AAC-RERC Themes

New Interface Technologies for Persons Not Well-Served by Current AAC Systems

Current AAC technology access methods have not changed markedly over the past decade. Nearly all AAC consumers access their technology through direct selection using their hands, through head pointing, or through single switch scanning. Advances in sensing technology and processing capability make it feasible to develop new interfaces that use residual or multiple sites to access technology. This theme focuses on the needs of persons who possess residual capabilities (voice, speech, gestures, and brain neuro-electric signals) that are not being used to access AAC or AT technology. The theme will increase the use of AAC technologies by individuals with severe physical limitations and will expand the options people have to interface with AAC technologies. In doing so, it will increase the freedom of personal choice, speed, and communication effectiveness of existing access options.

• R2-A: Contextual Scenes for Beginning Communicators
• R2-B: Contextual Scenes for Adults with Aphasia
• R2-C: Contextual Scenes and Intelligent Agents for Persons with Autism
• D1-A: Technology and Policy Watch
• D2-A: AAC Technology to Supplement Intelligibility of Residual Speech
• D2-B: Recognition of Dysarthric Speech
• D2-C: Gesture Recognition
• D2-D: Brain Interface
• D3-A: AAC WebCrawling-Communication Content from the Internet
• D3-B: Enhancing the Role of Listeners in AAC Interactions