Development of Voice-Based Tools for Accessibility to Computer Services

Abstract

Abstract. This work presents the development of two tools which intend to provide accessibility to people with different handicaps in their access to computer applications using speech technologies. The basis of the work is to use voice emissions from a severely handicapped user to substitute mouse and key strokes in one of the tools; and the movement of the cursor in the other. The speech technologies required for these tasks are robust energy estimation and robust formant calculation and normalization. The paper will also provide a comprehensive view of all the process required for a successful development of these tools, starting with the contact with assistive and education institutions, understanding the difficulties of these collectives in their everyday life, defining how technology can help in these cases, the actual development of the tools and, finally, the deployment of the tools with real users to assess their usability and functionality.