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Empowering Communications Challenged users using Development Kits

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 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vol:6, No:8, 2012
Empowering Communications Challenged users
using Development Kits
Winsy P.S. Dissanayake, Chandana P. W. Prasad and Ashutosh K. Singh

Abstract—The rapid pace of technological advancement and its Next this paper will ascertain the demographics of those
consequential widening digital divide has resulted in the affected by disabilities based previous census. This is followed
marginalization of the disabled especially the communication by a discussion of the applicable assistive technologies.
challenged. The dearth of suitable technologies for the development Section three discusses justifications for the purposed
of assistive technologies has served to further marginalize the approach. The manner of the execution of the research, case
communications challenged user population and widen this chasm studies and its results will be detailed in sections four and five
even further. Given the varying levels of disability there and its respectively.
associated requirement for customized solution based. This paper
explains the use of a Software Development Kits (SDK) for the
II. TARGET USER BASE
bridging of this communications divide through the use of industry
International Science Index, Electronics and Communication Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/988

poplar communications SDKs towards identification of requirements Numerous studies (British Department of Health (2001),
for communications challenged users as well as identification of Weerasinghe et al, (2007) and the Dana Reeve Paralysis
appropriate frameworks for future development initiatives. Foundation (2009)) have revealed that there is a high
prevalence of disabilities in our population. People with
Keywords—Assistive Technology, Communication, Disability, disabilities find inclusion into society difficult especially
Marginalization, Software Development Kit, Waveform and owing to their communication disabilities [3].
Wideband It has been proven that the use of computers and the Internet
can not only enrich the lives of people with disabilities but can
I. INTRODUCTION also enhance independence and facilitate a new channel of
communication through which users could gain access to
T HE recent technological advances have transpired into
faster data transfer, larger data volumes and cheaper data
transfer capabilities [1]. This in turn is spurning the rapid
information, social interaction, cultural activities, employment
opportunities, and even access to consumer goods [3], [4].
deployment of digital technologies especially in the field of However, regrettably only 23.9% of the persons suffering from
communications. disabilities even in the United States are likely to have access
Despite these advances in the digital arena a majority of to computers when compared to non-disabled persons [4]. This
these advances have not trickled down to disabled persons, in divide widens to further for internet accessibility which is only
particular developments in telecommunications have failed to reported as 9.9%. Add to this the rapid pace of technological
include the disabled [2], leading to a further widening of the advancement has reduced accessibility to telecommunications
digital divide from the perspective of the disabled and even for disabled people, thus depriving them of their basic right for
more so from those that face communication challenges. communication [5].
Despite the availability of numerous studies into the A. Use of Assistive Technologies
prevalence, causes, and effects of physical, mental, learning
The varying nature of disabilities requires customized
and communication disabilities (e.g.: the Sri Lankan Ministry
solutions [6]. Some who suffer from communications
of Social Welfare 2003 census into disabilities and the
disabilities excel at expressing their views via keyboard whilst
Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Foundation 2009
some benefit from the use of visual symbols and related
census into spinal cord injuries) there are insufficient studies
commercial software such as Makaton or Widgit’s Rebus
conducted with regard to the provision and success of ICT
which translates text to symbols and vice versa [3]. The use of
solutions aimed at social inclusion for the disabled, especially
symbols in the facilitation of communication in present
via communications.This paper attempts to address
societal context are readily apparent [7]. Samples of such
shortcomings associated with the provision of accessible
symbols are given Figure 1 below:
communication technologies for the disabled by firstly
extrapolating from vertically targeted studies and censuses in a
holistic manner. Firstly this paper intends to chart the use of
emerging technologies that could be adapted for provision of
communication assistive technologies for the disabled.
Fig. 1 Common symbols used for communication in present society
Winsy P.S. Dissanayake is with the Faculty of Business, Charles Sturt
University, Sydney Campus, Australia. Symbols as given above could be used as an alternative and
Chandana P. W. Prasad is with the Faculty of Business, Charles Sturt
University, Sydney Campus, Australia.
augmentative communication system as well as for enabling
Ashutosh K. Singh is with the Department of Electrical and Computer access to information, promoting of reading and writing and
Engineering, Curtin University, Sarawak Campus, Miri, Malaysia, therein enhancing independence and self advocacy [7].
[email protected]

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(8) 2012 778 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/988
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vol:6, No:8, 2012

Speech recognition and synthesis too has documented benefits interactions by disabled students for accessible e-learning,
in certain contexts especially in its use with the disabled [8]. assistive technologies and learning support and emphasizes on
The particular format of speech recognition used is critical the use of "participatory" research, which focuses on the voice
when used in the context as an assistive communication tool of the disabled students as both consultants and partners and
for disabled. The use of single words, short phrases or sounds not just as research subjects.
for speech recognition by users who have difficulties Whilst LExDis is considered as providing robust guidelines
producing intelligent speech had enabled speech recognition to on effective research methodologies for disabled and
be used as an effective assistive tool in contrast to the use of communications challenged this method required the active
speech recognition when used with continuous speech [9]. participation of the end users in specifying what their
The culmination of the above evidence dictates in the requirements .
development of assistive communication technologies for the
disabled and learning and speech challenged users should A. Sample Population Based Research
include speech recognition, speech synthesis and symbolic Here a smaller sample from the above population was
communication at the very least. Each with a limited function selected and research parameters were obtained through a
and vocabulary set and customized as per each disabled users survey conducted amongst the sample population as well as
situation and requirements may warrant. direct personal interviews with each participant.
International Science Index, Electronics and Communication Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/988

However, whilst there is an abundance of empirical research Based on the key functionality required all popular SKDs
on the benefits in the use of symbols for communication (e.g.: were evaluated for their capabilities towards matching these
studies conducted by Widget 2000 and 2004) there is a serious requirements and three were selected. Each selected SDK
dearth of such research in the sphere of speech recognition and resulted in the development of an Assistive Application
speech synthesis. This paper focuses on the use of symbol, containing components of that SDK and features the capturing
speech recognition and speech synthesis for the development of the original entered text/captured voice and synthesized
of assistive technologies. voice/translated text as raw WAV or text files, in separate files
named in a numerically and chronologically ordered manner
III. PROPOSED METHOD for subsequent analysis.
The research herein aims to ascertain the suitability of a
comprehensively structured, modular, layered and reusable
Assistive Technologies Development Framework based
approach towards the provision of above assistive
technologies.
The use of a Software Development Kit (SDK) development
model provisions better development process, simplification,
cost reduction and better re-use of process, platforms and data
whilst the widespread use of SDKs by solution developing
communities enables in the creation of a defacto standard and
thereby wider usage [10]. Test teams using the SDK approach Fig. 2 Test sequence diagram
to development have achieved exponential performance when
The above sample population was randomly divided into
compared to other development methodologies [10].
three groups and each member of the sample population
Given the above it is clear that the SDK model provision
received a binary file that comprised of these three executables
greater reusability, flexibility and adaptability. This is of
and were encouraged to utilize each Assistive Application for
paramount importance in situations such as in providing
a minimum of thirty (30) minutes a day for One Hundred and
customized development for the disabled wherein each
Eighty (180) days. User enrollment based optimization was not
disabled user is provided customised and specific application
incorporated in order to ascertain user independent
to suit his/her needs. Therefore, this paper will explore the
performance.
benefits of using SDK based development model for the
development of assistive technologies.

IV. METHODOLOGY
The study conducted initially with the participation of 22
volunteers who are staff members of Commonwealth
Rehabilitation Services Australia. These volunteers were
augmented with 110 other disabled volunteer from Paraquad
as well as those who subscribed via the internet.
The foundations for the research methodology were based
on the benefits of participatory research methods demonstrated
by the Disabled learners’ experiences of e-learning (LExDis)
study by the University of Southampton [11]. LExDis was
conducted in order to increase the understanding of issues and Fig. 3 End user assistive application

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(8) 2012 779 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/988
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vol:6, No:8, 2012

Each member of the sampled population was required to Phase Three (03) expands on the tests conducted during
provide their feedback which was logged at three levels. Pre- Phase Two (02) by testing the similar functions as well as
use feedback was collected using an application based startup Speech Recognition and Synthesis capabilities but induces
form that logged the user parameters, duration and purpose adverse network conditions in order to ascertain the quality of
expected for that session. This was followed with a post use jitter correction and buffering provisioned by the components.
application based form that focused on the collection of the This was conducted using SIPInspector to feed RTP packets to
perceived satisfaction level, accuracy, error detection, the other SIP end point in order to create network conditions
difficulties and fulfilling of user parameters and objectives simulation losses or silences.
specified at the initiation of the session as well as meeting the
criteria specified during the requirement gathering phase in the
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
development of the assistive application. The above was
further augmented through the incorporation of a local stored The WAV file were analyzed and wave files were
database comprising of mirrored raw input and output data. compared using SFS release 4.7 (version 1.7) where
Feedback was also collected through the use of both end user Waveform, Wideband and Narrowband spectrograms were
and developer blogs. obtained and compared.
B. Laboratory Research
International Science Index, Electronics and Communication Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/988

Separately laboratory testing of the shortlisted SDKs was

performed using a test bench approach were each SDK’s core
and peripheral functions were evaluated with particular
attention to functionality identified as key success criteria by
the above sample population and end users.

Fig. 4 Laboratory test bench application

Laboratory testing using the test bench was performed in
three (03) phases. In order to test the functions two identical Fig. 5 Test Waveform, Wideband and Narrowband spectrograms
copies of the test bench Named Test bench A and Test bench
B were executed on the same host machine as peers, with the
IP addresses set to internal localhost (127.0.0.1). Here the
same telephony component was featured on both peers.
During phase one (01), the test bench was utilized to
perform testing on Dialing out, Displaying of Incoming Calls,
Answer Capability, Dual Tone Multi Frequency Detection and
Generation. Here the text ‘Hello, this is a test, how are you
today’ as well as a wave file that contained a clear vocal
recording of this text by a Native English male speaker was
transmitted by Peer A to the Peer B which displayed its output
in the Edit Box titled Remote Text.
In Phase Two (02), Voice Synthesis and Recognition, was
tested. In phase two the functions of the telephony component
that were tested in phase one were retested. In Peer A the input
into the test bench was conducted using speech recognition
only whilst in Peer B the output capturing was performed by
both speech recognition and speech synthesis.
Here the components that incorporated speech recognition
capabilities were tested directly whilst components that lacked Fig. 6 Swincom Waveform, Wideband and Narrowband spectrograms
such facilities were augmented using the Microsoft Speech
API version 5.1. All assistive applications were tested without
the creation of specific user profiles. And native speech
recognition capabilities were tested.

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(8) 2012 780 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/988
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vol:6, No:8, 2012
International Science Index, Electronics and Communication Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/988

Fig. 8 VaxVOIP Waveform, Wideband and Narrowband

spectrograms
Fig. 7 PortSIP Waveform, Wideband and Narrowband spectrograms

Here Figure 2 represents the Waveform, Wideband and However, the group that used PortSIP enabled applications
Narrowband spectrograms of the test waveform which is the suggested that they had numerous complications when
captured raw wave file of the spoken text. Figure 3 shows the attempting to get basic words recognized and many found it
same waveforms and spectrograms for the generated output irritating and all participants were not fully satisfied and
after it has been decoded by the end user module that uses the requested substantial improvements. Meanwhile, of the group
Swincom components. that used the application developed with VaxVOIP all
The marked differences in voice quality are clearly evident. participants stopped using the application within 3-8 days of
Figure 4 shows the same waveforms and spectrograms for the the launch of the trial and would not utilize it for regular use
generated output after it has been decoded by the end user and stated that they would not utilize it ever under situations
module that uses the PortSIP components. Here there are that are business or mission critical as in directing field
marginal waveform differences between the end user officers or for attempting dialogs with their superiors.
applications using both Swincom and PortSIP components but The collated results indicate that the sample population
significant differences in the spectrograms. based test attained an overall success rate above 52% whilst
Finally Figure 5 Shows the wave form and spectrograms of the overall project attained an overall success rate of 64%.
the output as decoded by the VaxVOIP component showing
clear distortion in both the waveforms as well as spectrograms VI. CASE STUDIES
highlighting a markedly poor output quality from this end user
Based on the initial feedback from the above literature
application.
surveys as above research conducted a prototype Assistive
Recognized text too was captured and saved as raw Text
Software Development Kit (ASDK) featuring VOIP, Speech
files which were compared against the original text read by the
Recognition and Synthesis, Symbolic language representation
speaker or typed in using TextDiff version 4.6. The group of
and Braille support was developed.
applications that used Swincom and PortSIP achieved
Utilizing the above ASDK specific Assistive Applications
recognition of 73 percent and 61 percent respectively whilst
were developed for clinical trial by selected participants
VaxVOIP could only achieve 38 percent.
suffering from communications challenges, over a period of
Based on the end user feedback from the group who utilized
three (03) months. During use and post usage the participants
the Swincom product, suggests that under normal conditions
were subjected to a brief quality evaluation test.
the products featuring Swincom featured better during direct
The collated results of the above ASDK indicate that
output of telephone to the Public Switched Telephone Network
Assistive Applications developed specifically for individual
(PSTN). This group also used the product for the whole trial
disabilities were rapidly assimilated by the participants and are
period. Whilst 52 percent were satisfied with the product the
adopted into the their lifestyles due to the benefits of social
remainder suggested that improvements could be made in
inclusion that it provided.
terms of better voice quality for the remote party and higher
The ASDK based Assistive Applications achieved above 84
detection rates for the local user.
percent user satisfaction rate whilst the overall clinical trials
achieved 92 percent success rate based on end user satisfaction
ratings.

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(8) 2012 781 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/988
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vol:6, No:8, 2012

VII. CONCLUSION [6] Custom Solutions, Low Incidence, viewed 10-04-2010, retrieved from
(http://www.customtyping.com/tutorials/at/low_incidence.htm), 2010.
The above research assessed the adaption of emerging [7] Widgit Software Ltd, Introduction to Symbols, viewed 15-04-2010,
technologies for the provision of communication assistive retrieved from
technologies for the disabled whilst serving as basis for (http://www.symbolsinclusionproject.org/symbols/index.htm), 2004.
research of assistive solutions for the disabled. But in light of [8] J. Noyes, Talking and writing-how natural in human-machine
interaction?, Int. Journal on. Human-Computer Studies (2001) 55, 503-
the serious dearth in research as well as the creation of 519, 2001
assistive technologies serves as a cornerstone in future [9] C. Baber, and J. M. Noyes, Advanced control devices: Speech control-
development initiative. In User interface design for electronic appliances, pp. 190-208, London:
The above research also indicates serious shortcoming in Taylor & Francis, 2001.
products available for the development of assistive [10] British Telecom Innovate and Design, “Keeping an open mind: How
technologies despite the vast market that presently awaits. BT’s changing infrastructure has become a blueprint for new ways of
doing business”, viewed 10-04-2010, retrieved from
Therefore, it is the recommended greater research into the (http://www.btplc.com/Innovation/Innovation/SDK/index.htm), 2010.
development of a SDK specifically combining and integrating [11] J. Seale, M. Wald, and E.A. Draffan, Reflections on the value of
the advancements in ICT technologies for the development of participatory research methods in developing accessible design in higher
assistive technologies. Such an SDK should ideally focus on education, University of Southampton, 2009.
person centered development approach towards catering for
International Science Index, Electronics and Communication Engineering Vol:6, No:8, 2012 waset.org/Publication/988

the unique individual requirements that each person and

circumstance may warrant. Both Sample population and
Laboratory test incorporated Telephony development kits that
were not specific for assistive application development hence
lack of assistive capabilities. Also there was a pronounced lack
of integration between selected assistive technologies resulted
in performance gaps and even further performance issues.
However, despite the above shortcomings the overall
Sample population, Laboratory and clinical trials achieved
success ratings exceeding 50 percent indicative of client
exasperation of presently available assistive technological
solutions, requirement for cost effective, customized and
highly interactive assistive applications and a dramatic need
for future research into this sphere.
Upon analysis of the above results it is apparent that by
utilizing a SDK approach to Assistive Applications provide for
a faster and more productive application that is quickly
adopted by communication challenged users.
The above Assistive SDK could be further advanced
through the incorporation of other leading vertical assistive
technologies such as handwriting recognition, gesture
recognition and eye tracking as well as through the
incorporation of user enrolment based optimization and
Artificial Intelligence for enhancement of Word/Gesture error
rates, better human computer interaction capabilities, less end
user frustration and even higher adoption rates.

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International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 6(8) 2012 782 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/988