There are approximately 2.5 million people in the US who are speech impaired to the extent that it is considered a functional limitation. Today, many people with severe communication disabilities lack access to electronic and even printed material, have a lack of opportunity for interaction and opportunity for self-advocacy, and experience isolation. Providing accessibility to wireless voice, data and Internet communications directly from the device is of tremendous importance to people with severe communication disabilities. The primary objective under the Phase I grant was to investigate the potential of word-level disambiguation technology for text generation on a communication aid to meet the needs of many individuals requiring augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Phase I findings validated T9 technology as a viable method for text generation and also AAC device users want to access wireless voice, data and Internet communications directly from the device.
The specific aims of Phase II are to: investigate hardware platforms for AAC device host candidates, develop Windows software modules for T9 and AAC, develop portable AAC resources, integrate wireless voice and data communications, and conduct usability testing of the product as it develops.
The outcome of Phase II will be a communication aid device for production in Phase III that is based on commercially available hardware with minimal custom AAC hardware support. The goal is that the software platform developed in Phase II will be ported to existing low-cost hardware as much as possible to: make use of newly developed platforms, provide more choice to AAC device users, provide more flexibility in user interface, and reduce overall device costs to the end user when commercially manufactured.
