ANT facilitates web access for all
User requirements for the visually impaired or the physically challenged have not been the major focus of developers. With the highly competitive nature of hardware and software development accelerating at break-neck speeds, this exclusion widens all the time. Web browser interfaces for example, have literally exploded in volume, each catering to a particular niche, each offering better features, customisable looks and of course, that ever important "personalisation" aspect. As web interaction becomes more important, not just to surf the web for entertainment but for everyday collection of information as well as for work, it becomes more imperative that solutions for the socially challenged are found. ANT, developed under the IPCA project co-funded by the European Commission, seeks to develop intelligent interaction mechanisms for the socially challenged with severe motor and speech disabilities to control web-based applications. It may be named after a small creature, but ANT has some big accomplishments. It is primarily based on a number of sensors (MMS) and a standard operating system for standard PCs. It emulates keyboard and mouse activity (the former having an on-screen replication as well), to enhance user interactivity. Based on Open Source components as well as rendering engines for different operating systems, the developed browser has created a variety of interfaces and views of web pages. This facilitates user activity. A training system is included, whereby a user, together with assistance from a specialist, can test and select the most appropriate combination of sensors. System sensitivity can also be adapted to suit the range of motion a user has, thereby ensuring a customised performance that meets user needs perfectly. Learning how the system works is fun, as the user can customise motion ranges through bundled game software. A personal profile manager and control system are also included whereby different ANT parameters can be utilised. Such features include word prediction, mouse sensitivity and speed, layout, shortcuts, keyboard scanning and the activation/deactivation of different IPCA components. A further component of the ANT system is the Emotional Response Monitoring System. The ERMS is part of an exploratory action, designed to demonstrate alternative Human-Computer Interaction paradigms. It also monitors user satisfaction with the intention to enhance the system's responses. ANT provides therefore, a means by which, an often overlooked sector of society, can be included, not only in the technological marvels we take for granted, but in a system that provided better life quality for them too.
