Pattern recognition in service of people with disabilities
Louis Coetzee, Etienne Barnard · 2004
South Africa has a large community of people living with a variety of disabilities. Very often they can be productive members of society, but are excluded due to the high cost of assistive technologies. These assistive technologies are based on a variety of pattern-recognition techniques and algorithms. This paper analyses a number of disabilities, their assistive devices and the associated technologies in order to highlight the role pattern recognition plays in enabling accessibility and improving human computer interaction for people living with disabilities. In addition we point out some areas where pattern-recognition research can beneficially be adapted to address the needs of people with disabilities, and argue for the use of open-source technologies to improve accessibility for a larger part of the disabled community in South Africa.