Nectec unveils new guideline for innovation

Assistive Technology Centre, a centre under the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) that oversees the development of assistive technology for disabled people, has developed a technology development roadmap as a guideline for new innovations and accessories which will allow the disabled to access universal services.

Chief of assistive technology at Nectec, Wantanee Phantachat said the focus this year was divided into four areas including transportation and mobility, home and environment, communication, and IT accessibility.

The transportation and mobility initiative will focus on developing new technologies, such as wheel chairs and accessories, as well as aids to lift patients.

The home and environment effort will focus on developing new technologies for support in the home environment, such as smart homes, home security devices, home monitoring and electrical home control devices to support disabled people in metropolitan and rural areas.

The centre has already started a pilot project in the Khon Kaen province.

In the communication arena, the centre will focus on developing new innovations to support the disabled, such as hearing aids and cochlea implants.

Lastly, the IT accessibility initiative is aimed at helping government agencies and the private sector in developing their products and services using standards for information access and Web accessibility so that the disabled can access information without aid or hinderance.

"We will develop the national guideline which will help government agencies and the private sector to develop their websites for disabled people," Wantanee said.

"As a result, the 5 million or so disabled people in Thailand will be able to get universal access to information via the Internet and ensure that they have access to universal services," she said.

The guideline explains how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities. It is intended for all Web-content developers and developers of authoring tools. The primary goal of such guidelines is to promote accessibility.

The guidelines will also help people find information on the Web more quickly. It does not discourage content developers from using images and video but it does explain how to make multimedia content more accessible to a wider audience.

The Techniques Document, as it is called, also includes techniques for document validation and testing as well as an index of HTML elements and attributes.

The centre is now in the process of re-organisation to upgrade itself and take the form of a new Rehabilitation Engineer and Assistive Technology Institute.

The re-organisation will be announced next month.

The new institute, Wantanee said, is aimed at kicking-off research and development of new innovations and technologies to support people with disabilities so that they can utilise technology and improve the quality of their lives.