4 April 2005
On of the world's largest ATM machine makers has announced new developments that take advantage of assistive technology to open cash machine services to those with visual impairments.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 180 million people across the globe are blind or have other visual impairments, and many have trouble using the ubiquitous cash machine, found in shops, airports retail centres and garages.
A new speech recognition system ahs been developed as while many banks provide Braille features on their ATMs, only nine per cent of the blind population actively reads Braille.
The technology guides visually impaired users through transactions with an easy-to-understand, natural-sounding voice, enabling them to quickly complete transactions with increased ease and fewer errors.
To overcome security concerns the ATMs are fitted with a standard headphone jack and users must connect their own headphones.© DeHavilland Information Services plc
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