Accessibility issues in Interactive TV – a Dundee perspective

1. Accessibility issues in Interactive TV – a Dundee perspective David Sloan Digital Media Access Group Division of Applied Computing University of Dundee Dr Alex Carmichael Division of Applied Computing University of Dundee {dsloan, acarmichael}@computing.dundee.ac.uk

2. Introduction • Accessibility of iTV to disabled people: • A Dundee perspective? • What are the issues? What can we do? • Focus on older users and iTV

3. Applied Computing, University of Dundee • Centre of excellence since 1980 in research into information and communication systems for disabled and elderly people • Projects working with non-speaking people, visually impaired people, people with dyslexia, people with Alzheimer’s disease • Focus on elderly people and technology: Utopia • Pioneered ‘ordinary users/extraordinary environments • Digital Media Access Group

4. Accessibility and Technology • Web/software accessibility now relatively high profile • W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, RNIB, DDA • Designers/clients know it’s important • Designers (think they) know what to do • A culture of accessibility and standards compliance is beginning to develop… • …in tandem with attractive design

5. What’s different about iTV? • The role of assistive technology • Not an add on, as with a PC • Part of the functionality of the Set Top Box (STB) • Demands of setting up an STB • Demands/limitations of a remote control device • The need for accessibility features to be compatible with multiple person viewing • Analogue switch-off and implications of DDA

6. Accessibility barriers to iTV (1) • Physical impairment • Ability to set up STB • Manual dexterity: manipulation of remote control • Sensory impairment: • Can’t see the content of the screen, or labels on remote control/STB • Impaired vision affecting perception of screen content screen: text, colour… • Can’t hear sound/speech

7. Accessibility barriers to iTV (2) • Cognitive impairment • Comprehensibility of instructions: paper and on-screen • Concept of Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) (‘tab and go’) • Other conventions & metaphors • Combinations of the above • Tend to have greater impact than the sum of each in isolation

8. An accessible iTV system? • The STB • Clear instructions, available in multiple formats • Easy to install/easy to get someone to do it for you • The remote control • Robust, operable even with impaired dexterity • The EPG • Available – and usable - in audio format? • User control: font size, style and colour, and background colour? • Possible route to accessible iTV content

9. Accessible iTV content • Programmes • Option to display captions (called ‘subtitles’ in the UK!) • Option to hear Audio description • Signing as an alternative to textual captions • Textual content • User control over font size, type, colour, background colour

10. Multiple Access Need/Multiple conflicts? • But applying accessibility solutions can introduce new issues… • ‘Assistive’ technology (substitute ‘lost’ modality/channel) -V- • ‘Usable’ technology (address limits in all modalities/channels) • …consider older people and iTV systems

11. Elderly not a distinct population • Older people tend to have multiple minor impairments/disabilities • Thus some requirements overlap with ‘disabled’ population • But many requirements also overlap with ‘normal’ (young!) population (particularly in non-work setting)

12. Overlap of ‘poor vision’ • Elderly & VIP have difficulty with text based Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) • The VISTA Project – developed a speech based interface to satisfy ‘poor vision’ requirement • BUT: • Elderly also have ‘poor hearing’ (TTS output) and so need redundancy (in visual modality; text, lip reading) • Elderly also have ‘poor memory’ and so need more ‘navigation support’ (prompts & reminders) • These aspects not required by VIP but add to cost

13. Overlap with ‘average’ population • Many see elderly as a distinct population from ‘average’ (i.e. effectively part of ‘disabled’) & therefore they require ‘assistive’ technology • But this is (mostly) due to: • an erroneous over-emphasis on the ‘average’ meaningfully describing the population • much HF work based on; • non-elderly, non-impaired people (often undergraduates) • implicit assumptions about ‘work’ setting • No distractions • Near optimum performance levels

14. Common assumption made about“Age Related Declines”

15. Common assumption -v-what tends to be found

16. Accommodate people’s diversity • Diversity of young is (effectively) a sub-set of diversity of elderly (albeit at ‘more able’ end) • Therefore wider population better served by design that accommodates the diverse abilities of that group, rather than design that caters to a notional ‘average’ • Particularly if ‘average’ = ‘elite’ (at near-optimum performance, in near-optimum setting) • Should ‘entertainment technology’ require near-optimum performance from anyone! e.g. distractions, late night, ill, ‘tired and emotional’, etc.

17. Communications Act 2003 • Gives Ofcom responsibility to ensure; “…that domestic electronic communications apparatus is developed which is capable of being used with ease, and without modification, by the widest possible range of individuals (including those with disabilities)…”

18. Conclusion • Design of usable technology must be based on the range of abilities present in the population • Addressing such diversity will produce ‘inclusive’ rather than ‘exclusive’ designs • Need for ‘assistive’ technology likely to remain • Minorities with ‘lost’ modalities/channels • Questions of compatibility/connectivity • Some ‘assistive’ solutions could become mainstream iTV can be accessible; more research needed