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Accessible News #15 — November 2002
Should you be using these old newsletters, please bear in mind that the web addresses were correct when the newsletter was created but that they may not be accurate now. We do not plan to change the back issues of the newsletters.
Contents:
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Visuaide's Busy Year: Honoured By CNIB, Launching New Products And Opening A New Office
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Canadian Company First To Offer Compliance Toolkit For New Us Law
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Ontario Seeks Its Citizens' Input To Make Government Buildings Accessible
Visuaide's Busy Year: Honoured By CNIB, Launching New Products And Opening A New Office
VisuAide (www.visuaide.com) is having a very busy year. The Drummondville, Quebec-based company was named this year's winner of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's (CNIB) prestigious Winston Gordon Award for the development of its digital talking book player, Victor Reader Pro. The award, which consists of a 24-carat gold medal and $15,000, was presented at a ceremony in Fredericton on September 21.
Gilles Pepin, the founder and president of VisuAide, said
the award was unexpected but welcome. "It's a recognition by the
CNIB that we are a growing company and that our product meets the
needs of a lot of people." He also noted that with the CNIB
currently in the process of converting their talking book
collection to digital format, there is a lot of attention being
paid to recent technical advances in talking book technology.
Traditional talking books use playback devices that have to be
rewound or fast-forwarded to a desired spot. These devices are
fast becoming obsolete. With products such as Victor Reader Pro,
which uses the DAISY standard electronic book format and an
increasing amount of content being produced in digital format,
reading material will become more readily available to more
print-handicapped Canadians.
"Analogue technology has served us well for almost 30 years, but it can no longer meet the needs of talking book users," said Jim Sanders, CNIB president and CEO. "Digital technology, such as the Victor Reader Pro, allows us to produce audiobooks that enable blind and visually impaired Canadians to access the same information as quickly an efficiently as their sighted peers."
But VisuAide's product line extends beyond talking book readers. The company is poised to launch Victor Trekker, its GPS-based (global positioning satellite) navigation system, designed to work with various computing platforms such as Braille note-takers, stand-along computers and on personal digital assistants (PDAs.) The system was presented by VisuAide's Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Yvan Lagacé at Technovision 2002, a conference and exhibition organized by the CNIB's Quebec Division in September and it generated a good deal of excitement.
Victor Trekker will integrate off-the-shelf
hardware for GPS input, voice output to provide instructions and
optional voice input for entering notes. The system is intended
to augment rather than replace existing mobility aids such as
white canes and guide dogs. Mr. Pepin pointed out that Victor
Trekker's roots go back to the company's work on an earlier
navigation aid system called Strider; work that was partially
supported by Industry Canada. Victor Trekker also benefits from
the expertise of its strategic partner: the American firm Navtech
that provides the street maps and local information. Victor
Trekker gives users local information such as the proximity of
points of interest, the location of hotels, restaurants or other
destinations.
|
The system comes with a wide variety of digital maps that cover large urban agglomerations in the western world and additional maps can be purchased and downloaded on-line or delivered on CD or Flash cards. Initially available for use on Braille note-takers, Victor Trekker's other versions, eg., the PDA version, will be available early in 2003. |
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VisuAide is also opening an office in Toronto, to provide even better service to its customers across Canada. The new office is managed by Aimee Todd, who comes to the company after more than a dozen years' experience with the Ontario Ministry of Education, including management of the assessment centre at the W. Ross Macdonald School, a residential facility for children who are blind, deaf/blind or who have low vision.
Exports are still a major source of revenue for VisuAide. Mr. Pepin estimates that 80 to 85% of the company's sales are outside of Canada. This year alone has seen major sales of Victor Reader technology and software to both the UK's Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) in the US.
Visable Image™ Takes Manhattan
This holiday season, shoppers who have low
vision will be able to browse books, periodicals and other
materials at Barnes & Noble's flagship store in New York
City. The bookseller has partnered with Mississauga, Ontario's
Betacom Corporation (www.betacom.com) to provide store visitors
with access to VisAble IMAGE™, Betacom's video reading
device.
"Barnes & Noble takes great pride in
providing our customers with the best in books and the best in
customer service. We are delighted that we can now extend our
service to those affected by diminished vision. We all have a
love of reading and to be able to provide a way to continue to
read, even when our eyes try to complicate matters, is a very
positive thing. We want to thank Betacom for helping us to offer
this capability through the use of their revolutionary VisAble
IMAGE™ reading station." said Carla Oliver, Community
Relations Director of Barnes & Noble's 18th Street Store.
"With the use of the VisAble IMAGE™, those who have low
vision can now enjoy the same sort of browsing activity that we
all generally take for granted."
Larry Ekiert, Vice President — Marketing of Betacom, remarked: "We are very proud to be breaking new ground with the Barnes & Noble 18th Street Store to provide their clients with more access to reading materials. This initiative puts Barnes & Noble at the forefront of accessibility through a very timely public outreach program. The low vision community is one that has been frequently overlooked by the retail industry. We have developed the VisAble IMAGE™ based on extensive feedback from expert end-users, vision specialists, clinical researchers and other specialists from around the world. The result, the VisAble IMAGE™ is the most versatile and easiest to use reading station available."
For more information about the VisAble™ line and other Betacom products, contact the company at 450 Matheson Blvd. E., Unit 67, Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 1R5, tel: 905-568-9977, toll-free: 1-800-353-1107, fax: 905-568-9925 or e-mail them at: info@betacom.com or e-mail their US office at infous@betacom.com.
Canadian Company First To Offer Compliance Toolkit For New Us Law
Montreal-based XMLMentor (http://xmlmentor.net) has launched a tool to help the publishing industry produce textbooks in Braille and other specialized formats, quickly and more easily.
A new law in the United States, called the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA) was passed to ensure elementary and secondary school students who are print-disabled get timely access to instructional materials in the specialized formats they need. Publishers will be required to prepare textbooks and instructional materials in a national XML-based electronic file format that will allow content to be converted to such formats as braille, synthesized speech, digital text, digital audio books (ie., in DAISY/NISO format) or large print.
XMLMentor's IMAA Compliance Toolkit will give publishers a robust and well tested DTD for marking up textbooks in Accessible XML format to be used as a single source. The toolkit also includes conversion scripts to convert textbooks from hard copy or proprietary electronic formats to XML; XSLT style sheets and other java-based XML Publishing Framework tools for transforming the XML single source into Accessible HTML, e-book, large print, .pdf and Digital Talking Book formats; and consulting services to support the adoption of the toolkit.
Sylvie Dan, XMLMentor's Director of Marketing and Business Development, notes that the IMAA Compliance Toolkit will help publishers lower the cost of producing accessible textbooks. "The toolkit will also accelerate the delivery of textbooks to blind or print disabled students who need them immediately."
For more information, contact XMLMentor at 1155 Boul. Rene-Levesque West, Suite 2500, Montreal, Quebec H3B 2K4 tel: 514-707-3988, fax: 514-624-7399 or e-mail them at: learn@xmlmentor.net.
Wanted: AT Users With SCI For Product Reviews
The Spinal Cord Injury Peer Information Library on Terminology, better known as SCI PILOT, is looking for people with spinal cord injuries to submit reviews of assistive technology products they use. SCI PILOT is an information site that focusses on people's experiences getting and using assistive devices. It offers insights on this subject from people with spinal cord injuries living all over North America. Contributors detail their experiences in the Stories section and provide each other with advice on any and every topic in the Idea Exchange, where recent topics included camping, head operated robot arm and how to get a quadriplegic into the passenger seat of a 1/2 ton truck. There is also an Article section with "inside info on what works".
But the newest section is the Product Reviews area, where consumers can post their experiences with specific assistive devices for others to read. The idea is to promote information-sharing about the ways particular devices do the job for real people in specific situations. Considering that assistive technology can be expensive, and purchase decisions difficult to reverse, consumers deserve this kind of independent information to use in their decision-making. That is exactly what this resource is for. Since this is such a new section on the SCI PILOT site, it does not yet contain a large number of reviews, but here are the specific topic areas have been mapped out for contributors:
- Wheelchairs
- Personal Care
- Computers
- Recreation
- Home Made Inventions
- Home Modifications
- Vehicles
- Environmental Controls
- Emergency Equipment
- Workplace Modifications
- Transfer Aids
The SCI PILOT Team is at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and they ask that product reviewers be people who actually use the products they are reviewing. If you are a manufacturer and would like your product reviewed, you must have an actual user review it.
The entire SCI PILOT site is easy to use and interesting to read. Check it out for yourself at www.scipilot.com.
EU Report
- by Mary Frances LaughtonFor the week of September 30, I was in Brussels participating in the annual project review of European Union 5th Framework projects in the area of support to the disabled and elderly. The review team was made up of me and 13 people from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Austria and Hungary. This was the first time I had been able to participate in this expert review process which is very detailed and thorough and a great deal of fun as well as hard work.
Every EU project must have representative from at least three member countries. The language of the review is English which made it easy for me.
Each project is given 75 minutes to present followed by 45 minutes of discussion with the expert review panel. A detailed report is given to the project team within a month to allow them to continue or change the project as required.
The projects under review and the results are confidential but
a listing of all relevant projects can be found in a handbook
which is now in the ADIO Library. The web list of (Cordis)
projects underway is available at:
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ka1/special_needs/
projects/projects_cluster.htm
I learned a lot about what is happening in the EU with the planning for the 6th Framework. There is a move to much larger, more integrated projects.
Information on the (Cordis) calls and the plans can be found at
http://www.cordis.lu/rtd2002/fp-activities/activities.htm
I will be presenting information on Canada's activities in Assistive Technologies at the EU IST Conference in Copenhagen in early November. I will be participating from the Communications Research Centre BADLAB over the net.
CSA Launches Accessible Dispensing Machine Sub-Committee
The Canadian Standards Association has just begun work on the development of a new national standard, aimed at increasing the accessibility of dispensing machines for everyone, including people with disabilities and older adults. The new group, B651.2, is a sub-committee of the B651 Barrier-Free Design Committee and it will look at ways to improve the usability of a variety of dispensing machines including, but not limited to, parking ticket dispensers, airline check-in kiosks and airport improvement fee terminals, public Internet kiosks, public transit ticket machines and ticket validators and hand-held point of sale terminals.
The work of B651.2 will build on the accessibility guideline developed for Transport Canada by Betty Dion Enterprises. Committee members will include manufacturers of dispensing machines and the organizations who use them, consumers, representatives from various disability organizations and regulators from various levels of government.
Deb. Finn is the Chair of the new committee. "Every day, we are confronted with technology that's harder to use than it has to be. I think that dispensing machine use constitutes a sphere of activity in which we can positively influence people's ability to gain and retain more independence in their daily activities. I'm very excited to be part of this process."
TECHNOVISION 2002
The Quebec Division of the CNIB hosted the Technovision 2002 conference and exhibition in Montreal on September 20. This is the third time Technovision has been held and the first time that it has been organized by the CNIB. The 1999 and 2000 conferences were organized by the private sector.
According to the CNIB's Susan Vida, more than 500 people from Quebec and Ontario attended the one-day event, which included presentations on new products and services for blind and vision impaired people and an exhibit hall that showcased the products of 14 assistive technology companies. The exhibit hall also featured one of the talking Automated Banking Machines developed by RBC Royal Bank of Canada in collaboration with NCR Canada. The bank machine provides users with the ability to transact their banking safely and securely with audio lead-throughs that can be heard through a headset such as those used for personal stereos, thus eliminating the need to entrust bank cards and personal identification numbers to a third party.
The most popular information sessions at the conference were on navigation products employing Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite information. VisuAide's Victor Trekker software was demonstrated, as was Pulse Data's Braille Note GPS. Both systems are designed to allow greater independence in navigating one's environment, for example, by providing information on how to get from one location to another in a city. Both are also designed to run on platforms that also provide the user with other capabilities such as note-taking, e-mail access and other functions associated with personal computers and personal digital assistants.
In the exhibit hall, visitors were able to try out a variety of products and systems such as VisuAide's Victor talking book reader, Betacom's VisAble line of products including the Telescope, the company's CCTV system and the VisAble large-print scientific calculator. The Plextalk Recorder and the new Clearview portable videomagnifyer were also on display. But it wasn't just high-tech devices that drew visitors to the exhibitors' booths. Visitors also appreciated the variety of low tech products and independent living aids on display and available for purchase. Those who most appreciated the chance to purchase items were clients who reside in remote regions of the province or in areas removed from major city centres.
The booths of the CNIB — Quebec Division and the CNIB's Access Shop provided attendees with an opportunity to have all their questions answered, and to pick up forms and other CNIB literature. Staff of the Quebec Division as well as National Library staff working in Quebec were on site all day to meet clients and ensure the success of this event.
According to Ms Vida, the CNIB is considering holding next year's Technovision conference in Quebec City and then alternating the site of future conferences between Montreal and Quebec. "There are a lot of people who would be interested in attending a conference like this, but they find it difficult to travel to Montreal. By holding it in Quebec, we can reach more of our clients."
CCRW Launches New Directions for Next Three Years
- by Carole J. Barron, CCRWThe Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) approved its Vision for 2002 — 2005 during its Board of Directors and Annual General Meeting held in Ottawa, Ontario on Saturday, October 26, 2002.
The Board has committed its direction over the next three years to:
Regaining financial stability:
- Approval of a Revenue Development Strategic Plan and Committee to ensure implementation.
- Approval of a Policy and Finance Committee with specific strategies for increasing by 2005 its financial reserves.
Delivering quality programs and services:
- Empowering, educating and informing consumers and stakeholders.
- Developing and implementing specific Program and Service work plans to focus range of services to meet needs.
- Improve service provision capacity through the evaluation of existing Programs and Services.
Strengthening and building partnerships:
- Strategic annual review of internal and external resources directly impacting upon the organization's capacity to implement achieve its objectives.
Communicating effectively:
- Approval of a short-term communications materials development plan.
- Approval to develop a long-term communication framework.
Organizational excellence:
- Approval of an Eastern Regionalization Pilot Project for a period of one year with the Regional Office and Coordinator to be located in Moncton, New Brunswick.
- Implementation of a Human Resources Development Plan by January 2003.
Public Education and Advocacy:
- Proactive Advocacy Plan by December 2003 to recognize the CCRW as the National lead organization in the employment of persons with disabilities.
The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) is a Canada-wide network of organizations and individuals whose mission is to promote and support meaningful and equitable employment of people with disabilities. As innovators and agents of change the CCRW builds partnerships, develops skills, shares knowledge and influences attitudes. It is through partnerships that for over 25 years the CCRW has been helping Canadians with disabilities enter the workforce.
Additional information regarding the work of the CCRW may be viewed on its web site www.ccrw.org or by calling the CCRW offices at 416-260-3060.
Ontario Seeks Its Citizens' Input to Make Government Buildings Accessible
The Province of Ontario is looking for stakeholders' opinions to assist in the development of Barrier-Free Design Guidelines for provincial government buildings, structures and premises. This work is in fulfilment of some of the obligations set out in the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which received Royal Assent in 2001. The Act covers the Ontario Government, municipalities in the province and the broader public sector, including transit organizations, school boards, hospitals, colleges and universities.
The Barrier-Free Design Guidelines will cover buildings, structures and premises, or parts of them that have been purchased, leased, built or significantly renovated by any of the levels of government or public sector organizations identified as subject to the provisions of the Act. To assist in the development of the Guidelines, the Ontario Realty Corporation has set up a Web page on its Web site (www.orc.on.ca) with a questionnaire relating to barrier-free access. Once responses have been collected, a focus group will be formed to discuss the responses and to make recommendations for the guidelines.
Groups and organizations can provide their feedback to the questionnaire directly on the Web or by mail to:
- Public Consultation on
Barrier-Free Access
Guidelines for Government Buildings, Structures and Premises
Ontario Realty Corporation
Facility Support Services
10th Floor, Ferguson Block
77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1N3
For more information, visit the Accessibility Ontario Web site at www.gov.on.ca/citizenship/accessibility. To make inquiries about the consultation or to request the questionnaire in alternative format, call (voice) 1- 877-863-9672 or (TTY) 1-888-335-6611. In the Toronto area, the number to call is (416) 326-0148.
News Bits
- This year, the Communications Research Centre (CRC,
www.crc.ca), where ADIO has its offices, has been celebrating its
50th Anniversary. For half a century, CRC has been home to some
of the most innovative research carried out by the Government of
Canada, in partnership with other research organizations and
agencies within and outside of government, universities, private
sector companies and the governments and research institutions of
other countries. On October 4 and 5, CRC threw open its doors to
showcase some of the award-winning R&D that has put the
research centre on the map, as well as the newest innovations and
among the exhibits presented was a small display of some of the
assistive technologies whose development was partially supported
by Industry Canada, often with advice from CRC's researchers. CRC
is where Canada's communications satellites were at least
partially developed and built and where they and many other
countries communications satellites have undergone pre- launch
testing. It's also where the Canadarm was developed and where the
world's first permanent international connection to the Internet
(still known at the time as ARPANET) was established. In 1987,
CRC and NASA shared an Emmy award for some of the pioneering work
they did in the area of broadcast satellite technology.
- An
online tutorial has been developed for the Manager's Guide to
Multiple Formats to help guide government publication
personnel in making their publications accessible for all
clients. The tutorial includes examples of such formats as large
print to clearly show how printed products can be made accessible
for people with disabilities. The tutorial is designed to build
upon the information in the Guide, providing a practical
step-by-step approach that includes checklists, reviews,
exercises, plus templated order forms and communications plans
that managers can put to use right away. The tutorial can be
found at www.at-links.gc.ca/guide and the Guide, is online at:
http://nlc-bnc.ca/accessinfo/s36-202.001-e.html
- Tibby's, a Duncan, B.C.-based company, is looking for buyers,
investors or partners to expand production of its FREEDOM
all-terrain electric wheelchair. Contact the company at 7469
Rosevear Rd., Duncan, B.C. V9L 5Z8 or email them at
tonya@seaside.net for more information. You can also visit the
FREEDOM Website at www.islandserve.com/~tonya.
- On October 17 the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC),
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Henry Vlug
announced that a settlement had been reached regarding closed
captioning on CBC English Television and CBC Newsworld. The
settlement calls for the CBC to provide 100% closed captioning
for both of these English services. As part of the settlement,
CBC Television is taking significant steps to accelerate its
timetable for closed captioning. By November 1 this year, all
programming on both CBC English Television and CBC Newsworld will
be regularly captioned, including live breaking news, promos and
commercials produced by the CBC. The broadcaster has committed
substantial additional capital and operating resources, including
new hardware and software and captioners on call 24 hours a day,
in order to achieve these goals. The settlement concludes a
process that began with a complaint filed by Mr. Vlug with the
CHRC in 1997. Commenting on the outcome, Mr. Vlug said "Today's
settlement is an important milestone for the Deaf, deafened and
hard-of-hearing communities. Now would be a good time for the
other broadcasters to begin providing closed captioning of all
their programming, too."
- The 2002 Dr. Jonas Salk Award has been given to Dr. Geoffrey
Fernie. He was chosen for the award on the strength of products
he has invented to increase independence for people with
disabilities. Dr. Fernie, who is Director of Research in Aging
and Director of the Centre for Studies in Aging at Toronto's
Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre and a
professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Surgery,
holds patents for a number of assistive devices, including the
world's first battery-powered portable overhead patient lift
system, called SturdyLift™. The Salk Award is a $10,000
prize, co-sponsored by Aventis Pasteur Ltd and the Ontario March
of Dimes.
- TheCSAB651
Barrier-Free Design Committee has voted to participate in
international-level standards development and has established a
Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) to the International
Organization for Standardization committee, ISO TC 59/SC 16,
Accessibility and Usability of the Built Environment. The CAC
held its first meeting in Ottawa in September. Betty Dion, the
Chair of B651, is also the CAC Chair and the committee receives
administrative support from the Standards Council of Canada,
which is the Canadian signatory to the ISO and other
international standards-setting bodies. By participating in the
work of ISO TC 59/SC 16, Canada's profile is raised as a world
leader in the development of standards that meet the access needs
of older adults and people with disabilities.
- Transport Canada's Web site, Access to Travel
(www.accesstotravel.gc.ca/main-e.asp) was the recipient of one of
the Distinction Awards given out at this year's Technology in
Government Week (GTEC). Access to Travel is one of the partner
sites on the same Government disability Web portal as Industry
Canada's Assistive Technology Links, Natural Resources Canada's
Mapping for the Visually Impaired and HRDC's Disability WebLinks,
"Persons with Disabilities On-line " (www.pwd-online.ca). The
Transport Canada site won this year's silver medal in the
E-Managing the Human Dimensions of E-Government category of the
National E-Government group of awards.
- Remote video sign language interpretation was one of the
features at CANARIE 's (www.canarie.ca) 8th Annual Advanced
Networks Workshop, November 18-20 in Montreal. Using CA*net4,
researchers from McGill University showed a deaf patient and
doctor at the workshop communicating through the use of an
interpreter who was located at the University of New Brunswick.
The two sites were connected by multiple, near real-time 25Mb/s
digital audio/video streams.
- December 31, 2002 is the deadline date by which Government of
Canada Web sites are expected to conform to the Government's
Common Look and Feel policy, including the provisions regarding
accessibility for people with disabilities. Departments such as
Industry Canada have been working hard to ensure that the policy
is implemented in time for the beginning of the new year.
- The Assistive Technology Centre, in partnership with the Nova
Scotia Community College, the South Shore District School Board,
Betacom Corporation and the Assistive Technology Centre Society,
will host Nova Scotia's first international Assistive Technology
"Best Practices" Conference in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, April
3-5, 2003. This will include hands-on workshops, AT best
practices seminars, AT vendor displays and pre-conference
workshops. The keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Marcia
Scherer, author of "Living in the State of Stuck: How Technology
Impacts the Lives of Persons with Disabilities". For more
information about the conference, visit http://ATAINS.EDNET.NS.CA
or contact the conference coordinator, Saundra Myers at ATAINS
CONFERENCE c/o Assistive Technology Centre, 75 High Street,
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia B4V 1V8, tel: 902-543-4702, fax:
902-543-0190, e-mail: myerssm@lunenburg.nscc.ns.ca.
- The Canadian Association of the Deaf(CAD — www.cad.ca) is hosting the 14th World Congress (WCD) of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in Montreal, July 18-26, 2003. This is Canada's first time as host of the WCD, an event that is only held once every four years. The week-long Congress is expected to draw more than 3,000 Deaf and non-Deaf participants from 120 WFD member countries. The programme will include workshops/presentations (many of them with non-Deaf as well as Deaf presenters), exhibits and arts/entertainment performances. More than 100 interpreters are expected to attend and the WCD will operate with five official languages: ASL, LSQ, International Sign, English and French. For more information, visit the CAD Web site, contact them at: Canadian Association of the Deaf, Suite 203, 251 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1X3, 613-565-2882 (voice), 613-565-8882 (TTY), or 613-565-1207 (fax), or e-mail: cad@cad.ca.
Our Web Site
The ADIO Web site can be found at strategis.ic.gc.ca/adio . At this site are all our old newsletters as well as different listings and links to other sites of interest. Should you be using these old newsletters, please bear in mind that the web addresses were correct when the newsletter was created but that they may not be accurate now. We do not plan to change the back issues of the newsletters.
Communications From ADIO
If you would prefer to receive our newsletter on disk or by e-mail, please contact us at the address below.
Where To Find Us
For more information, to discuss a project idea or to get on our mailing list, please contact:
Mary Frances Laughton or Deb Finn
Assistive Devices Industry Office
Industry Canada
P.O. Box 11490 Station H
Ottawa, Ontario
K2H 8S2
Phone: 613-990-4316 or 613-990-4297
Fax: 613-998-5923
TTY: 613-998-3288
Internet-mail: adio@crc.ca
Created: 2002-12-10Return to the ADIO home page
