Ali Awde

A paradigm of a pervasive multimodal multimedia computing system for the visually-impaired users

Incorporating multimodality in a computing system makes computing more accessible to a wide range of users, including those with impairments. This work presents a paradigm of a multimodal multimedia computing system to make informatics accessible to visually-impaired users. The systems infrastructure determines the suitable applications to be used. The users context and user data type are considered in determining the types of applications, media and modalities that are appropriate to use. The system design is pervasive, fault-tolerant and capable of self-adaptation under varying conditions (e.g. missing or defective components). It uses machine learning so that the system would behave in a pre-defined manner given a pre-conceived scenario. Incremental learning is adapted for added machine knowledge acquisition. A simulation of systems behaviour, using a test case scenario, is presented in this paper. This work is our original contribution to an ongoing research to make informatics more accessible to handicapped users.

An Adaptive Multimodal Multimedia Computing System for Presentation of Mathematical Expressions to Visually-Impaired Users

Presenting mathematical expressions to visually-impaired users is a challenging task because, unlike text, a mathematical expression is bi-dimensional and has some distinguishing characteristics. At present, the state-of-the-art solutions present mathematical expressions to blind users in only one presentation format and with no consideration of user’s context. In this work, we present mathematical expressions in more than one presentation format and consider the context of the user, his environment and this computing system as well as the nature of the expression itself and of the user’s preferences. The solution presented in this work is most efficient when users are familiar with many presentation formats. Unlike the current state-of-the-art solutions, ours takes into account the user’s situation and present a solution that is suitable to his context and capacity. This work is our contribution to an ongoing research to make informatics more accessible to handicapped users.

Task migration in a pervasive multimodal multimedia computing system for visually-impaired users

In a pervasive multimodal multimedia computing system, the user can continue working on a computing task anytime and anywhere using forms of modality that suit his context. Similarly, the media supporting the chosen modality are selected based on their availability and users context. In this paper, we present the infrastructure supporting the migration of a visually-impaired users task in a pervasive multimodal multimedia computing environment. Using users preferences which quantify users satisfaction, we derive the users task feasible configuration. The heart of this work is the machine learning-derived training to acquire knowledge leading to configuration optimization. Data validation is presented through scenario simulations and design specification. This work is our continuing contribution to advance research on making informatics more accessible to handicapped users.

Un système multi-agent pour la présentation d’expressions mathématiques á des utilisateurs non-voyants

Dans cet article, nous proposons un système multi-agent permettant de présenter des expressions mathématiques á des utilisateurs non voyants. Il a pour thème l’adaptation des formes de présentation d’une expression mathématique au sein d’un système multimodal sensible au contexte d’interaction (i.e. utilisateur, environnement et système). En se basant sur le contexte d’interaction, le système détermine les modalités possibles puis les médias supportant celles-ci. Les formes de présentation d’une expression mathématique sont sélectionnées en prenant en considération les médias disponibles, les préférences de l’utilisateur et la complexité de l’expression mathématique. Le système est capable de s’adapter aux besoins de l’utilisateur et aux changements affectant le contexte d’interaction. De ce fait, il offre á l’utilisateur non voyant une certaine autonomie lors de la manipulation de données complexes telles que les expressions mathématiques.