Assistive Technologies to Support Distance Learning for Students with Disabilities

Nowadays, the videoconferencing technology can meet the demands of university students who are unable to attend lectures held in a classroom. However, persons with disabilities, especially those with severe motor impairments, may face difficulties in controlling many video conference devices, like motorized Internet Protocol (IP) cameras. In order to address these issues, we propose an initial study regarding the usage of assistive technology systems aimed at simplifying access and control of such kind of networked cameras. In particular, by using low cost sensors and existing assistive technologies, a personalized human computer interface has been prototyped to better support the interaction between the remote student with a disability and the academic environment The paper describes the first design of the system and its initial implementation.