In everyday life, we often do not think about how disabled people live and what problems they face. And the point here is not so much spiritual insensitivity as the fact that there are very few points of contact between people with disabilities and society. Often, the world of such people is closed within the walls of the apartment where they live, and their social circle is limited to their closest relatives.
Until recently, television or radio was almost the only “way out into the big world” for such citizens. However, these means of communication are primarily informational in nature and do not meet the communication needs of people with disabilities, nor do they allow them to lead an active lifestyle.
Everyone has problems in life: emotional, mental and physical. Some people have bigger challenges, some smaller, while others need much more help than the previous ones.
Software for people with disabilities occupies a truly special place in the colossal assortment of various software on the market.
The scope of application of such software is quite specific, which, nevertheless, does not reduce the demand for the provision of adaptive software for people with disabilities. All categories of consumers, including those with disabilities, have the right to enjoy freedom of access to the global network.
Stephen Hawking is the most famous disabled person in the world. The astrophysicist who introduced black holes to popular culture and the author of A Brief History of Time (millions of copies sold) has been completely paralyzed since the age of 30, but continues to give lectures and write books.
Stephen is grateful to the American company Words+, which created a revolutionary system of communication with the outside world and integrated it into his wheelchair in 1985.
In the portraits of the astrophysicists, you can see a paper clip-sized silver device attached to the frame of their glasses. It is an infrared motion sensor, similar to those used in cameras, pedometers, and game consoles. But the sensor on Stephen’s glasses is connected to a much more sophisticated computer system. It works according to the behavior of the facial muscles – the only ones that have not been destroyed by the disease – it determines where his gaze is directed.
If the goal is a certain area on the computer screen, Hawking can “click” on it with an effort of will. In this way, he prints articles, writes letters, and even speaks aloud, sending the text letter by letter to a speech synthesizer.
In addition, Hawking’s “smart home” is also controlled by facial expressions read from his face.
