Satoru Iehira: Remote Computer Control Via Wireless Voice Recognition Technology

At the age of 15, while in his third year in junior high school, Satoru Iehira hit his head while diving into a pool causing extensive cervical spinal cord injuries. He spent the next 20 months in the hospital undergoing rehabilitation and now uses a wheelchair. He eventually resumed his studies at a special school for students with disabilities where he had his first experience with computers. Satoru began by creating simple documents and quickly mastered the new technology. His first job after leaving school involved using computers for a variety of printing tasks, including entering content and creating illustrations.

Operating System Upgrades Bring Accessibility Improvements

Intending to let as many people as possible know about the conditions of other people with disabilities, Satoru left his hometown of Osaka in the spring of 2007 to start work at the Japan Center for Persons with Disabilities in Tokyo. He works as a liaison between disability groups and organizations around the country, and provides information in the form of newsletters and event updates to people with disabilities and the wider community.

When Satoru began using computers at school, at the age of 17, the operating system was MS-DOS. Satoru was able to create documents and write simple programs by tapping on the keyboard with a stick.

After leaving school as an avid computer user, Satoru purchased his first ever machine, which ran Windows 3.1. But, the early iteration of the Windows operating system had limited accessibility features, and the mouse proved difficult to use. His subsequent acquisition of an intelligent mouse with accompanying software made mouse operation much easier and enabled Satoru to take advantage of user-friendly drag-and-drop functionality. Together with an external touchpad, it allowed Satoru to take control of the computer.

When Windows 95 was released, Satoru took the opportunity to upgrade to the new operating system and to switch from a desktop computer to a laptop with built-in trackpoint. Unlike touchpads, many of which are incompatible with sticks, trackpoints are perfect for mouth sticks. The trackpoint and mouth stick combination can even be used while lying in bed, which is ideal for long and involved computing tasks. In addition, the ability to customize the mouse buttons (such as swapping the left-click and right-click features) gives computer users with disabilities greater freedom than ever before.

On the other hand, the increasing use of graphics in the computer interface meant that the mouse was needed for many more standard operations. Satoru was able to get around this by setting up keyboard shortcuts for critical operations. Windows 95 introduced a number of features that were specifically designed to facilitate keyboard usage, and could easily be configured to make it easier to enter shortcut commands with the stick.

Satoru was unable to use the mouth stick and trackpoint on his laptop computer when seated in his wheelchair. Instead, he used a trackball to control the mouse cursor and employed a selection of input devices depending on the application.

Satoru notes that the accessibility features have improved with each new version of Windows. Since Windows 95, accessibility has been included as part of the standard installation package and new features are introduced with each successive upgrade. He is particularly excited about the speech recognition technology that is a standard feature in the new Windows Vista release.

Voice Recognition Via Wireless Headset

Satoru is a longstanding user of headsets, due to his difficulty holding a cellular phone, and when Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones appeared on the market, he quickly adopted the new wireless technology. Today, Satoru keeps his wireless headset on almost constantly. He can leave his phone mounted on the armrest of his electric wheelchair and take incoming calls immediately—a distinct improvement on the old hardwired headset.

The Bluetooth wireless headset is also perfectly suited to the new voice recognition technology in Windows. This means that Satoru can switch between the phone and the computer without having to ask anyone to change his headset.

Satoru especially likes the new mouse grid feature of Windows Speech Recognition in Windows Vista. With mouse grid, the computer screen is divided into a grid of nine, with each area numbered sequentially. The user selects an area by voicing the number, which then moves the cursor. The selected area is then further divided into a grid of nine, and the selection process is repeated in order to pinpoint the desired icon or button.

"The operating system is easier to use. Speech recognition makes it so much more efficient than just using the keyboard," says Satoru.

The addition of speech recognition technology in Windows Vista—the ability to use both hands and voice at the same time—means complex operations require less movement, which reduces the physical burden on the body. Extended periods of sitting are not good for blood circulation, so wheelchair users are obliged to tip the seat backward and change posture at regular intervals. With speech recognition technology, they will be able to continue using the computer at these times.

Satoru is extensively involved in providing educational presentations on disabilities at primary and junior high schools where he uses PowerPoint to make his presentations. He hopes in the future to use speech recognition to change the slides. Getting closer to the audience means moving away from his computer, but he'll still be able to send instructions to it using speech recognition.

Horizons Widening With Computers

Satoru works full-time at the Japan Center for Persons with Disabilities, which operates in conjunction with six disability groups in Tokyo and a network of organizations throughout the country. He is an extremely busy man: in addition to his responsibilities including liaison with external organizations and coordination of information services and newsletters, he provides an advice service (including peer counseling) for the benefit of people with disabilities and their families, and also runs computer classes on an occasional basis.

Satoru says his aim is to demonstrate to others with disabilities how assistive technology has opened the door to the exciting world of computers.