ibm accessible air travel kiosk

IBM Human Ability & Accessibility CenterUS Access Board Public Meeting, Dallas, TexasSeptember 12, 2011

© 2011 IBM Corporation

IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk

© 2011 IBM Corporation2


Topics

IBM – A Century of Innovation Accessible Air Travel Kiosk

– Background– Components– Demonstration– Benefits

Industry Considerations Questions & Answers



IBM – A Century of Innovation



IBM – A Century of Innovation

2011 marks IBM’s Centennial Year IBM “Icons of Progress” include:

– Accessible Workforce (e.g. progressive employment practices as early as 1914, pioneering accessible technology solutions, employee retention / advancement)

– Innovating the Self-Service Kiosk (e.g. magnetic stripe technologies, early ATMs, leadership in multiple industries, features including accessibility)



IBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center Mission

Enhancing human ability through technology innovation, so everyone can maximize their

potential, regardless of age or ability.



Supporting Harmonized Accessibility Standards IBM has long history of leadership / participation in worldwide

governmental and NGOs that develop accessibility standards– US Access Board: (1) Vice-Chair, EITAAC 508 (1998-99); (2) Member,

TEITAC 508 Refresh (2008-09)– Canada: Contribution to Ontarians with Disabilities Act Standards– Global: (1) Founding sponsor of W3C Web Accessibility Initiative

(WAI); (2) Key roles on Steering Council & Web Content, Authoring Tools, User Agent Guidelines Work Groups; (3) Membership in total of 20+ groups (e.g. IMS, ISO, etc.)

Benefits of harmonized accessibility standards Companies can devote more resources to R&D of accessible

products Accessible I/T will be available to more people worldwide



IBM Accessible Kiosk – Background



IBM is a Leading Supplier of Airport/Airline Kiosks Track Record

– World leader in travel kiosk market– Solutions delivered to 70+ air travel clients

Proven Technologies– Scalability, performance, availability– End-to-end offerings: Enclosures/HW, Kiosk

Mgmt SW, Kiosk/Mobile Check-In Apps– Some sold via partners (e.g. Enclosures)

Proven Approach– Single point of accountability– Conforms to IATA Common Use Self-Service

(CUSS) Standard, which IBM contributes to Customer Focus

– Multi-channel strategy provides for an enhanced user experience

– In 2007, we developed accessibility features



IBM Leadership in Accessible Self-Service Kiosks

Research• Need for accessible self-

service travel kiosks, IBM (2008)

• Accessible self-service kiosks can help companies innovate, Check-In Magazine (2008)

Standards• HW Self Contained, Clos

ed Product Guidelines, IBM (2001)

• Input to US Section 508 Standards (1999, 2009)

• Participation in IATA CUSS Accessibility Dialogue (2007)

Solutions• Automated Postal Cent

er® Kiosk, Trace Center Study (2004)

• Accessible Travel Kiosk, Design@IBM (2007)

• Accessible Self-Checkout, Design@IBM (2009)



IBM Accessibility Guidelines – Kiosk Products

Controls and latches– Controls / latches should be reachable,

operable with one hand / minimal dexterity– Provide alternative forms of user

identification for biometric identification– Provide alternative input methods for

touchscreens or touch-operated controls– Products shall be usable by PWDs without

requiring an end-user to attach assistive technology to the product

Keys and Keypads– Provide status of all locking or toggle keys

visually and either through touch or sound– Provide keys which are tactilely discernible

without activating them– If key repeat supported, delay before

repeat shall be adjustable to at least 2 seconds. Key repeat rate shall be adjustable to 2 seconds per character

Color and Contrast–Use color as enhancement, not as only

way to convey info or distinguish keys, controls and labels

– If user can adjust color / contrast, provide range of selections capable of producing a variety of contrast levels

Audio–Provide ability to adjust volume, function

to reset volume to default after every use–Provide industry standard audio connector

to allow for private listening, with ability to interrupt, pause, and restart the audio

Timing–Provide alert before timed responses

expire and allow the user to indicate more time is needed

–Avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz

Guideline examples from IBM Hardware Self-Contained, Closed Products Guidelines



US Postal Service Automated Postal Center® Award-winning custom retail POS kiosk engineered by IBM

offers superior accessibility, innovative speech output and EZ Access® Keypad… similar techniques now being leveraged for IBM retail and travel industry applications!

Benefits Customers access 80% of transaction types of full-service retail

counter – workers can concentrate on more complex transactions APCs exceeded financial targets, helped increase USPS revenue

($170M by 03/24/05 – investment paid back within first year) Remote network monitoring has helped reduce replenishment

costs vs. traditional approach to scheduled service visits 96% APC users find APC easy to use (rate “very good” to

“excellent”) 27% APC transactions occur after lobby closed (after-hours value) Allows PWDs to access services without assistance from workers

EZ® and EZ Access® are registered trademarks of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Licensing and trademark information can be obtained by contacting the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation



IBM Accessible Kiosk – Components



IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk Components

Hardware EZ Access® KeypadEnclosures Audio Connector

Platform Software IBM CUSS Platform Speech Output IBM Kiosk Manager

Check-In Software Apps Mobile Check-In AppsKiosk Check-In App




Enclosures Accessible reach ranges Touch screen not heat sensitive

(usable w/ prosthetics) Braille labels when required Can include cane rest, grab bar,

tactilely discernable accessories

IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk – Hardware

EZ Access® Keypad 5 or 8 button EZ Access® Keypad

integrated or connected externally Tactilely discernable keys without

activating, operable with one hand, no pinch/twist/grasp required

Dedicated help key Universal shapes/symbols/colors

Audio Connector Can be used with headphones,

amplifiers, audio couplers Volume control, 4-5 levels Plug in detectable by SW Automatic reset to default level

after each use




IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk – Software

IBM CUSS Platform Detect headset connection Audio volume control Automatic volume reset Interface to keypad device Screen highlighting logic Other EZ Access interface

rules

Text-to-Speech (TTS) Leading TTS component from

IBM Business Partner Nuance Easy integration of recorded

prompts and TTS Multi-lingual support with

industry’s largest language portfolio (35+ languages)

Voices and languages configured by data files

Kiosk Check-In App TTS output for all content and controls 3 levels of layered audio help (app level,

screen level, HW/output, integrated with EZ Access® Help key) – “any key” stop

Audio feedback on activation of controls On-screen focus indicator Consistent non-visual method to support

navigation (EZ Access® Up, Down, Enter) ALT text to describe meaningful graphics Timeout warnings (audio + visual)




Examples of Usage

Figure 1: Image of a blind man with headset using the IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk at CSUN 2008. The person has tactilely located the EZ Access® keypad and is using it with the TTS output to complete the check-in transaction.

Figure 2: Photo of John D. Kemp, now the President & CEO, Abilities!, using the Accessible IBM Airline Self-Service Kiosk with his prosthetic hand while seated in his wheelchair at CSUN 2008.




IBM Accessible Kiosk – Demonstration



To begin, the customer needing access features tactilely locates the headset jack then plugs in their headset. The common airport or airline software then activates the speech output and gives general directions to the customer.



Audio automatically plays at the beginning of each screen. Here the customer tactilely locates the card reader then inserts the credit card used to make the reservation.

The EZ Access® diamond-shaped button can be pressed once to repeat the directions or held down longer to get more extensive help.



1

On user input type screens, the customer navigates using UP and DOWN buttons, then selects the specific numbers using the ROUND button.

It is important to speak aloud any elements that change on-screen so the user doesn’t have to excessively navigate – for example, the flight number text input here…



1 2





1 2 31 2





1 2 3





On selection-type screens, the customer navigates using UP and DOWN buttons, then selects the specific items they want to select or deselect using the ROUND button.

It is important to speak aloud any additional information such as the check-in or infant-in-arms status, along with whether the input is selected or not…



When the EZ Access® DOWN button is held down for a few seconds, the focus jumps to the last control on the screen (e.g. the Confirm Button).



The customer presses the EZ Access® DOWN button to first review the segment in their itinerary then review seat selections for all passengers checking in now. Note that complex tables are used here and the audio needs to convey table headers so the customer can understand the screen and finish their transaction quickly..



IBM Accessible Kiosk – Benefits



Benefits for People of Varying Abilities

Feature

Blind & Low

Vision

Mobility &

Dexterity

Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Cognitive or Multi-lingual

Standard audio connector with volume control and automatic reset to default

X X X

EZ Access® keypad / tactilely discernable keys, operable with one hand, does not require twisting/pinching/grabbing, etc.

X X X

Text-to-speech output for all software content and controls

X X

Layered audio-based instructions accessible via dedicated “help” key at 3 levels

X X

On-screen focus indicator X X

Consistent non-visual method to support navigation among UI elements

X

Alternative text for meaningful graphics X X



Benefits for People of Varying Abilities (Cont’d)

Feature

Blind & Low

Vision

Mobility &

Dexterity

Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Cognitive or Multi-lingual

Captioning and audio description for any embedded videos

X

Audio feedback to indicate successful activation or selection of SW or HW controls

X X

Audio-based description of elements that change on-screen (e.g. text input entered to form string)

X X

Timeout warnings in audio and visual form, with option to request more time, assistance if timeout occurs

X X X

Mechanism to stop audio instructions when any keypad button or keyboard key is pressed

X X



Industry Considerations



Considerations - Development of Policy & Standards for Accessible Air Travel Kiosks Airline industry standards development

– Accessibility standards should take into account key air travel technology standards such as IATA Common Use Self Service (CUSS), etc.

Phased, multi-vendor procurement– Airports often buy hardware / CUSS

platform software (capital / facilities to be shared by airlines)

– Airlines buy or build CUSS check-in apps and either install on their proprietary HW or airport HW



Considerations - Development of Policy & Standards for Accessible Air Travel Kiosks (Cont’d) Technology considerations

– Rise of mobile in air travel industry / use in combination with kiosk access features

– Use of different technologies to provide access features (e.g. ALT to touch screen)

Scoping– 1-2 units at a given location = all should be

accessible?; 3+ units at a given location = certain % should be accessible?

– Definition of “location” (e.g. airport, concourse)

– Requirements relative to other customer service



Questions & Answers



Questions & Answers

We welcome questions regarding:– IBM Accessible Air Travel Kiosk– IBM Perspective on Multichannel

Customer Experience in Travel– IBM Accessibility Practice

Contact Information– Bill Curtis-Davidson, IBM Human

Ability & Accessibility Center ([email protected])

– IBM Human Ability & Accessibility: http://www.ibm.com/able/

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