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Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre os
Direitos das Pessoas com Deficiência
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Esse novo capítulo que eu vim aqui
falar com vocês
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Meu nome é Leslie Ann Gibbons,
Eu fui criada no Reino Unido,
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e vivo a 17 anos
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na Califória do Norte nos EUA.
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E estou muito feliz em ter
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a oportunidade de falar com você um pouco
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sobre algumas mudanças da
tecnologia e como isso impacta o
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senso individual de independência e
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aprimorando a experiência do cotidiano.
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Então, eu posso ver suas mãos?
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Quantos aqui passaram a noite no hotel?
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Quantos de vocês tomaram
banho hoje?
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(risos)
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Quantos de vocês cometeu o erro
terrível de usar loção em vez de shampoo?
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(risos)
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Pare bobagem não é?
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Mas para as pessoas que
são deficientes visuais descobrir
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qual dos dois é shampoo isso pode
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ser a diferença entre um dia péssimo
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e um dia maravilhoso
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6 anos atrás, pessoas com
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deficiência confiavam quase que inteiramente
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nos dispositivos especializados de standalone
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e programas de software, mas essas
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ferramentas e suportes que eram
antes caríssimas ou difíceis de usar
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agora são comuns nas salas de aula,
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Escritórios e nos nossos bolsos.
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E hoje, embora o nível do consumidor
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avanços e tecnologias tradicionais
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nem sempre são acessíveis, olhe para
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os seguintes avanços que temos visto
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na tecnologia ao longo dos anos.
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Houve uma enorme redução no poder
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necessidades e uma maior disponibilidade de
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new, more affordable, and smaller power
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sources. There’ve been significant
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improvements in networks and broadband
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capabilities. For example, high speed
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internet is now widely available in most
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public places — even in the UN — and so
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are smart phones. User interfaces and
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input options have increased. For
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example, touchscreens and gesture
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recognition are now commonplace.
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Social media- driven community
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developments such as Kickstarter
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and other crowdfunding resources
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makes it possible for people who
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have just an idea to seek funding in
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new and creative ways. And today,
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having access to development tools
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such as 3D printers and app development
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tools is by no means unusual. This
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explosion of new technologies has
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profoundly affected the ways in which
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people with and without disabilities are
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using digital devices and resources.
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Assistive technology functionality has
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finally moved into the mainstream, and
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we now face a new demand for tools that
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are context-specific, user-created, data
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driven and nimble, embeddable, networked,
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and wearable.
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So how are wearables changing assistive
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technology? And what about that shampoo?
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With ever-smaller and less-expensive
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hardware and component pieces
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exploding on the marketplace, wearable
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technologies are fast becoming a fixture
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in our everyday lives, primarily in the
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form of fitness trackers and
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smartwatches. But beyond being able to
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measure our heart rate and count our
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steps, wearable technologies hold
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significant promise for people with a
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visual impairment.
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Imagine this: You’ve arrived at your hotel
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last night, and you go for a shower. In
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the bathroom are four small bottles, all
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the same size and shape. You assume
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they’re shampoo and conditioner, shower
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gel and lotion. But how do you know which
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one is which? If you have eyes and still
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have your glasses on, you can read the
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small print, and you lay the bottles out so
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you use the right one in the right order.
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But what do you do if you’re blind, or
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you’re unable to read the print?
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For a person whose blind or has a
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severe visual impairment, this is a
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typical day-to-day problem. One of
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the many “gotchas” that limit
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their independence.
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With the advent of live-streaming on
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mobile phones, one solution might be
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call a friend. Ask them which bottle is
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which. The limitation of this is just the
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availability, and ultimately the patience
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of your friend. The better solution might
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be to have a large pool of friends or
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volunteers who can be contacted.
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This is what Be My Eyes, the smart phone
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app, has set up. It’s technology that will
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quickly connect the user from their
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smartphone video feed to a volunteer,
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and the audio and video link enables the
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right bottle to be found. The service is
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free and well used. It’s ideal for simple
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problems, but it limits you to those
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problems that only need a video
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feed and a volunteer.