Airport Emergency Communications for People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs (2019)

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E-1 A P P E N D I X E Potential Solutions Traditionally, airports use in-person, radio, telephone, pager, cell phone, and email tools to coordinate actions and communicate during emergencies. New and emerging technologies are providing innovative ways to communicate through visual, verbal, and virtual interactions. Highlighted below are some potential resources and solutions. This list is not intended to be wholly inclusive or an endorsement of any particular product or approach. AbiliSense https://www.abilisense.com/ AbiliSense is a smart listening device that monitors the surroundings and converts events of danger or distress into alerts across two channels: the 1st channel alerts the main user via smartphones, tablets, wearables, and other internet of things (IoT) devices; the 2nd channel signals emergency services and family members. Aira https://aira.io/ Aira is a system that uses video-equipped smart glasses and a smartphone app to connect individuals who are blind with trained professional agents. When requested through the app, the user is connected to an agent who can view everything the user sees via the video-equipped glasses and can provide directions, information, and other services a nearby sighted person could provide. Ava https://www.ava.me/ Ava is an Android and iOS app that provides real-time captioning from your smartphone for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. The user invites other people to connect to their smartphone through the app, and the conversation is transcribed within the app. Be My Eyes https://www.bemyeyes.com/ Be My Eyes is a free mobile app for Android and iOS that connects people who are blind and who have impaired vision with volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call. Users request assistance through the app and are connected through a live video call with a volunteer who uses the phone camera to help the user read instructions, distinguish colors, or navigate.

E-2 Airport Emergency Communications for People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs PC and tablet applications” supporting more than 100 languages. The company founder is a person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Lou Gehrig’s disease). DBSEMS http://www.messagenetsystems.com/ MessageNet systems is an Indiana-based tech firm offering notification solutions. One such product suite, DBSEMS, “is an emergency management and mass notification system designed specifically for all schools for people who are deaf or blind (elementary through high school and universities) and their unique needs.” The product can include an app, digital signage, PC alert messaging, audio/visual public announcements, fire panel integration, sensors signaling, SMS alerts, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), automated telephony, smart LED signaling, panic buttons, etc. These products are available across industries such as public and government facilities as well as emergency management entities. Dragon Anywhere https://www.nuance.com/dragon/dragon-anywhere.html Dragon Anywhere is a mobile app for Android and iOS that provides continuous dictation with no word limits to create emails and texts and can be pasted into any application. E2C http://www.e2c.co.il/ E2C offers simplified “smart” communication devices for older adults including mobile phones, tablets, televisions, and smart watches. EyeControl https://www.eyecontrol.co.il/ EyeControl is an in-production eye-tracking device for communication by “locked-in” persons, such as those with ALS. “The device is designed to translate eye movements into verbal communication. It works with the help of an infrared camera that connects to the frame of a pair of glasses, as well as a small computer. Together, they are able to identify and translate blinks and movements of the user’s eyes into commands, which are then broadcast via a speaker. The start- up has also developed a visual keyboard to compose sentences.” The start-up lists affordability as one of its device’s major features. LightOn by DreamZon The LightOn mobile phone cradle “immediately alerts users whenever a call or SMS is received on their mobile phones” with flashing LED lights. Hearing Loop Systems http://hearingloopsystems.com/hear/ 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 or cochlear implant when it is set to the “T” (telecoil) setting. Click2Speak https://www.click2speak.net/ Click2Speak is a free “assistive on-screen keyboard, catering to people with motor impairments who cannot use a standard keyboard, enabling easy communication and access to Windows-based

Potential Solutions E-3 Make-Sense http://mk-sense.com/ The Make-Sense Accessibility Solution Suite includes the product A-WEB, a single line of code that makes web documents accessible and compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standards. Make-Sense also offers A-ToGo, a Chrome browser extension that makes any site accessible. Nuance Phonewear https://www.nuancehear.com Phonewear is a “smart” case with earphones offering “focused” hearing in noisy environments via a smartphone app. It is iPhone-compatible; Android compatibility is under development. OrCam MyEye http://www.orcam.com/myeye/ MyEye is a wearable artificial vision device that converts visual information into spoken word via the pointing gesture. RAY Phones and Mobile Apps http://project-ray.com/ These are “smartphone[s] for people who are blind” and “vision-free communication” apps for Android devices, enabling a fuller use of smartphone capabilities via touch and sound. RightHear by Zikit http://right-hear.com/ RightHear is an app that, when paired with sensors, offers spatial assistance and accessibility to users who are blind and visually impaired. Alerts and live assistance are also available within the six current U.S. RightHear zones. RoboBraille http://www.robobraille.org/introduction-robobraille “RoboBraille is a [free] email and web-based service capable of automatically transforming documents into a variety of alternate formats for the visually and reading impaired,” such as braille and audio translation services and the text-tagging of images. Sesame Enable https://sesame-enable.com Open Sesame is an Android app that allows head movements to control the phone touch-free. Sesame Enable also offers packages that include the software as well as tablets, phones, and other devices. The company was founded by an individual with quadriplegia. Specific Area Message Encoding http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/info/nwrsame.html The National Weather Service (NWS) uses technology called Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) to send warnings of imminent severe weather and other hazards. It is estimated that between 95 and 97 percent of the United States is covered by the SAME service area. NWS messages can be received by equipping National Weather Radios or other devices to external

E-4 Airport Emergency Communications for People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs adaptive devices, including loop-based assistive listening devices that connect to hearing aids and cochlear implants. They can also be connected to strobes, sirens, vibrators, and other alerting systems. Speech Code https://speechcode.eu/#!/product “The Speech Code Generator software transforms any information into colored, printable data code…. The code is scanned with the free Speech Code App, decoded and immediately presented in 100% accuracy—without Internet access or downloading—as text on the smartphone display and/or in audible format via text-to-speech technology.” The app promotes social inclusion by translating “orientation guides, signage and general information in public spaces, especially in government agencies, civil service offices, and public transport facilities.” Step-Hear http://www.step-hear.com/ Step-Hear is a navigation system worn by a person who is blind. The Step-Hear unit will play a pre-recorded message or trigger a function when the wearer is in proximity to a Step-Hear unit/module, for example, informing the user when a pedestrian crossing light changes from red to green. Voiceitt http://www.voiceitt.com/ Talkitt is an in-development speech-recognition and translation app by Voiceitt that is designed to understand non-standard speech. This product allows people with impaired speech to effectively communicate by making voice recognition technology accessible to everyone. WonderVoice http://wondervoiceapp.com/ WonderVoice is an AI-powered voice assistant iOS app. It is a “data driven, cloud and client contextual speech technology that overcomes the complexity of handling informal (slang)... content origin within social networks, messaging, and other apps. WonderVoice boosts the performance of any text-to-speech (TTS) or speech-to-text (STT) based on data and context.” Woojer http://www.woojer.com/about/ “Woojer is a pioneer in the field of haptic [tactile] technology with a fundamental patent portfolio and products that deliver high fidelity tactile sensation, which reproduce the rich emotion of sound.” This technology could theoretically be used to transmit haptic emergency alert cues to wearers of the Woojer strap or vest.