Products & Services
Enriching the lives of the differently-abled
By JBC on 06 August 2009
BANGALORE, India – Forum Nokia have teamed up with the folks at USID for another USID Design Challenge, where participants will have the opportunity to create new applications for disabled people. The challenge is to design an aid or support system using common technologies such as mobile applications, devices and services. The idea is to make life easier for the 10 per cent of the global population who aren’t fully-abled by creating technologies that’ll empower or enable them.
Registrations are already flooding in for those taking part. The competition will be judged and prizes awarded at USID2009 which takes place in Bangalore next month (closing date for registration is August 10 with submission by August 30).
Three cash prizes are up for grabs but the real motivation here has to be about helping people get more out of their devices and making their lives easier.
It’s all too easy for us to think about ways to make our own lives easier, with new apps and services, but dedicating time and effort to those who may be more deserving is I believe a good thing and I’m pretty excited to see what kinds of solutions appear as a result.
You can find out more about the challenge on the USID website. The USID Foundation is a community of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Design professionals and enthusiasts. Formed in May 2006 its object is to serve those involved in HCI, Usability Engineering and related areas. Find out more about the USID Foundation here.
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Tags | Forum Nokia, USID
August 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Suggestion to developers, how about an application that will serve as a walking guide for blind people with the used of a-gps, motion sensor, etc?
Reply
Nuno Pereira Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
@gregg003, it wouldn’t help that much..
How could a phone help someone know that there is an object in front of him/her, and make him/her understand what to do to avoid colision?
Crossing the street would be hard too, as there is no information from the traffic-lights to the phone.
But a really good idea would be, with a phone linked to “foreca” (as an example), provide a warning for blinded ones if the weather is clear or clowdy. It would save them an unexpected bath on the street if it rained..(something like: “Please take your umbrella, as it might rain today at 3:00pm”).
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August 7th, 2009 at 7:37 am
@Nuno Pereira
it might be possible if developers could create a sensor that could distinguish or interpret the presence of nearby objects, maybe a 50 meter sensor telling the blind person to move left or right to avoid a certain object.
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August 11th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Maybe something even simpler like having a set of POIs in Nokia Maps for disabled friendly shops, attractions, amenities, etc.
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