Question #2

Has there been any research done about the blind community being able to use the voice recognition on computers?

There have been studies done on the blind community being able to use voice recognition on computers. There are also several new technologies that have come about that can assist blind internet users besides using solely voice recognition. Some of the newer technologies include “Magnification programs for the computer screen allow people with some vision to view text or images which have been magnified several times and are capable of integrating hardware and software. Synthetic speech systems comprise a synthesizer, which does the speaking, and the screen reader, which tells the synthesizer what to say”(American Federation for the Blind, 2000, n. p.). I also found a really neat way for blind users to print documents and read them independently, it is the Braille printer. “Braille printers are available for those who can read Braille. These produce a hard copy and can do so from various computer devices. Other Braille Display technology allows what is displayed on the computer screen to be transposed into Braille. These devices operate by rising and lowering different combinations of pins electronically to produce what appears on a portion of the computer screen. They are refreshable, that is, they change continuously as the user moves around on the screen” (American Foundation for the Blind, 2000, n. p.) Therefore there has been a lot of research done and it seems as though researchers are really focusing on the needs of the blind community and coming up with new ways to make their life easier.

Reference:
Williamson, Kristy; Wright, Steve; Schauder, Don; and Bow, Amanda. 2001. The Internet for the Blind and Visually Impared. Vol. 6 n. 1-4. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol7/issue1/williamson.html