I'd like to see this in all atms as well.

Johnnie Apple Seed

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Pattison" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Access-L" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 2:21 AM
Subject: Fwd: Automated postal kiosks


*********** BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE  ***********
On 9/12/2004 at 11:42 PM Sherri <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
AUTOMATED POSTAL KIOSKS INCLUDE UW-MADISON ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

By Gregg Vanderheiden

MADISON - Postal patrons tired of standing in long lines to mail their
holiday packages now can save time when they use one of the U.S. Postal
Service's new automated postal centers (APCs) to conduct transactions
themselves.

But while the kiosks offer most customers a level of convenience
they've
come to expect in today's world, APCs also give many people with
visual,
cognitive and physical impairments the kind of independence they rarely
find.

The kiosks incorporate the University of Wisconsin-Madison Trace
Research
and Development Center's EZ Access features. The features are a simple
set
of interface enhancements that manufacturers can integrate into
electronic
products and devices such as public information kiosks, ATMs and
cellular
phones, so more people - including older people and those with
disabilities - can use them.

Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research,
Trace researchers developed EZ Access during the past six years as an
outgrowth of ongoing research and development on how to design standard
information systems and products so that they are accessible for people
with
disabilities. With the addition of just a few buttons and voice output,
a
touch-screen product becomes usable by people who cannot see, read,
reach
the screen or make fine movements with their arms, hands or fingers.

The APC includes audio prompts, a headphone jack and a special keypad.
In
addition, it is accessible to people in wheelchairs and others who have
limited reach.

"As a person who is blind, I have always depended on the clerk to
assist
me
with my postal transaction," says Neal Ewers, a senior instrument
specialist
with Trace. "I was delighted to discover that I could do everything I
needed
to do totally on my own by using the same device that everyone else
uses.
Its power was even more apparent when I discovered that many people
would
be
able to look at the screen while also listening to the audio output.
This
will be a real benefit for people who are dyslexic, people who are just
learning English and people with low vision."

At the kiosk, customers can use debit or credit cards to purchase
stamps,
mail envelopes and packages weighing up to 70 pounds, dispense a
variety
of
mailing indicia, look up ZIP codes, prepare several forms and more.

Using the Trace technologies, IBM developed the APC, which the Postal
Service is initially installing in 2,500 post offices around the
country,
with more to follow. Earlier this year, Kiosk magazine gave the APC an
award
for best retail kiosk application - an award, says Trace Center
Director
Gregg Vanderheiden, that illustrates how accessible designs can be
better
designs.

"This is a great example of how accessibility can be seamlessly
incorporated
into a product, making it easier for everyone," he says.

Vanderheiden, also a professor of biomedical engineering and industrial
engineering, says he is delighted the Postal Service chose to include
EZ
Access technologies in the APC.

"It is very encouraging to see this widespread dissemination of the EZ
Access features," he says. "And the USPS Automated Postal Center, with
its
very user-friendly interface, is an excellent product to demonstrate
them."

- Renee Meiller, (608) 262-2481,

[log in to unmask]

http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/10509.html

Sherri Brun,
[log in to unmask]
Vice-President National Federation of the Blind, greater Orlando
Chapter,
Medical Transcriptionist,
Braillest
*********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE  ***********

Regards Steve,
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Skype:  steve1963
MSN Messenger:  [log in to unmask]


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