Claudia experience, share & review

In this issue of Claud talks Gadgets, I’m going to share a set of very unique and special technology gadgets. These you will most probably not see in your usual stores. These gadgets are so special that one will need special skill to use it.

Let’s first take a look at these unique keyboards…

Can you touch type with this?

When I first touched a keyboard, I had difficulty looking for the alphabets. I’m sure kids who just started learning A-B-C will find this keyboard much easier to use. But these aren’t the standard keyboard one can get off the shelve.

High contrast keyboard

The buttons on this keyboard is bigger than usual and colored in very bright yellow and very dark black characters. This high contrast keyboard helps the visual impaired users to better identify the keys and buttons. There are also magnifying screens to magnify computer screen and text for the visually impaired to be able to consume content with their available sight.

Ever thought of typing without needing your fingers and instead just by staring hard at it to type, click or navigate? If you think that is easy, then you should give this gadget a try. I tell you, its no simple trick alright!

Using a reflective point to activate keys via webcam

With our abled-body, it is hard for us to focus at one single spot for more than a split second. This gadget requires 100% precision and steadiness in order to click, double-click or entering a single alphabet from the keyboard. I tried it myself, just wanting to click on spacebar took me more than 3 tries and almost a minute.

Having experienced this, I realized how much I have taken for granted the things I can do with my abled-body.

Now picture yourself with all your fingers bundled up in a bandage and you try to capture an image of a scene with your camera. Can you use your bandaged hands to press/release the shutter?

So how can those with no fingers use these common gadgets? Or are they not able to use a camera at all? Well, with some modifications and customisation, anyone should be able to do anything they want no matter their physical limitation.

This is what this green frog and this camera is modified to do…

The “shutter” release

The camera

With the power combined

With this modification and attachment to the camera, now with your bandaged hands, you can still press and release the shutter with the attached big button. This is just one of the many modifications I saw at Infocomm Accessibility Centre while I was there for a visit.

The visit I went is just a small effort on my side to understand better how the disabled individuals are learning and using technology. There are a whole lot more that we saw and learned at this visit. I am fortunate to be able to experience this and being able to be assisting the dedicated group of folks working at IAC and those who are evangelizing this essential cause where we help reduce the gap of technology for the disabled.

And to drive even more awareness to the public, IAC is organising an event on 26 June 2010. This even is called the Tweet Meet and aims to connect more people with disabilities to the online world and encourage them to take up IT skills through this civic movement.

Sign up for Tweet Meet *here*

I will be there on 26 June for this meaningful event. I hope you will join me too. You can RSVP for this event here. Or if you are interested to visit IAC and see for yourself this unique place specially setup to educate and help the disabled to advance with technology, you can sign-up for these special arranged visits happening on Wednesdays leading to the week of the TweetMeet.

Disclaimer: This is not an advertorial and I am personally not paid to visit nor write about this. However, 24seven is part of the digital campaign team for IAC TweetMeet.