2024-08-01 11:53:44
“People with visual impairments willingly use modern technologies. Of course, as with non-disabled people, adoption of technology depends on age, with younger people with disabilities using smartphones and computers more actively than older people, up to about age 50. However, even older people with visual impairment try to master technologies, because they provide much more opportunities and help overcome the challenges arising from their disability”, says Andžejus Ravans, Information Environment Accessibility Specialist of the Lithuanian Blind and Visually Impaired Union (LASS).
According to him, last year’s boom in artificial intelligence has inevitably affected the lives of people with visual impairments – thanks to artificial intelligence, more solutions have emerged that help them perform everyday tasks better.
“For example, the Be my eyes application, powered by artificial intelligence technology, can provide an incredible amount of information: monitor photos on social networks, find out if clothes are clean, if they are properly matched, get a description of the environment and refine it with additional questions. It also allows you to find device manufacturers and instructions, and many other useful things. “Chat GPT”, which has shaken the information environment, is also accessible to visually impaired people, so even more opportunities open up for them”, says A. Ravan.
Among other everyday apps that are commonly used by blind and partially sighted people are solutions that help them “see” – read the text on packages, speak the denomination of a banknote, check if the light is on in a room, etc. Two apps handle these tasks, Lookout (works on Android devices) and Seeing AI (Android and iOS).
More precise solutions are lacking
Despite the abundance of apps adapted for visually impaired people, there are still plenty of untapped niches for app developers, says A. Ravan, who is blind.
“Until now, there is a lack of an app that, based on artificial intelligence, would be able to navigate a person inside a room when he sets a specific goal. It would really be useful to have an app that could find the required product faster by pointing the camera at the product shelf, or voice the number of the public transport route in a high-quality way – we do not have such a solution so far,” the interviewer notes.
Currently, short videos that are extremely popular on social networks are also not accessible to the blind – such videos without voiced text, with background music are just informational noise.
“For now, this area is completely inaccessible to people with visual disabilities, but there is hope that the possibilities of artificial intelligence will radically change the situation.” I think it’s a matter of a few years before AI will be able to accurately describe not only photos, but also videos. The most important thing is that app developers, when creating solutions for people with disabilities, must include representatives of the target user group, because only they know what a person with certain specific needs needs,” says A. Ravan.
Adapted salons for customers with disabilities
The fact that technological solutions are relevant for people with disabilities is also shown by the size of their audience – there are currently about 230,000 people living in Lithuania alone. people with disabilities.
“People with disabilities also want to work, travel, shop and enjoy a full life to the best of their abilities. This is sometimes impossible without digital solutions to facilitate their daily lives. What we, as a business, can do is to take care of better accessibility of digital products and services at retail outlets, to initiate and contribute to projects promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities”, comments Gintas Butėnas, CEO of Bitė Lietuva.
This spring, the first Bitė salons opened in Vilnius, adapted for visually and hearing impaired customers. There are tactile paths for the blind and partially sighted, special solutions for people with hearing disabilities. Some time ago, the company implemented other significant changes in the field of customer service – adjusted processes, organized training for employees on how to communicate with customers with special needs.
According to A. Ravan, those who avoid communicating with people with disabilities because they do not know how to talk to them, should remember a few things.
“First, communication may not happen, but nothing bad will happen if you try.” We can all have different moods and characters, just like every person with a disability. If you are dealing with a blind or partially sighted person, see the person, not their white cane. It should not cause fear because it is just a tool of that person,” he says.
2024-08-01 11:53:44