Look Ma, No Hands! Life with Eye Gaze and Speech Recognition Technology
taught by: Marc Thorson
Session Summary
So you've probably heard a lot about screen reader and keyboard accessibility, but what about those who can't even use a keyboard or touch devices? Witness two evolving assistive technologies that are becoming more and more mainstream — eye gaze and speech recognition — and learn from an accessibility aficionado who relies on them daily.
Description
Gain insight firsthand from an experienced accessibility innovator and architect, Marc Thorson, who has overcome extreme mobility challenges associated with spinal muscular atrophy using eye gaze and speech recognition technology. Observe how he leverages PCEye and TD Control to use his computer with eye tracking to complement his use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking for text dictation and other commands. But along with sharing his story about how he relies on eye gaze and speech recognition, Marc focuses on several key WCAG success criteria that impact him, and others like him, the most.
Speech recognition has already taken center stage in the world of everyday computing, thanks to its relatively recent ubiquity in mobile devices and home automation. Marc predicts eye gaze will be the next big thing from our world of assistive technology to move to the mainstream. Are you ready?
Instructor will present virtually.
Practical Skills
- Establish empathy and understanding for individuals like Marc who rely on eye gaze and speech recognition to interact with computers.
- Learn about common design and development problems and potential solutions for users of eye gaze technology.
- Discover problems posed to speech recognition users and how you can help prevent them.