWebSpeak for an hour or two each day. "It definitely makes it easier, and
>>I've spent more time looking around [on the Web] as a result."
>> Pasco, director of the radio reading service Sun Sounds of Arizona in
>>Tempe, is gearing up to start using a new Productivity Works product called
>>pwTelephone, which allows people without computers to listen to Web sites
>>over the phone. By dialing a special phone number and punching in a pass
>>code, visually impaired and physically disabled people will be able to
>>listen to books, newspapers and magazines from the radio channel, he said.
>>
>>* * *
>> Blind people are also getting help from sensors that are increasingly
>>small and reliable. At the University of Michigan, sensors that measure the
>>distance to the object closest to a person are improving on the traditional
>>white cane.
>> The eight-pound GuideCane has a motorized, steerable foot with
>>ultrasonic sensors on all sides. Users push a small joystick near the handle
>>to tell the cane where they want to go. The cane complies, steering the user
>>around obstacles.
>> "It feels like walking a dog," said Johann Borenstein, an associate
>>research scientist who heads Michigan's Mechanical Engineering and Applied
>>Mechanics Mobile Robotics Lab. "If the dog pulls you to one side, you can't
>>avoid going that way."
>> The GuideCane has been in development for three years, but the sensors
>>aren't yet reliable enough for general use, Borenstein said. When they do
>>come on the market, he expects them to cost about $3,000.
>>
>>* * *
>> At JPL, robotics researcher Paolo Fiorini is using sensors to build a
>>wheelchair that can navigate through crowds. Using an algorithm developed
>>for air traffic controllers, the chair constantly processes feedback from a
>>ring of sonar sensors and a $4,000 laser to calculate the position and
>>velocity of the objects around it.
>> "We make a map of the environment every second and direct the chair to
>>go where there are no [anticipated obstacles], and that's the path," Fiorini
>>said. "The person in the chair puts in the direction and speed they want,
>>and the wheelchair does the rest." That allows users to avoid having to
>>perform exhaustive repetitive maneuvers to weave in and out of crowds, he
>>said.
>> In a recent test, the wheelchair found its way through a crowded German
>>train station in about twice the time it would take to traverse the area on
>>foot. But in its present form, the chair is too expensive to sell. Fiorini
>>and JPL are looking for U.S. companies to help turn the chair into a
>>commercially viable product, he said.
>>
>>* * *
>> Meanwhile, researchers at UCLA and JPL are collaborating on a device
>>that will help people with spinal cord injuries learn to walk again.
>> Traditionally, physical therapists lift a patient's legs and monitor
>>their progress as they regain strength. But researchers want to use a
>>robotic device that can ensure that the patient's legs move properly. It
>>also gathers precise feedback about the pace of recovery, said Reggie
>>Edgerton, vice chairman of UCLA's physiological sciences department.
>> "This will speed up recovery because they will learn to accomplish
>>their stepping quicker and more independently," said Edgerton, who has
>>collaborated with JPL for two years. The treatment would also be much more
>>affordable because it would not require a physical therapist, he said.
>> JPL is pursuing the research because "long-duration exposure to
>>micro-gravity environments results in the same problem as spinal cord
>>injuries," said Jim Wiess, a liaison officer and senior technologist who
>>keeps track of JPL's various projects to aid people with disabilities. In
>>other words, the system could also be useful for astronauts who spend long
>>periods in space, such as an extended stint on the International Space
>>Station or on a mission to Mars.
>>
>>* * *
>> Back on Earth, the ReadingPen is helping people with dyslexia or other
>>learning disabilities.
>> The pen uses a laser scanner to identify the shapes of letters on a
>>page, then a custom computer chip uses optical-character-recognition
>>technology to convert the shapes into words. The words are displayed on a
>>1-by-2 1/2-inch screen along the side of the pen, while a computer-generated
>>voice speaks the words. With the push of a button, the pen will repeat a
>>word syllable by syllable.
>> Several hundred ReadingPens have been sold since they went on the
>>market late last year, said David Thomasson, director of marketing for the
>>educational products division of Seiko Instruments USA Inc. in Torrance. The
>>pens weigh 4 ounces and cost $300.
>>
>>High-Tech Tools Give Disabled the Senses of Accomplishment
>> Innovations Make Life Easier, With as Little as a Raised Eyebrow
>>By KAREN KAPLAN, Times Staff Writer
>>
>>
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