Making our cities smarter and more inclusive will become increasingly important in the next decades. Current projections are that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, and with an ageing population comes higher levels of ill-health, impairment and disability. Futurists, tech visionaries and urban stakeholders have been talking about “smart cities” for a number of years but smarter, accessible cities promise to be more inclusive for every citizen – and could transform the lives of those with disabilities.

Smart connected cities are a hot topic. I’ll be speaking at CSW Europe this week about crowd-sourced big data to make mobility easier for disabled citizens, and the up-coming Accessible Smart Cities Round Table event AbilityNet is organising with G3ict and Microsoft in London looks at how connected, digitally inclusive, cities of the future will be better for every citizen. So what benefits could there be for disabled people?

What is a Smart City?


A smart city is one that extensively uses connected devices, commonly called the ‘internet of things‘ or IOT, with the specific aim of delivering services as sustainably and efficiently as possible.


We’ve all heard of or seen gadgets that can be used around the house to automate some of the many tedious tasks we have to perform such as switching on or off lights, closing the garage door or turning up the heat. A tap on your phone’s screen or a voice command will do it for you

Automating your lighting may seem frivolous, but being able to turn off the stove from work when you get a notification that it was left on from a smart smoke alarm could prevent a catastrophe. And it’s hardly trivial when people with disabilities are being hugely empowered by IOT and smarter gadgets around the home.

My sister, for example, is both blind and paralysed with MS and now has the world at her fingertips thanks to her Amazon Echo. She is able to choose her own entertainment such as music, radio stations or podcasts, control her environment with connected smart devices (such as operate her TV with audio description activated) and even make purchases online – all with her voice.

And as the Echo has no screen it doesn’t matter a jot that she can’t see.

Removing mundane tasks will help us work and play smarter


On a much larger scale smart cities will leverage digital-first services, informed by a veritable army of connected devices, to automate many of the more time-consuming tasks that we all have to undertake every day – tasks that contribute to cities being the crowded, chaotic and inefficient places they are today.

A classic example is the parking meter. An estimated 30% of inner-city traffic comprises people looking for a parking space. Give people an app that shows where available spaces are and allows them to pay digitally, and they will never again have to drive in circles, only to discover they don’t have any coins to feed the meter. This will save time and money and reduce frustration, stress, congestion and pollution.

Now imagine that you are disabled and looking for an even-more-illusive disabled parking bay. A smarter city, equipped with the sensors to know which bays (including disabled spaces) are empty and where, combined with the right digital infrastructure to guide drivers to them and easily pay for parking, will help every driver and especially those with more specific needs.  Add autonomous vehicles into the mix – driverless vehicles that are set to revolutionise the very concept of car ownership - and a smarter city will be a much less congested place.

At its core, the objective of a smart city is to remove these myriad of mundane tasks that don’t contribute to our work or enjoyment.


The end of queues?

In the connected smart city, people will only physically 'show up' to have an experience or receive a service, not to plan it or purchase it.

Time-consuming activities that do not contribute to work or recreation will be eliminated, such as standing in line to pick up tickets, traipsing to the clinic to pick up a prescription only to then have to take it to the pharmacy and come back again later when it’s ready, or still circling looking for that pesky parking spot.

All services will be optimised so that you only need to travel to experience things face-to-face, such as hands-on work, taking in a show or eating out. All other activities will either be fully automated or able to be done remotely. I’ve explored at length in other posts how technology is a great leveler for people with disabilities.

Providing an accessible (or inclusive) digital interface or technological solution to everyday or professional tasks will disproportionately benefit people with disabilities. If these solutions aren’t accessible, however, then they will be presenting virtual barriers that are as real as physical steps into City Hall.


The cities of 2050 – more people, more disabilities

Making our cities smarter and more inclusive will become increasingly important over the coming decades. According to the United Nations by 2050 more than 6.4 billion people will be urban — that's nearly two-thirds of the world’s population. Moreover, the world’s population is aging – and with age comes a higher level of ill-health, impairment and disability.

It’s clear that smart cities won’t happen overnight. Now is the time to begin the process of building integrated, tech-enabled cities, with a seamless flow between the different services provided for residents, commuters and visitors.

AbilityNet hopes that the principals of inclusive design will be placed at the very heart of this initiative, ensuring that everyone, whatever their needs, will benefit from a smarter urban future.

Find out more about accessible smart cities

• Check out their Smart Cities 4 All resources published by G3ICT is the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies - an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 by the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

Dubbed the ‘world’s first bionic Olympics’ the world Cybathlon championship in Kloten, Switzerland in October featured six types of contest, with disabled competitors contestants form around the world using and controlling assistive devices and robotic technologies. Cutting bread, climbing stairs and unwrapping a sugar cube may not sound like the ultimate in sporting challenges but the amazing competitions that took place showed how advanced technologies can help people with disabilities in daily life.

The events thoroughly tested how these technologies allow users to complete day-to-day tasks. For example, in the ‘powered arm prosthesis race’, competitors with an arm amputation tried to complete tasks such as cutting and spreading jam on a slice of bread, carrying a tray of items to a table, opening a door and fitting a light bulb – all using a powered prosthetic arm. In the ‘powered leg prosthesis race’, competitors (referred to as “pilots”, as they need to control or steer their technology) were timed using a bionic exoskeleton suit to navigate stairs, slopes and uneven surfaces.

Cybathlon was created by Robert Riener, head of Health Sciences and Technology, and Professor of Sensory-Motor Systems at the ETH Zurich university in Switzerland. Riener was inspired to start the event when he decided through his daily work that “current assistive technologies are not functional enough and not accepted by many people.”

Further inspiration for Cybathlon came after Riener read a newspaper article about a man with a motorised knee prosthesis running up 103 floors of Chicago’s Willis Tower. Explaining the concept behind Cybathlon, Riener said: “We want to promote the development of useful, acceptable, assistive devices for people with motor disabilities, and not just find the strongest and fastest person with a disability. That is why we have designed race tracks and obstacles that have a meaning for daily life.”

Pilots of future tech

Competitors in Cybathlon are not professional athletes, and instead have to master the devices and technology they use in the events. “That is why we call them ‘pilots’,” said Riener.

The technologies used are largely specialist and highly advanced. Asked if it presents a problem that many disabled people can’t access or afford these technologies, Riener said: “It is normal that the newest high-tech is most expensive … However, we need new devices popping-up to shift previous ideas. High-tech will become used by a broader population and become cheaper, if it functions well. Furthermore, we urge politicians to give larger funding to high-tech devices for people with disabilities.”

A total of 74 athletes from 25 countries took part. Other contests included the ‘powered wheelchair race’, the ‘functional electrical stimulation bike race’ (where pilots with a spinal cord injury or SCI pedal bikes by stimulating their muscles with electrodes), and the ‘brain-computer interface race’ (pilots with an SCI navigate computer game avatars purely through technology that reads their brain signals).

Find out more

• the official Cybathlon site
• The official Cybathlon Youtube Channel
• How robots are helping with image recognition

Based upon a recent article in e-Access Bulletin and used with kind permission of the editor.

It is Macular Disease Awareness week this week.  We wanted to explore how technology might be able to help you if you have this condition.

Commonly asked questions about macular disease and macular degeneration

My Gran has macular disease and is struggling to order her shopping. What quick and easy changes could I make to help her out?

You might be surprised just how much you can do to change the settings on your computer just by making a few changes. A good start would be to go to our My Computer My Way website which provides step by step guides on how to customise Windows, Apple and Android computers, laptops and smartphones.

Hopefully that will help but if you are still having difficulties we have a network of volunteers who can help people in their own homes.

I can cope fairly well with using a computer but I struggle to cope with my correspondence.

There are definitely lots of options that can help. You can either scan letters in with a scanner and use Optical Character Recognition and text to speech to read it out to you, or you can use a device such as Readdesk to take a photo of the document and then have it read out to you. If you have a smartphone there are some really useful apps to consider using which will alow you to deal with correspondence and can also help with other aspects of your life.

My Dad is trying to finish a book of poetry off but can't really see the letters on a keyboard. What can help him?

There are lots of different types of keyboards available which could help people who are having dificulty seeing the keyboard. For example a larger keyboard with hi-vis stickers on it might be useful - these can be purchased from many different places including the RNIB shop.  You can even get large print wireless keyboard too, so this cuts down on the amount of wires everywhere.  Also don't forget that voice recognition is an easy alternative to using the keyboard, and you  can easily make the text easier to see on the screen.

Case Study: Harry and Helen go shopping again

Harry and his wife Helen are both very independent and enjoy going the local supermarket to get their groceries.  They need to find a useful way of being able to make shopping lists throughout the week so they can remember what to buy on a Friday morning which is their shopping morning.    They have just bought a Amazon Echo device as they like to listen to different music and radio stations.

One of our volunteers Lucy showed them both how to make lists on their Echo device and then getting Siri to read out the list to them when they are in the supermarket.

A new smartphone app which lets people with sight loss know when their bus, or bus stop, is approaching, will be brought to life following an accessible tech hack weekend in which AbilityNet staff were volunteers and judges.

The Barclays' 'Access for All' Maker Change event earlier this autum, was held at the 'Makerversity' lab in London's Somerset House. Over the weekend, 30 volunteers work on six different accessibility challenges to help disabled people in every day life.

The challenges were set by clients of the charities Whizz Kids, Leonard Cheshire and Shaw Trust and Barclays' disability employee network group. Harry App, worked on by a team including AbilityNet's manager of accessibility user testing - Cristina Cabezas - was chosen as the winner. 

The App was inspired by Leonard Cheshire client Angharad, know as Harry, who was born with a number of eye conditions, including nystagmus, ocular albinism, photophobia and sight loss. Angharad told the team that catching the bus is a daily battle because she can't identify the bus route number and didn't know when to get off.

Using existing technology, the team created a smartphone app to identify bus route details, and discreetly alert Harry when to get off the bus. A beacon in the driver’s cockpit will emit a signal for the user's phone, so that they can identify the correct bus. The app will now be brought to life by developers at University College London.

“It was fantastic to participate in the challenge; so many creative and brilliant minds put their ideas into action,” says Cristina (second from right in photo). “Being a 'maker' on the Harry App was a great opportunity. The best thing is seeing that our project is going to be developed by the UCL. The idea will help so many people.”

Cristina and her colleague Adi Latif, who is accessibility and usability consultant for AbilltyNet, worked alongside innovators from Barclays Eagle Labs and those from Infosys, as well as experts from FabLabs and Makerversity. Teams used the latest in 3D printing and laser cutting technology, concept design and created prototype gadgets and gizmos to overcome the challenges.

See more of what happened on the day, here.

You might also like to check out our piece on the navigation app for people with sight loss, Wayfindr

Or, see the article on Wearable tech that interprets sign language

AbilityNet has long been a champion of the potential for the next generation of tech to transform the lives of disabled people, from autonomous cars and virtual assistants to computers you can control with your brain, but many people think that rosy future is tinged with dark storm clouds.

"The rise of powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity. We do not yet know which," said Prof Hawking at the recent launch of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge University. So how worried should we be?

Two years of warning that AI could destroy humanity

Two years ago notable figures in the science and tech worlds including Professor Hawking, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak all expressed their concerns about AI and the potential for where the technology might lead - though Professor Hawking's was the most apocalyptic vision of a world where robots decide they don't need us any more.

In an article for the BBC at the time Stephen Hawking outlined his concerns that the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. The purpose of their warnings was for people to take this potential threat seriously and join the scientists and tech experts in exploring how to avoid such a cataclysmic future scenario.

Getting the best brains on the job to avoid an AI-annihilation

It looks like people were listening. This centre for the study of future AI at Cambridge University will get the best minds thinking about how to avoid an AI apocalypse. "I'm glad someone was listening," Professor Hawking said, when he gave a short speech that summarised the aims of the institute. See the full speech below.

He outlined the benefits and dangers of the technology and pointed to rapid progress in areas like self-driving cars and the triumph of Google's DeepMind in the game of Go against the reigning world champion.

Technology for good

Every year AbilityNet hosts an amazing event called the Tech for Good Awards which celebrates everything good about tech - how tech is helping businesses, communities, charities and individuals across all areas of society. This year's winners include a simple app to match local charities that need help with local businesses that have time or money to spare, an indoor navigation system to aid blind people in unfamiliar places and an app for sex workers to send out anonymous warnings to both the police and other workers in the area about violent or threatening individuals.

AbilityNet also has a website absolutely crammed with resources (you’re looking at it) all about how technology is able to help people overcome challenges they may have.

Now it might be that our firm conviction that technology is a powerful force for good in the world is colouring our perception of the future. When Professor Hawking said, "I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer.

It therefore follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence — and exceed it" we at AbilityNet begin to imagine all the amazing things that could result from such artificial brains – from virtual assistants such as Siri that can take the heavy lifting out of everyday tasks to autonomous vehicles that can take me, as a blind person, wherever I need to go.

An AI Future to help people with disabilities

The power of AI to assist people with disabilities in particular is enormous. It promises quicker and more natural access to info and functionality that would take a lot longer for people with sensory or physical disabilities and provides support for people with learning difficulties who otherwise would need human assistance.

We can also foresee the emergence of  AI-based doctors or specialists making expert diagnoses to help alleviate or avoid impairment, AI-driven robot surgeons and carers who don't get tired or make mistakes and deep-learning algorithms crunching big data to progress medical research into diseases and disability.

And then there is the potential for AI to provide company and support for people with autism, dementia or anyone who is socially isolated.

Tech with ethics

If we go back to that example of self-driving cars for a moment, we can already see where artificial intelligence has had to be programmed to make very real ethical decisions.

Where an autonomous car is faced with a crisis situation it must weigh up the consequences of its actions and, quite literally, decide upon the most ethical path. Where it must swerve to save its passengers it may be faced with the decision of whether to drive into a bus-stop with people waiting, or alternatively swerve the other way and hit a single person on the other side of the street.

Some instances are even more nuanced. Does the car gage the worth of a child as being more than an old person? Are two children and a mother ‘worth’ more than four middle-aged men?

These eventualities may seem far-fetched but they have already had to be pre-programmed into the self-driving software of cars in case they ever materialise.

Cautiously optimistic for the AI future

So we can see that it is possible to impose our ethical values on tech. We hope that the future of AI will incorporate that approach and, unless and until we are sure that the artificial brains that we are developing can truly know right from wrong, let’s not put them in charge of such delicate capabilities as nuclear missiles (War Games anyone?), vital infrastructure such as power and water, or indeed their own on/off switch.

Professor Hawking said that AI has the potential to lead to the eradication of disease and poverty and the conquest of climate change. But could also bring us all sorts of things we weren’t bargaining on such as autonomous weapons, economic disruption and machines that develop a will of their own in conflict with ours.

At AbilityNet we’ll be bringing you all the latest developments in this area, but we’re hopeful that the right minds can continue to make technology a powerful force for good in the world. We wish all the boffins at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence the very best of luck with their mission.

More information

• Follow AbilityNet on Facebook
• Read more of Robin's blog posts about disability and tech
• Follow AbilityNet on Twitter
• Follow Robin on Twitter
• Sign up for news about Tech4Good Awards - nominations for 2017 open on 7 March 2017

As well as experiencing difficulty with reading and word comprehension, being dyslexic can mean a person finds it more difficult to organise things and process information. October is Dyslexia Awarness Month, so we talked to David Hunnisett, chief technical officer at Elidir Health, who is dyslexic, about the tech tricks he uses for a smoother work and personal life.

1. Apple Keyboard shortcuts

I use Apple's OSX operating system and the keyboard shortcuts listed here are so useful for me as some who's dyslexic. It's taken a little while to learn them, but it makes everything so much quicker and helps me focus when I don't have to keep diverting my attention to menus etc., Click here for keyboard shortcuts you can use with Youtube, Firefox, Microsoft and more. 

2. Mindnode: formulating ideas and written work

If I have to do something big, like writing my thesis, I use Mindnode - a mindmapping app to plan each chapter. This means I can jot down my thoughts, ideas, links etc., in any order they come to me and the software rearranges them so they make more sense, and then I can start to see how to make my work flow.

3. Emacs and LaTex for creating documents

I find using LaTex to create presentations and documents more logical than standard word processing applications. LaTeX is a document preparation system that doesn't use the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) system. It's useful because it allows me to focus on words and structure separately, rather than being distracted by how a document looks visually. To edit text files during my job I use a text editor called Emacs, It is extensible and customisable, so functionality can be easily adapted and added to.

4. Audacity for checking document structure

After I've written the structure of something, I say it into a recording in Audacity, which I have on my desktop, and play it back. It allows me to fiddle with play speed and listen more slowly if I need to.

5. OSX/ iOS reminder and Siri for my shopping list

I use Reminders (OSX / ios) to keep up-to-date lists that I share with my wife. The location based notifications are very, very handy. I select stuff of our lists and tick it off as I go along and it disappears from the screen. To me it's much easier than seeing a written list with loads of crossings out. I can then select items we regularly need each time and insert them again, rather than re-writing. The location based reminders mean my phone knows when I've arrived in a certain place and it reminds me verbally what I was meant to do. It's made me much more organised. Ie, I might set it so it reminds me as I walk through my front door that I need to read the gas meter.

More information

• VIDEO: Dyslexia and Computing Tips
• FACTSHEET: Dyslexia and Computing

More people are making their own video content, but it often isn't fully accessible. Check out our simple guide for advice on making sure your videos can be enjoyed by a bigger audience. Ideally, also test your film with people who have a range of abilities.

1. Don't rely on Youtube's automatic subtitles

Subtitles are essential for people with hearing loss, but don't rely on Youtube's without editing them first, you could also write and upload your own or ask a subtitling company.  

YouTube itself has provided some very helpful information on creating subtitles and closed captions on your Youtube videos. If you want to keep ownership of your video and not have it on YouTube, Paypal offers a good accessible video player option for videos that you host yourself.

2. Don't forget voice overs

If a slide/shot works on a visual level but has no voiceover it won't be seen or understood by someone with sight loss. Ensure that your voiceovers don't leave people with sight loss out of the full picture.

3. Be mindful of colours

Are the colours you’re using on your subtitles accessible? In particular, be mindful that people who are colour blind or dyslexic might not see particular colours / colour contrasts. Black text on a white background is often a good, clear option.

4. Consider music levels

Make sure the music on your film isn't too disruptive. Most people will struggle to hear or understand dialogue over certain levels, but autistic people, those with learning disabilities or, cognitive disabilities, might find it even harder.

5. Minimise flashing Images

Using flashing images makes video unwatchable for those with people with photo-sensitivity epilepsy. Take a look at these guidelines from the Epilepsy Society.

6. Don't forget people with both sight and hearing loss

Some TED talk videos have captions and a text transcript option. One main advantage of this is that people who have sight and hearing loss can have captions and voice converted to braille.

More information

• If you want to further explore how to make videos accessible, we recommend this article
• Check out our youtube channel here to see examples of accessible videos
• AbilityNet helps companies make their media accessible. Click here for more information 

WordPress is a website creation platform that powers a huge proportion of the internet - the current estimate is that 75 million websites use Wordpress which makes it the biggest platform on the web. Which makes it big news when a new accessibility checker comes along to make sure that as many of them as possible work for people with disabilities.

Making accessibility easier

The best time to get help with accessibility is when you are working on your web pages. Many people build their site then check for accessibility, when it's much easier to build it in from the start.

WordPress plugin developer Rachel Carden recently released wA11y - a new plugin that offers valuable feedback on the accessibility of your web pages BEFORE you publish them.

“One in five people have a disability,” says Carden. “If your site is not accessible, you could be excluding 20% of your potential users, customers, students, etc. You could be restricting your information from 20% of the world. If you place importance on web accessibility, you’re saying that you want your information, products, and services to be available to everyone. And not just those who can see, or who can hear, or can control a keyboard and mouse.”

“What’s more is that the basis of good accessibility is good markup, so by improving your website’s accessibility, you’re also improving its structure and SEO,” adds Carden.

The right tools for the job

Intended as a ‘toolbox’ of utilities and resources, it currently includes support for two well-known web accessibility evaluation tools: Tota11y and WAVE.

Tota11y

Created by Khan Academy, Tota11y is an accessibility visualization toolkit that makes it easy to see violations. Launched by clicking the glasses icon and loading as a single JavaScript file, it offers instant feedback for improving the site’s interaction with assistive technologies - such as magnification or screen-reading software used by people with a vision impairment.

Tota11y provides feedback for headings, contrast, link text, labels, image alt-text, landmarks, and also includes an experimental screen reader ‘wand’ that views elements as a screen reader would.

Running ‘real-time’ within your browser, Tota11y can even evaluate pages that have not yet been published.

Wave

The WAVE evaluation tool is another useful aid to ensuring that your pages are accessible. Unlike Tota11y, however, it can only analyse pages from a live website and thus only works with publicly-accessible sites.

Wave is perhaps also less intuitive to use than Tota11y but still provides valuable feedback along with the ability to filter the evaluation by different accessibility standards: Full, Section 508, and WCAG 2.0 A and AA. WAVE also includes a code viewer for examining the page’s markup directly from the evaluation screen.

Of course neither tool will provide the full picture. No automated process can tell whether an image’s alternative text is appropriate, for example, or whether a particular instance of JavaScript will work with the full range of assistive technologies. Whatever the tools can check there will always remain the need for human input – and perhaps even the expert services from organisations such as AbilityNet.

Make your content freely available to everyone

Carden will continue to develop the wA11y toolbox of utilities to help WordPress users all over the world make their content more usable and accessible by as many users as possible. She looks forward to feedback and suggestions from users who have ideas for additional tools and functionality.

“You know that saying ‘Information wants to be free?'” says Carden. “I wholeheartedly believe that information needs to be accessible. And, in my experience, when people don’t place emphasis on accessibility it’s because they don’t realize its impact. But, once they do, they’re on board.”

Where's wA11y?

Download the tool for free from the wA11y WordPress.org plug-in page

Footnote – get your comments for WCAG2.1 in before 1 November

For just over a year now the Working Group have been inviting public feedback into the development of WCAG 2.1 which will help make the accessibility guidelines more relevant for mobile. Nearly a decade after their finalisation, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) remain as relevant today as they have ever been - perhaps even more so where the needs of those with a disability are arguably identical to the needs of every user in this mobile-first world.

For example, trying to use a small screen under the glare of the midday sun or one-handed as you walk down the street with a take-away coffee, you have exactly the same requirements as someone with a vision impairment or motor difficulty - exactly the same. However, this proliferation of devices with small screens and primarily touch-based interfaces has led to challenges making content that conforms to WCAG 2.0 accessible.

The next iteration of the guidelines is open for comment now. The deadline for submissions is looming (1 November) so be sure to get any feedback into the working group on time by emailing public-comments-wcag20@w3.org.

According to mental health charity Mind, one in four of us will have a mental health issue sometime in our lives. Unfortunately there is still a stigma surrounding people with mental health conditions but there are lots of ways that technology can help you work effectively.

Frequently asked questions about mental health and technology
 

I find it really difficult to stay organised and I seem to try to do all my tasks at once.  How can I work more effectively?

Software such as Listastic can help you write lists of tasks that you need to do and more importantly be able to prioritise them into different categories.

So for example you could have a list of tasks you need to do today, in the next couple of days, or in the next week. If you have an Apple watch Listastic will work with this too.
 

Due to my mental health condition I find that I can easily become fixated on getting work finished.  I need to be able to “take time out”. How can I do this?

Sometimes it is hard to take a break.  There are a number of apps and programs which force you to just take a little bit of time out. These were originally designed to help people who are susceptible to Repetitive Strain Injury but they work just as well as a “break reminder”.

Examples are Stand Up! This is an Ipad app and if you have a Windows device have a look at some software called Workrave.
 

I have ADHD and I seem to spend a lot of time on the computer without getting much done.  This is starting to be an issue at work. Is there anything that can help me?

It is easy to sit in front of the computer and get distracted. For example you could be spending lots of times going through your emails when you should be finishing off an important document.

You might find it really useful to analyse all of the time that you spend on your computer. Software such as Rescuetime might be useful as you can start to learn how to use your time more effectively.

Case study: Amelia feels more in control of her work

Amelia works in the banking industry. She felt that her mental health was impacting on her work and she felt that her productivity was suffering as a result.  She went and spoke to her manager who suggested that Amelia completed a Clear Talents profile so her manager could get a better understanding of how her mental health affected her at work.

When her manager looked through the results she wondered if technology might help. She contacted AbilityNet and we carried out an assessment on Amelia to see if we could suggest better working strategies and software apps that might help her out.

With our help, Amelia is able to effectively manage her day to say activities in a far more structured way so she manages to complete one task before moving onto another. She is also able to take breaks without worrying about her work output.  She now feels more confident in her current role and is looking at promotion within her current organisation.

Amelia has recently become a mentor to other employees who have mental health issues because she realises that using technology within her work can not only benefit her, but more importantly benefit her company.

How can we help?

AbilityNet provides a range of services to help disabled people and older people.

• Call our free Helpline on 0800 269 545 and our friendly, knowledgeable staff will offer one-to-one help.
• If you are in work your employer has a responsibility to make Reasonable Adjustments which include helping you with invisible illnesses. Find out more about how we help disabled in the workplace.
• Arrange a home visit from one of our amazing AbilityNet ITCanHelp volunteers. They can come to your home, or help you over the phone.
• We have a range of factsheets which talk in detail about technology that might help you, which can be downloaded for free. You may find our factsheets talking about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.
• My Computer My Way is our free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tables and smartphones.

Our smartphones are already pretty smart, but what if they could detect emotions and suggest appropriate information, activities or media accordingly? Empathetic devices are just round the corner and could have a huge impact on mental health, medical research - as well as suggesting the perfect song to match your mood.

Getting to the heart of human emotion

For a long time now software has been very good at detecting emotions, as seen in this clip of emotion recognition software in action from 2010.

Able to detect real-time micro and multiple facial expressions, this software is actually better at recognising human emotions than humans are – tests showing that it gets it right 65% of the time as opposed to 56% for us mere mortals.

Now imagine how empowering that would be for someone with Asperger’s or autism who finds it extremely difficult to interpret people’s emotions. You could combine that with a heads up display (as with the now discontinued Google Glass or many of the other smart glasses on the market) that tells you to “Tell another one, they liked it!” or “I think they could do with some sympathy.”

A similar approach for someone like myself who is blind would include a discrete earpiece (such as the newly announced Apple AirPods or the Moto Hint) that would verbally announce detected emotions.

However the draw-back with this approach is that you have to point a camera at someone’s face. Whether this is built into smart glasses or you’re actually pointing your phone or wearable camera at them, it’s a pretty intrusive and limiting approach.

Now imagine if emotions could be detected by wireless signals alone.

Smart emotion detection

A new research project from MIT’s Computers Science and Artificial Intelligence lab is able detect emotions with an even greater degree of accuracy than the above software. The device, called the EQ-Radio, uses wireless radio signals  to pick up emotions including excitement, sadness, anger and happiness with around 87 percent accuracy.

The system detects subtle cues from the subject including breathing patterns and heart rhythm without the need for any on-body sensors whatsoever.

Emotional intelligence in all your devices

As this approach requires nothing to be worn by the user, and avoids the potential accuracy pitfalls of camera-based facial recognition software (such as the subject being partially or wholly out of view of the camera, being poorly lit, wearing glasses or make-up etc), its creators believe it could be the ideal technology for companies looking to build emotional intelligence into their products.

Professor Dina Katabi, who led the development of the EQ-Radio at MIT, suggests that it could be used in a number of ways across various industries including entertainment, advertising and healthcare sectors.

For example, EQ Radio could be used in smart TVs (or smart set-top boxes such as the Apple TV) to more accurately gauge viewer responses to ads and programming, or built into a smart home hub (such as Google Home) to trigger automated actions with connected devices like stereos and lighting, adjusting the mood of you home to counter or augment your emotions.

A feel-good future

EQ-Radio could eventually find its way into smartphones and even everyday domestic appliances. Having a kettle that can tell jokes when you’re in the mood might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a self-locking medicine cabinet when you’re feeling low might actually save lives.

My smartwatch can already send my live heartbeat to a loved one and I can foresee a future where we’ll be ever-aware of the emotions of our friends and family and more in-tune with our own.

Find out more

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