Mobile Phones – Communicating with the Environment and the World
Gregory,A. NovitaTech
Mobile phone ownership worldwide is soaring, and in Australia it is estimated that
there are almost as many mobile phone SIM cards as people. As this technology
becomes cheaper, more accessible and a normal part of everyday life, we are finding
that mobile phones have potential as a platform for running special software for voice
output communication, environmental control and more.
Mobile Phones as Assistive Technology
NovitaTech has been involved in the research and application of mobiles phones as
assistive technology for over four years. During this time staff have investigated
commercially available applications and overseas innovations and developed some
solutions where none could be found.
As the use of mobile phones grows in the general community, we are seeing a
corresponding desire to use this technology amongst people with disabilities. As well
as providing an important means of communication and safety backup, today’s
mobile phones are small, compact, feature packed and don’t look like technology that
is specific to people with disabilities. The result of this is that NovitaTech has been
receiving an increasing number of enquiries about access to mobile phones, as well
as ways of using mobile phones as a platform for assistive technology for voice
output communication, reminder systems and environmental control.
Access to Mobile Phones
Access to mobile phones is difficult for many people in the community, especially as
phone hardware becomes smaller overall, with small buttons and information-filled
screens. Options available to people who have difficulty using standard mobile
phone hardware due to physical limitations include:

Careful selection of phone hardware, together with the use of commonly
available but little known features like anykey answer, one touch dialling and
voice dialling. This can offer a cost effective, readily available solution for
some people.

Addition of switch-adapted car kits which include a speaker and mike. This
provides single switch answering and the ability to dial calls when used
together with voice dialling. This can be a quick, easy and relatively low cost
solution, however requires some set up to dial numbers and does not provide
access to other phone features.

Single switch scanning using of one of several European designed systems
which include special software and hardware added to a mobile phone running
either Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems. These systems can
provide access to telephone and other phone features, but can be slower and
more cognitively demanding due to the need for scanning.

Access from high end communication device – either by adding special
software and hardware to access an external mobile phone, or by
incorporating a PCMCIA phone card into the system. This solution offers
users of a high end communication device with access to mobile phone
features using their existing access methods and language generation system.

Access from environmental control systems is becoming a more common
feature. Several systems now provide mobile phone control using cable or
Bluetooth connection to an external phone. This solution can provide an all-inone home control solution for people who don’t require voice output
communication technology.
Mobile Phones as a Platform for Assistive Technology
A small but growing number of options exist for using mobile phone hardware as an
platform for providing voice output communication, environmental control or as
reminder systems.

Environmental control – add special hardware and software to a Symbian
mobile phone to control special Bluetooth receivers built into your
environment. This can allow the user to open doors, turn on lights, control
infrared appliances such as TV and DVD as well as make phone calls – all by
using their mobile phone controlled by the existing phone buttons or a single
switch.

Voice output communication – we have met several people who have a
speech impairment who use a written message on their mobile phone to assist
when their speech cannot be understood. Adding voice output software can
increase the usefulness of this option. To date, most of the software and
hardware that we have experimented with has not been specifically designed
for voice output communication, and has some limitations, however may be
suitable for some users.

Reminders – mobile phone are an ideal system to set up regular reminders for
people who need extra assistance to complete daily tasks. Depending on the
person’s needs, it maybe possible to use an existing phone or personal digital
assistant (PDA), or it may be necessary to use a specific phone or PDA with
special software that includes spoken and picture cues.
Conclusion
Mobile phone options are growing rapidly in the general community, and we are
seeing an increasing number of options for people with disabilities to use this
technology to meet their needs for communication with other people or to provide
extra assistance in daily living.