Month: January 2017

Initial Ideas

Molly Carter

I have decided to focus on the category of Health. To begin with I wanted to find a way in which people with disabilities could stay active, however I found that there was already a lot of competition on the market.

I had previously looked into the festival scene and the different services they provide for those who are handicapped. This led to the discovery of Hearing Loops. I had never heard of this technology before and was not aware of how much it benefited those with hearing loss. A hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop) is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids. The hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting.

Hearing loops are offered in Cinemas, Festivals and Banks but aren’t always clearly advertised. I wanted to create something that raises awareness about hearing loops and notifies users when hearing loops are available to use. This would use the users location and notify them when a hearing loop is available nearby.

Lots of staff don’t know what a loop is or how it works, so as well as providing a service which notifies when a hearing loop is nearby, I also wanted to raise awareness of what a hearing loop is and does for people such as employees working in an environment where there is access to hearing loops.

But it’s no wonder that those who rely on these systems are frustrated, not least because shops and banks often expect advance notice when use of a loop system is required. “I struggle to use the phone, so how am I supposed to contact them?” asks Jonny Cotsen, a multimedia developer from Cardiff. He relies heavily on lip-reading, “but with lots of sound interference, it becomes more difficult”.

“You need signs so people know where to stand to access the loop, or you may as well not put a system in.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/mar/26/law-disability

 

Another possible idea that I have considered is to raise awareness of short sightedness or cataracts. I like the idea of creating a Virtual Reality Experience by which the user experiences the life of someone with one of these conditions. The user could experience the daily life of one of these people, learning about the condition as they continue to play. These could include facts in the game, and could tour around schools.