Motor de veu natural per dispositius mòbils

S’ha optimitzat un motor de veu natural per a dispositius mòbils com una PDA o un telèfon mòbil basat en un sistema operatiu Windows. La finalitat d’aquest treball és la d’ajudar a fer més fàcil la utilització d’aquests aparells a gent invident i que pugui acabar sent una donació a la ONCE.

Accessibilitat a llocs web per a cecs

En aquest treball es presenta una visió global del problema de la facilitat d?ús i la facilitat d?accés de les pàgines web per als cecs.

Estudio de la accesibilidad de los documentos cientificos en soporte digital

Resumen: El artículo analiza los problemas de accesibilidad que actualmente presentan los artículos científicos en soporte digital. El estudio se centra en los aspectos de facilidad de uso del contenido de los documentos digitales según la forma en que se publiquen, sin entrar en el estudio de los distintos sistemas de recuperación. Se analizan los dos formatos más utilizados para la publicación de artículos científicos en soporte digital: HTML y PDF, estudiando el desempeño lector en relación a la presencia de sumarios o de tablas internas o vinculadas. El estudio se ha realizado con dos colectivos: 30 sujetos ciegos, usuarios de Jaws, contactados gracias a la mediación de la Fundación ONCE, y 30 sujetos no ciegos, profesores del Departamento de Biblioteconomía y Documentación de la Universidad de Barcelona. El estudio muestra que la localización de los datos contenidos en tablas se ve facilitada en documentos HTML por la inclusión de un sumario que vincule con la tabla, así como la inclusión de tablas completas en el cuerpo del documento HTML facilita la actividad lectora por parte de los usuarios ciegos. A nivel metodológico la presente investigación aporta dos novedades relevantes respecto a la literatura existente en los estudios de usabilidad con ciegos: estudia la usabilidad del formato PDF y es un test de usabilidad cuantitativo; este último hecho dificulta su comparación con la mayoría de artículos publicados. Abstract: This paper analyses the problems of accessibility posed by scientific articles published in digital format, focusing on the ease of use of their content with respect to the form in which they are published (irrespective of the recovery system). The two most widely used formats for the publication of scientific articles in digital format, HTML and PDF, are analysed, examining reader performance in relation to the presence of contents lists or internal or linked tables. The study involved two groups: 30 blind subjects, all JAWS users, contacted through the ONCE Foundation, and 30 sighted subjects, lecturers in the Department of Librarianship and Documentation of the University of Barcelona. The results shows the location of data in tables is easier in HTML documents through the inclusion of a contents list linked to these tables. Further, the inclusion of complete tables in the body of HTML document facilitates the reading activity of blind users. At the methodological level, this work reports two novelties with respect to the existing literature on usability by blind people: it examines the usability of the PDF format, and discusses a quantitative usability test. The latter hinders comparison with the majority of published articles.

Estudio de la accesibilidad de los documentos cientificos en soporte digital

Resumen: El artículo analiza los problemas de accesibilidad que actualmente presentan los artículos científicos en soporte digital. El estudio se centra en los aspectos de facilidad de uso del contenido de los documentos digitales según la forma en que se publiquen, sin entrar en el estudio de los distintos sistemas de recuperación. Se analizan los dos formatos más utilizados para la publicación de artículos científicos en soporte digital: HTML y PDF, estudiando el desempeño lector en relación a la presencia de sumarios o de tablas internas o vinculadas. El estudio se ha realizado con dos colectivos: 30 sujetos ciegos, usuarios de Jaws, contactados gracias a la mediación de la Fundación ONCE, y 30 sujetos no ciegos, profesores del Departamento de Biblioteconomía y Documentación de la Universidad de Barcelona. El estudio muestra que la localización de los datos contenidos en tablas se ve facilitada en documentos HTML por la inclusión de un sumario que vincule con la tabla, así como la inclusión de tablas completas en el cuerpo del documento HTML facilita la actividad lectora por parte de los usuarios ciegos. A nivel metodológico la presente investigación aporta dos novedades relevantes respecto a la literatura existente en los estudios de usabilidad con ciegos: estudia la usabilidad del formato PDF y es un test de usabilidad cuantitativo; este último hecho dificulta su comparación con la mayoría de artículos publicados. Abstract: This paper analyses the problems of accessibility posed by scientific articles published in digital format, focusing on the ease of use of their content with respect to the form in which they are published (irrespective of the recovery system). The two most widely used formats for the publication of scientific articles in digital format, HTML and PDF, are analysed, examining reader performance in relation to the presence of contents lists or internal or linked tables. The study involved two groups: 30 blind subjects, all JAWS users, contacted through the ONCE Foundation, and 30 sighted subjects, lecturers in the Department of Librarianship and Documentation of the University of Barcelona. The results shows the location of data in tables is easier in HTML documents through the inclusion of a contents list linked to these tables. Further, the inclusion of complete tables in the body of HTML document facilitates the reading activity of blind users. At the methodological level, this work reports two novelties with respect to the existing literature on usability by blind people: it examines the usability of the PDF format, and discusses a quantitative usability test. The latter hinders comparison with the majority of published articles.

Estudi per a una interfície d'ajuda a daltònics en la interpretació de mapes de metro

En aquest projecte fem un estudi de diferents mètodes per a la segmentació i extracció de línies de mapes de metro com a suport per a daltònics. Hem aplicat dos mètodes amb intervenció de l’usuari i cinc mètodes automàtics on fem servir K-means per a la segmentació de color i Hough per a l’extracció de línies. Dels mètodes amb intervenció obtenim millors resultats amb un mètode d’assignació aproximada del color, i entre els autoàatics tenim com a millor una solució ad-hoc sense paràmetres aplicada sobre l’espai RGB. D’acord amb els resultats experimentals, aquests mètodes ens permeten fer una bona segmentació i extracció de les línies de metro.

Bioinspired electronic white cane implementation based on a LIDAR, a tri-axial accelerometer and a tactile belt

This work proposes the creation of a bioinspired electronic white cane for blind people using the whiskers principle for short-range navigation and exploration. Whiskers are coarse hairs of an animal's face that tells the animal that it has touched something using the nerves of the skin. In this work the raw data acquired from a low-size terrestrial LIDAR and a tri-axial accelerometer is converted into tactile information using several electromagnetic devices configured as a tactile belt. The LIDAR and the accelerometer are attached to the user’s forearm and connected with a wire to the control unit placed on the belt. Early validation experiments carried out in the laboratory are promising in terms of usability and description of the environment.

Les habiletés spatio-cognitives des aveugles de naissance : résolution de labyrinthes tactiles

La navigation repose en majeure partie sur la vision puisque ce sens nous permet de rassembler des informations spatiales de façon simultanée et de mettre à jour notre position par rapport à notre environnement. Pour plusieurs aveugles qui se fient à l’audition, le toucher, la proprioception, l’odorat et l’écholocation pour naviguer, sortir à l’extérieur de chez soi peut représenter un défi considérable. Les recherches sur le circuit neuronal de la navigation chez cette population en particulier s’avèrent donc primordiales pour mieux adapter les ressources aux handicapés visuels et réussir à les sortir de leur isolement. Les aveugles de naissance constituent aussi une population d’intérêt pour l’étude de la neuroplasticité. Comme leur cerveau s’est construit en absence d’intrant visuel, la plupart des structures reliées au sens de la vue sont réduites en volume par rapport à ceux de sujets voyants. De plus, leur cortex occipital, une région normalement dédiée à la vision, possède une activité supramétabolique au repos, ce qui peut représenter un territoire vierge pouvant être recruté par les autres modalités pour exécuter diverses tâches sensorielles. Plusieurs chercheurs ont déjà démontré l’implication de cette région dans des tâches sensorielles comme la discrimination tactile et la localisation auditive. D’autres changements plastiques de nature intramodale ont aussi été observés dans le circuit neuronal de la navigation chez ces aveugles. Par exemple, la partie postérieure de l’hippocampe, impliquée dans l’utilisation de cartes mentales, est réduite en volume alors que la section antérieure est élargie chez ces sujets. Bien que ces changements plastiques anatomiques aient bel et bien été observés chez les aveugles de naissance, il reste toutefois à les relier avec leur aspect fonctionnel. Le but de la présente étude était d’investiguer les corrélats neuronaux de la navigation chez l’aveugle de naissance tout en les reliant avec leurs habiletés spatio-cognitives. La première étude comportementale a permis d’identifier chez les aveugles congénitaux une difficulté d’apprentissage de routes tactiles construites dans des labyrinthes de petite échelle. La seconde étude, employant la technique d’imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle, a relié ces faiblesses au recrutement de régions cérébrales impliquées dans le traitement d’une perspective égocentrique, comme le lobule pariétal supérieur droit. Alors que des sujets voyants aux yeux bandés excellaient dans la tâche des labyrinthes, ces derniers recrutaient des structures impliquées dans un traitement allocentrique, comme l’hippocampe et le parahippocampe. Par ailleurs, la deuxième étude a confirmé le recrutement du cortex occipital dans une tâche de navigation chez les aveugles seulement. Ceci confirme l’implication de la plasticité intermodale dans des tâches cognitives de plus haut niveau, comme la navigation.

TactoColor : conception et évaluation d’une interface d’exploration spatiale du web pour malvoyants.

Nous nous intéressons, dans le cadre de cette recherche, à l’accès à l’internet des personnes malvoyantes. Plusieurs types d’outils destinés à ce public sont disponibles sur le marché, comme les lecteurs et les agrandisseurs d’écran, en fonction de l’acuité visuelle de la personne. Bien que ces outils soient utiles et régulièrement utilisés, les malvoyants (ainsi que les aveugles) évoquent souvent leur aspect frustrant. Plusieurs raisons sont citées, comme le manque d’organisation spatiale du contenu lu avec les lecteurs d’écran ou le fait de ne solliciter qu’un seul sens. La présente recherche consiste à adapter pour les malvoyants un système en développement le TactoWeb (Petit, 2013) qui permet une exploration audio-tactile du Web. TactoWeb a été conçu pour les handicapés ayant une cécité complète et n’offre donc aucune propriété visuelle. Nous proposons ici une adaptation du système pour les handicapés n’ayant qu’une déficience visuelle partielle. Nous espérons fournir à cette population des outils performants qui leur permettront de naviguer sur l’internet de façon efficace et agréable. En effet, grâce à une exploration non-linéaire (qui devrait améliorer l’orientation spatiale) et une interface multimodale (qui sollicite la vue, l’ouïe et le toucher), nous pensons réduire fortement le sentiment de frustration qu’évoquent les malvoyants. Nous avons posé l’hypothèse qu’une exploration non-linéaire et trimodale d’un site internet avec TactoColor est plus satisfaisante et efficace qu’une exploration non-linéaire bimodale avec TactoWeb (sans retour visuel). TactoColor a été adapté pour les malvoyants en ajoutant des indices visuels traduisant les composantes de la page (liens, menus, boutons) qui devraient rendre l’exploration plus aisée. Pour vérifier notre hypothèse, les deux versions du logiciel ont été évaluées par des malvoyants. Ainsi, les participants ont commencé soit avec TactoWeb, soit avec TactoColor afin de ne pas favoriser une des versions. La qualité de la navigation, son efficacité et son efficience ont été analysées en se basant sur le temps nécessaire à l’accomplissement d’une tâche, ainsi que la facilité ou la difficulté évoquée par le participant. Aussi, à la fin de chaque session, nous avons demandé leur avis aux participants, grâce à un questionnaire d’évaluation, ce qui nous a permis d’avoir leur retour sur notre logiciel après leur brève expérience. Tous ces relevés nous ont permis de déterminer que l’ajout des couleurs entraine une exploration plus rapide des pages web et une meilleure orientation spatiale. Par contre les performances très différentes des participants ne permettent pas de dire si la présence des couleurs facilite la complétion des tâches.

O desafio de reconhecimento do sujeito cego em espaços públicos de representação

This work is funded based on the uneasiness with the concept of State as a public machine for development. Of State as a public machine to deliberate valid practices for valid methods and to limit valid subjects in valid spaces. In midst of this specific context, this work dedicates itself to investigate the following research problem: the mistaken recognition of the blind subject in public spaces of representation. For this reason, it was addressed the following question: how the blind subject is recognized in public spaces of representation? To answer the question, it was necessary to contextualize how the blind subject is being recognized in various public spaces of representation. In the international scope, the human rights debate held between the National States was analyzed (BRAND, 2005; KOERNER, 2002; UN, 2006). In the national arena, constitutional rights, federal laws, public policies and institutions representing the blind subject were examined (CABRAL, 2008; SARAVIA, 2006). Finally, in a local context, the fundaments of the concept of citizen for the subject recognition were investigated (AGAMBEN, 2002; RORTY, 1999, DELEUZE AND GUATTARI, 1996). The methodology included reports of national and international representatives in the Lusophone Countries Meeting for Dissemination and Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and, mainly, interviews with blind subjects. The data was processed by content analysis and was discussed based on the following categories: representation spaces; representation modes; representation amplitude; representation premises. The results show, regarding such spaces of representation, the growing importance of thinking the rights of persons with disabilities ¿ group in which belongs the blind subject ¿ as of the international and national scenario. However, the blind subjects announced alternative local spaces for representation: church, internet, radio, etc. Regarding the representation modes, the role of law and standards has been advocated specially in the human rights field. The importance of the cooperation between the States and the civil society to ensure, in practice, the rights achieved was also emphasized. But other forms of representation, directly linked to each interviewee¿ history, was important. Regarding the representation amplitude, there were arguments in defense of a conception of human dignity and freedom to all inhabitants of the globe. The lusophone event highlighted the concern of the cultural peculiarities of those involved in the meeting. The blind interviewees argued for citizenship as construction of instruments for freedom and autonomy, but recognized that this is not a clear desire between the blind people in general, and even less in society as a whole. With respect to the representation premises, the fundaments for the recognition of the blind subject were based on the primacy of reason at the expense of personal experimentation. Experimentation that serves as the foundation of a new form of recognition of the blind subject in public spaces of representation, one more interested in singularities, impenetrable by reason, unmovable to another, and which are irreducible to each subject. The final considerations suggest that if the State has a reason to be, this is not another than to offer instruments to manifest as many as the existential possibilities of the subject. This is the concept of State for development.

Percursos para novas imagens: a produção audiovisual por não videntes

The purpose is to write a reflection on the audiovisual production by the visually impaired. The starting point for this research was a documentary video production workshop offered by the Instituto de Educação e Reabilitação de Cegos do Rio Grande do Norte - IERC / RN, with the participation of blind people with low vision and sighted employees of the institution. The research approach follows the precepts of complex thinking, where work is woven into the network, along with the researched. The theoretical framework is based on the theory of French sociologist Edgar Morin, and other important thinkers for this work, namely: Erving Goffman, Paulo Freire, Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Jacques Aumont, Phillpe Dubois, as well as scholars who think and theorize about his own condition and conduct discussions on the issue of blindness: Francisco Jose de Lima, Evgen Bavcar Jacques Lusseyran and Joana Belarmino. The research was formulated based on the statement in the interest of respondents to understand and produce visual images using video as a tool. In this sense, the methodology adopted approaches of action research in constructing the text and dialogue with the participation of those involved in the project. The technique of gathering the information was based on ethnographic description describing the dynamics of the workshop, the relationships between participants, relationship to the other that sees and the manner of operation of equipment. The main focus is the relationship based on dialogue of information, attitudes and ways of knowing from experience and capacity developed and obstacles for blind people to produce visual images using other benchmarks, such as touch, smell and time dimension and space, and add references that give new meaning to the guidelines based on visuality of ministering to the workshop. It is also held to discuss aspects related to the concept of image with sociological reflection about the audiovisual production made by blind people socially constructed and perpetuated by what Edgar Morin called cultural imprinting. Thus we attempted to walk the route with its obstacles and achievements in the production of new images that were seen

As ticas de matema de cegos sob o viés institucional: da integração à inclusão

Pós-graduação em Educação Matemática - IGCE

As histórias em quadrinhos adaptadas como recurso para ensinar matemática para alunos cegos e videntes

Pós-graduação em Educação Matemática - IGCE

Ensino de discriminações de palavras com Onset/Rime e a emergência da leitura recombinativa em inglês da simbologia braille e do alfabeto romano em relevo em cegos

Estudos recentes têm documentado que o ensino explícito de discriminação de sílabas promove a emergência da leitura das sílabas de ensino e das sílabas com recombinação das letras das sílabas de ensino. Promove também prontamente a leitura de palavras, formadas pelas sílabas de ensino e recombinadas. Estudos têm demonstrado a leitura de palavras novas com recombinação de onset e rime como fator facilitador quando a língua inglesa é ensinada como língua materna. O aprendizado do inglês por cegos tem sido documentado como um fator de inclusão. O presente estudo investigou se o ensino de discriminação de palavras com segmentação onset/rime facilita a leitura de novas palavras em inglês, como língua estrangeira, usando o Braille e o alfabeto romano em relevo. Três cegas, leitoras fluentes em Braille, participaram. O estudo compreendeu três etapas. Etapa I: Etapa Ia (auditivo/Braille), Etapa Ib (Braille/alfabeto romano em relevo) e Etapa Ic (auditivo/alfabeto romano em relevo). A Etapa I (a e b) compreendeu um pré-teste, fases de ensino de discriminações condicionais de palavras simples e testes de leitura textual das palavras simples e recombinadas. Na Etapa Ic era aplicado um teste de discriminações condicionais. Nas Etapas II e III eram aplicados testes de leitura textual das palavras simples recombinadas (Etapa II) e compostas (Etapa III) e nomeação de objetos. Eram testadas as relações entre palavras ditadas e objetos (AB), palavras ditadas e palavras impressas (AC), objetos e palavras impressas (BC) e palavras impressas e objetos (CB) que documentam a leitura com compreensão das palavras impressas em Braille e no alfabeto romano em relevo, e ainda, a emergência de cópia e ditado. As três participantes atingiram o critério de acertos em todas as fases em todas as etapas. Os resultados mostraram que o ensino de discriminações de palavras com a segmentação onset/rime facilita a emergência da leitura recombinativa em inglês, como língua estrangeira, com cegos falantes do português, usando o Braille e o alfabeto romano em relevo, mostraram ainda a emergência da leitura com compreensão com os procedimentos de equivalência de estímulos. Estes resultados indicam que novas tecnologias de ensino, que permitam uma maior inclusão de pessoas cegas na comunidade, podem ser geradas.

Leitura recombinativa de palavras de inglês com onset e rime em braille e alfabeto romano em relevo por cegos

Estudos têm demonstrado que o ensino explícito de discriminações de sílaba promove a emergência da leitura das sílabas de ensino, das sílabas com recombinação das letras das sílabas de ensino e a leitura de palavras formadas pelas sílabas de ensino e recombinadas. As pesquisas sobre leitura recombinativa em inglês têm demonstrado a emergência de leitura de novas palavras formadas pela recombinação de onset e rime. A presente pesquisa investigou se o ensino de leitura de palavras monossilábicas com recombinação de onset e rime pode promover a leitura de novas palavras em inglês, impressas em braille e alfabeto romano impressas em relevo. Três adultas cegas participaram do estudo que compreendeu três etapas. A Etapa I compreendeu um préteste, três sequências de ensino gradual de discriminações condicionais de palavras simples, intercaladas com fases de teste de leitura textual das palavras de ensino e recombinadas. Na Etapa Ic era aplicado um teste de discriminações condicionais entre palavra impressa em braille e palavra do alfabeto romano impressa em relevo. Nas Etapas II e III eram aplicados testes de leitura textual das palavras recombinadas simples (Etapa II) e compostas (Etapa III) e nomeação dos objetos correspondentes. Após esse teste, eram testadas as relações entre palavras ditadas e objetos (AB), palavras ditadas e palavras impressas (AC, AD), objetos e palavras impressas (BC, BD) e palavras impressas e objetos (CB, DB), que documentam a leitura com compreensão. Caso as relações AB não ocorressem, eram ensinadas. Após o teste das relações de equivalência BC, CB, BD e DB eram verificados os desempenhos de cópia e ditado. Nas Etapas Ia, IIa e IIIa, as palavras eram impressas em Braille; nas Etapas Ib, IIb e IIIb, em alfabeto romano em relevo. Todas as participantes alcançaram prontamente os critérios em todas ou na maioria das fases de ensino e teste. Todas as participantes apresentaram a leitura textual e com compreensão de quase todas as palavras simples recombinadas e compostas, impressas em braille e do alfabeto romano em relevo. Os resultados mostram a emergência de leitura recombinativa após o ensino de discriminações condicionais de palavras monossílabas formadas por onset e rime.

Procedimentos para descrição de figuras em texto impresso visando à acessibilidade para pessoas cegas: um estudo a partir de um livro de educação física adaptada

This study was aimed to analyze a procedure that makes the description of pictures in printed text from a book that promotes accessibility for blind people. In addition, the study was aimed to analyze the reformulations suggested by the judges and the index of agreement between researcher and judges. The descriptions were submitted to judges to evaluate the content of the material. The results were obtained through the analysis of two assessments: 1) agreement rate ‒ between the researcher and judges A and B, and between judge A and judge B and 2) analysis of the suggested reformulation. In quantitative terms, the results indicated that the material described achieved a high reliability. In qualitative terms, the reliability achieved represents the quality of the material offered, with well structured descriptions where writing meaning is equivalent to image information, fulfilling the purpose to present in printed text the elements represented in the pictures, effectively conveying their meaning.