Here is the NFB-Diebold ATM story as reported by atmmarketplace.com

kelly

From atmmarketplace.com



   NFB drops ADA lawsuit against Diebold

   November 01, 2000

   BALTIMORE -- Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) and the National
   Federation of the Blind (NFB), will work together to develop a
   cost-effective, voice-guided ATM that can be readily accessed by the
   blind without assistance from sighted persons.

   Walden W. O'Dell, chairman, president and CEO at Diebold, and NFB
   President Marc Maurer said the two organizations will work together to
   develop a cost-effective and easy way to upgrade and simplify
   Diebold's existing voice-guidance capabilities.

   The announcement marked the end of a lawsuit the NFB filed against
   Diebold last May, in which it contended Diebold was not in compliance
   with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it installed
   ATMs that were inaccessible to the blind in Rite Aid stores. The ADA
   requires that instructions and all information for use (in ATMs) be
   made accessible to, and independently usable by, persons with visual
   impairments. While some of the Rite Aid ATMs have Braille keypads and
   labels, the suit charged that Braille is an ineffective accommodation
   under the ADA.

   Not all persons who are blind can read Braille, Maurer said. Moreover,
   Braille keypads and labels are static. They do not provide accessible
   and independently usable, sequential computer screen instructions to
   guide a blind customer through a bank transaction. As a result, blind
   customers basically have little choice but to rely on others to do
   their banking for them.

   According to the NFB, the most effective way to make ATMs accessible
   to the blind is voice guidance technology, which allows blind ATM
   users to hear step-by-step instructions during a transaction.

   "The NFB has dropped the suit, and now we are working together," said
   Diebold spokesperson Joe Richardson. "We think the arrangement will be
   beneficial to both of us."

   Initial plans call for improving Diebold's CSP 200, a low-end ATM that
   was used in the Rite Aid deployments. According to Diebold, the
   improved model will incorporate an affordable design that permits
   non--visual access and requires no additional computer programming by
   the retailer or the ATM network.

   Diebold's voice-guided ATMs work with a standard headset -- owned by
   many people within the visually impaired community -- that can be
   plugged into the ATM to receive voice instructions in privacy. The CSP
   200 will offer blind customers access to the same banking transactions
   available to sighted customers, including cash withdrawals, balance
   inquiries and account transfers.

   Diebold will replace the CSP 200 units currently located in Rite Aid
   stores in Washington, D.C., with another model ATM equipped with
   currently available voice-guidance capabilities. The Disability Rights
   Council of Greater Washington will evaluate the machines and provide
   input regarding performance.

   Once testing on the CSP 200 is complete, Diebold plans to adapt the
   voice-guidance technology to its entire family of ATM models
   distributed in the U.S. According to Richardson, there is no target
   date for implementing the new technology.

   Every ATM manufactured and sold by Diebold under the new guidelines
   will receive NFB's Seal of Approval. Diebold plans to display the seal
   in its promotional materials. Diebold has also established certain
   sales targets for the newly designed features and will implement its
   ATM voice-guidance technology wherever it owns and operates ATMs.

   NFB and Diebold will promote the ATMs to NFB members via a direct mail
   campaign. Diebold will also introduce NFB to industry associations in
   which Diebold is involved. Further, the two organizations will develop
   a new Web site promoting the locations of voice-guided ATMs and the
   technologies used to upgrade them.

   "NFB has long been actively involved in promoting adaptive
   technologies which allow the blind to live and work independently in
   today's technology-driven world," O'Dell said. "Diebold is proud to be
   a part of that effort and trust that we can make a meaningful
   contribution to NFB's work."

   Over the next five years, Diebold will contribute $1 million toward
   the construction of NFB's National Research & Training Institute for
   the Blind. Diebold also will install and operate a voice-guided ATM at
   the organization's National Headquarters.

   NFB's national headquarters is home to the International Braille and
   Technology Center for the Blind. The center, which houses more than $2
   million worth of hardware and software designed specifically for the
   blind, is the world's most extensive demonstration and evaluation
   center for computer-related technology serving the needs of the blind.


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html