ncbi presentation 27th april 2016
TRANSCRIPT
Harnessing UbiquitousTechnology
Kieran Hanrahan National Learning Network
April 27th 2016
[email protected] www.nln.ie
“Life is not about living
without problems.
Life is about solving
problems.”
Tim Krause
Solving Problems
• The thing is...
• We tend to use the tools that we understand and that are readily available to us...
“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
Abraham Maslow
So... Half the
battle is selecting the right tool or tools for the job.
• “It’s not easy... being green”
• But it is cheaper!
• Here’s seven tools that are likely to have a big impact on our lives soon...
1 Augmented & Virtual Reality
• Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information in various formats with your real life environment in real time...
• Unlike virtual reality (VR), which creates a totally artificial environment, augmented reality uses the existing environment and overlays digitised information on top of it.
2 Digitised Information
• The most commonly encountered formats for digital information presentation in augmented reality is graphical, often with additional text.
• The beauty of digitised information is that it can be presented in any format. This means that we can present it in the format that best meets the needs of a person with a disability.
Digitised Information
• Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) is built into most devices e.g. phones. On iOS most of these features are built into the operating system. Android wants you to build it using mostly free apps.
• The ability to offer information in different formats on personal devices has not been exploited yet – AAC is still a passive feature. You need to tell it what to do. Artificial Intelligence may change this, soon...
In April 2016 there were some 85 publishers and over 1,300 datasets already available – free – through a key word searchable site, covering almost every topic in Irish life...
3 Open DataData.gov.ie is the Open Data portal for the Irish government and Irish public sector.
Its purpose is to promote innovation and transparency via the publication of Irish Public Sector data in open, free and reusable formats.
Open Data• It is Free.• It is Digitised and can be presented in various formats.• It is Reliable and Valid.• It is Reusable.• It is available in Real Time.
• It will grow provided...
• People have access to Broadband• People become Digitally Literate
4 Personal Technology
Yes, everyone know that every smart phone has more computing power than NASA needed for the moon landings in 1969...
5 Intelligent Sensors
• In 2014 Intel and Ascending Technologies showed off a drone that navigated an obstacle course and automatically avoided people who walked into it’s path using Intel's RealSense camera module. It is four millimetres thick and weighs just eight grams.
• Emerging sensor technology will see us move from rehabilitation to restoration. Restoration of lost or failing functions and/or senses is now possible and will become the norm; - provided there is sufficient demand to prompt the required R&TD investment.
Emerging Technologies 2
Search on “Second Sight Macular Degeneration Bionic Implant”
6 Navigational Aids
• “Geo fencing” is a free way by which we can create virtual boundaries on or around specific locations.
• Beacons are physical devices that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) proximity sensing to indicate a unique location. Bluetooth is available on all smart phones, so beacons can work in your own home or workplace.
• Telematics merges telecommunications & infomatics, e.g. the navigation systems used in autonomous cars.
7 Artificial Intelligence
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is the science of doing by computer things that people can do now...
• Most of us now use smart phones that can recognize human speech. Image-recognition technology allows us pass through border and airport security checks faster.
• Self-driving cars and automated flying drones will use AI. • In 2016, AlphaGo, Google’s AI computer system, beat the
world’s best Go player, the Korean champion Lee Sedol.
• AI means computers can learn, including on how best to present digitised information to each person...
• Can we find novel combinations of ubiquitous technology, Open Data and other elements that will support persons with a disability to engage in previously inaccessible activities?
• We believe the answer is a resounding YES.
Safe & Independent Travel
• With several international and local partners NLN intends to develop a unique system that will support persons with a disability use transport systems safely and independently.
• It uses ubiquitous technology – smart phones – and technology already built into most of the transport systems deployed across the EU.
• It will use Open Data.• It will access digitised data in real time.• It will present this data in the format that best
suits the individual user, e.g. through voice synthesis for people with a visual impairment.
• It will use augmented reality, if appropriate.• Our aim is that it will support any user,
regardless of the nature of their impairment.
SITuAR: Safe & Independent Travel
• This concept has the potential to transform lives. For the most part it uses free or cheap and, above all, readily available technologies.
• Our aim is that it will act as a near invisible support system bringing us closer to a truly inclusive society.
• If the current funding application is successful, we will be looking for associate partners.
Safe & Independent Travel
