Creating technologies usable by the full range of human condition, personal, situational and environmental

Speaker
Gregg C. Vanderheiden
Director, Trace Research & Development Center and Professor, Industrial Engineering (Human Factors) and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

Is it possible to create interfaces for mass-market products that will be usable by all?

It is practical? Does it make sense? Recent advances are changing the answers, rewriting the definition of product interface, and laying the groundwork for interfaces that are easier to use—by more people, in more environments, experiencing more constraints. At the same time it is making them easier to use by artificial agents. Dr. Vanderheiden will explore this evolving area and describe recent work that may change how we think about and build interfaces in the future.

Speaker's Bio

Gregg C. Vanderheiden directs the Trace Research & Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a Professor in Industrial Engineering (Human Factors) and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Vanderheiden has been working in the area of access to technology for over 30 years. He pioneered in the field of Augmentative Communication (a name taken from his writings) and assistive technology, looking at issues for physical and cognitive disabilities. Starting in the late 70s he began working computer access working with the computer industry in the 80s to build disability access features directly into standard products. For example, access features developed by Dr Vanderheiden and his team (e.g. StickyKeys, MouseKeys, etc) have been built into the Macintosh OS since 1987, OS/2 and the UNIX X Window system since 1993, and more than half a dozen are built into Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000 and XP. Dr Vanderheiden has served on numerous professional, industry and government advisory and planning committees including those for the FCC, NSF, NIH, VA, DED, GSA, NCD, ATBCB and White House. He has written extensively on access and assistive technologies, coined many of the terms used today such as “Augmentative Communication”, “computer curbcuts”, “keyboard emulation”, “universal remote consoles”, and “Companion technologies” (“Technology and Mental Retardation in the 21st Century” 1992). Recent activities focus on cross disability access to the full range of information and communication technologies include co-authoring of the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, interconnection standards such as INCITS V2 AIAP, voting systems that are usable by those with disabilities or are elderly, home AV, phones, security systems, kiosks, and electronic appliances.

Host
Brad Myers