A Different Kind of IT: Accessibility and Assistive Technology (Week 14)

 

GENIUSES DONT HAVE LIMITATIONS

People are different and some have physical limitations. The technology today, however, is advance to the extent that even people with serious physical disabilities can use computers without needing the help of anyone. In fact, many people with disabilities actually are really good at doing so and did many contributions that many can only dream of. One example of them is famous scientist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

A Slight Background:

Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who, at the time of his death, was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

Intel and the Genius:

Stephen Hawking and Gordon Moore, the cofounder of Intel , First met at a conference in 1997. Moore noticed that Hawking's computer, which he used to communicate, had an AMD processor and asked him in the event that he favored instead a "real computer" with an Intel micro-processor. Intel has been providing Stephen Hawking with customized PCs and technical support since 1997, replacing his old computer with a newer model every two years as his muscles became less controllable over time because of his illness.

How did it work?:

Input:

 When his condition was better earlier in his life, he used to press a clicker using his thumb for input. However, he eventually lost control of the nerves that controlled his thumb muscles, and had to use other methods of input, hence the infrared switch that traced the slight movements in his cheek muscles.

Output(voice assistance):

For talking out loud, Hawking used a speech synthesizer (developed by Speech+) that spoke the sentence once it had been approved or completed. However, it did have an accent unfortunately, which had been mostly described as American, Scottish or Scandinavian.

Why is it important?

This machine didn’t just let Stephen Hawking talk, but moreover allowed him to do plenty of other tasks as well, including checking his e-mail, browsing the Web, making notes and using Skype to chat with companions. Intel had a dedicated group of engineers that was working on improving his communication system even further and thereby increasing the number of tasks he could perform. All in all, Hawking may deliver lectures and interact with individuals without much trouble using this communication system.