If we enabled this gesture on the table, visitors would likely, inadvertently, trigger the audio descriptions and/or not be able to interact in ways that are familiar to them.Īs part of our group project, Charles programmed a protoptype exhibit using Open Exhibits Collection Viewer that allowed us to test the functionality of the three-fingered gesture approach. However, that type of a gesture is similar to many others that are used to accomplish very different tasks. Cary Supalo, who is blind, uses an anchored two-finger swipe on his iPhone to activate audio (the thumb is stationary and the two-fingers swipe). While some gestures for audio standards have emerged on personal devices, they are not necessarily compatible with the interactions found in a multiuser space on a multitouch table. Visitors need to know how to access the audio layer. Since these are unique gestures, the orientation to the exhibit is very important. Most visitors interact with digital objects using either two-fingers or a whole hand, so there was less of a chance that either a two-point or a five-point gesture would trigger the audio accidentally. A three-finger tap activated a lengthier audio description and we discussed the possibility of a three-finger double-tap to activate even another layer. A three-finger drag was used to provide short audio descriptions of the objects and elements found on the table. In the gesture-based approach, we decided to implement a gesture that would probably not be activated accidentally by visitors. You can see a PDF document our presentation here (114KB) The other approach involved the use of a fiducial device in the form of an “audio puck” to do the same.īoth approaches would make use of an introductory “station” and/or a familiar push-button “hearphone” to orient blind, low-vision, or non-reading users to the table and instruct them on how to either activate the audio via a unique gesture or how to use of the “audio puck.” This portion of the experience would be brief, but important to help the visitor understand how to use the audio descriptive layer. One involved using unique gestures to activate audio descriptions. Two Approaches We looked at two possible approaches for integrating audio into a multitouch table. By relegated a visitor to an audio button system, you are essentially isolating them from the more compelling qualities that are inherent in multitouch and multiuser exhibits. The experience is both physical and social. On a large multitouch table multiple visitors can interact simultaneously with physical multitouch gestures. Also, more importantly, the experience that visitors would have would be a fundamentally different than interacting directly on the table itself. However, this approach would essentially require developing an additional stand-alone, audio exhibit. Our group discussed the possibility of developing a similar system as an adjunct element on the side of a multitouch table or nearby the installation. At the Museum of Science in Boston most kiosks have standard set of buttons for descriptive audio with a “hearphone “– an audio handset, along with another set of buttons that are used for navigation. This feature has allowed blind, low-vision, and non-reading museum visitors to access content. Push Button Audio For many years, kiosks have been made more accessible by adding audio descriptive layers, commonly activated by a push button. In particular, we looked at developing an assistive audio layer for a multitouch table exhibit. I want to start this process by sharing some of the findings from our breakout group, which over the course of a day-and-a-half, explored the challenges in creating audio descriptions for multitouch / multiuser exhibits. In the next few weeks, we will share a number of findings from the workshop, which was held as part of the NSF-sponsored Creating Museum Media for Everyone (CMME) project. Multitouch Table Exhibit with Audio Layer PrototypeĪs I mentioned in my previous post, Open Exhibits Lead Developer, Charles Veasey and I attended a workshop at the Museum of Science in Boston this week that explored accessibility issues in computer-based exhibits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |