News

One of our Straight Straight Talking Group‘s DJs will presenting their playlists at Hospital Radio Perth this summer! Georgie Williams has been volunteering with Perth Hospital Radio for a while now and has now been given her own show. Listen…

Nonspeaking individuals with motor disabilities often rely on typing on a computer with speech output in conversation with other people. However, even without a physical disability affecting the typing process, contributions by communication aid are too slow and error prone with typical typing rates of physically impaired person being between 5 and 20 words-per-minute. This is in contrast to the rate people speak, which is typically in the range of 100 and 140 words-per-minute. This difference in communication rate is referred to as the communication gap. This gap is currently very large, typically ranging between 80 and 135 words-per-minute and affects the quality of everyday life interactions for the users.

Our very own Professor Annalu Waller appears in the Evening Telegraph with a wonderful interview detailing how she, along with her Dundee AAC Research Group team, is working to make life easier for those with disabilities. Read the article online at the Evening Telegraph.

At one of our Straight Talking Group (STG) teaching session with MSc students in AAC and AT we got to chat about what people are doing apart from their contributions to teaching and research. It’s been a while now that this was posted but it is always worth revisiting: Georgie works at Hospital Radio Perth – watch the clip to get a glimpse of her work as a key member of the team. Georgie is a member of the Straight Talking Group (STG) here the User Centre in Computing, University of Dundee. The group supports both teaching and research and meets regularly to interact with students, lecturers and researchers. The group also regularly reviews software and hardware for accessibility as part of our consultancy work. If you are interested in the group’s work or even want to become a member (if you are a person who uses AAC), please get in touch with Kathleen Cummins, contact details on our ‘Contact us’ page.

On the 24 August 2019, our AAC research team presented “Painting with your Eyes” and “Chat like Stephen Hawking” at V&A Dundee Technology Taster Day. Giving visitors a chance find out more about access technology for people with physical disabilities, the highlight of the day was definitely the talk by Becky Tyler, a young woman with cerebral palsy, who has been interacting with her computer not with her hands but with her eyes. This enabled her to paint, to play and, probably most importantly, to talk! More than 150 people came to our session in the learning studio to try out how you can paint using your eyes only or to talk by pressing only one switch.

We have three papers accepted for AAATE this year, and w/b 26th August Annalu (and Kathleen!), Rolf and Chris set off to present their work. This year’s conference has Global Challenges in Assistive Technology as its theme. UPDATE: A very successful AAATE conference in the warm Italian sunshine, the team returns today (2nd Sept) suitably inspired.

Considerations and Challenges in Life Story Research6 June 2019 Trinity College DublinProf Annalu Waller: Creative technologies, capturing stories Body of Knowledge: Art and Embodied Cognition Conference, 27 – 29 June 2019 Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes 22nd Educational Day and Research Symposium 4 – 6 September 2019 Birmingham CIISE19 International Congress of Social and Educational Inclusion 24 – 25 October 2019 Bilbao

Annalu, Kathleen and Rolf went to London for EPSRC’s Digital Economy Theme 10 Year Showcase. The Dundee team was chosen as one of 10 research projects funded through the theme to exhibit their activities at the BT Tower event in London. EPSRC is celebrating the success of their Digital Economy Theme since its launch event 10 years ago in 2009, where Rolf and Annalu exhibited their “How was School today…?” project. More recently, Rolf and Annalu won a £10k EPSRC Public Engagement grant and for this year’s BT Tower event they showcased the “Painting with your eyes” workstation (here with John Baird, Head of RCUK’s Digital Economy Programme at EPSRC).

Annalu is sharing our research at CATCH in Sheffield today (from the blog by Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Group (RAT Group), the Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected Healthcare (CATCH) and the Telehealth and Care Technologies theme of CLAHRC YH): “On 22 January 2019 CATCH is hosting a special day of events focusing on our work in one of our research themes, human communication. Our research in this area brings together colleagues from many disciplines, such as computer science and human communication sciences in the university. We also work closely with colleagues in the NHS including speech and language therapists and clinical scientists. The event, hosted by Dr Heidi Christensen and Dr Stuart Cunnigham, will feature talks from Rebecca Bright, one of the founders of TherapyBox, and Professor Annalu Waller, Chair of Human Communication Technologies at the University of Dundee. There will also be an opportunity for PhD students to give short talks.”

Researcher and project lead Rolf Black was commended for his work with the Tap & Talk Aphasia iPad Group and their iOS App “I have Aphasia” at this year’s Stephen Fry Engaged Researcher of the Year Awards. Jon Urch, Chair of the selection panel: “The selection panel were extremely impressed by the impact that Rolf’s work is having in the aphasia community in Scotland and the UK. The positive impact Rolf and his work has on the lives of aphasia sufferers, especially their increase in self-confidence shone through in his presentation. “The panel also noted Rolf’s passionate and creative leadership in his field, built on the strong relationships with members of the Aphasia iPad group. They were impressed with the reflection and growth demonstrated in the application and the future plans outlined within.”

Conor received a medal in the Student Research Competition (SRC) of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018) on Wednesday 24th October. Presenting his paper ‘Designing a Context Aware AAC Solution’, Conor made it through two rounds of competition to come in second place. Picture to follow…

We are pleased to announce that our very own Professor Annalu Waller has been appointed as Interim Dean for the School of Science and Engineering. Annalu is currently Discipline Lead for Computing and will provide the leadership that ensures the School of Science and Engineering continues to perform to its current high standards.

Our research group team is just back from Australia were they presented their work at this year’s conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Find out all about it on our special ISAAC page: aac.dundee.ac.uk/isaac2018/.

Lee Ridley, AKA Lost Voice Guy, and winner of this year Britain’s Got Talent programme (watch the revealing of the winner on Youtube) can’t talk but isn’t silent. One of the UK’s first stand-up comedians to use speech synthesis technology, for one night only Lee was performing his laugh out loud comedy during the Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF) in the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) in Edinburgh. The event was part of the EPSRC Telling Tales of Engagement project “More than just Computer Speech – giving People a Voice to tell their Story”, highlighting the impact of our research in AAC.

Congratulations to our students who graduated yesterday. Professor Annalu Waller introduced honorary graduate Dr Martin Pistorius at the Caird Hall event, who gave a wonderful speech and later handed out certificates and medals at the Bonar Hall reception.

The National Museum of Scotland featured a day of AAC at the beginning of the year with activities for all ages. The great hall in Edinburgh’s beautiful museum treasure was packed with opportunities to find out about how to create and use synthetic speech, how to paint using your eyes or even use your toes to chat like the famous Prof Stephen Hawking! Find out more in our article about the day in the April ’18 CSWN Newsletter. Free to download for the ISAAC website: isaac-online.org/english/news/cswn-newsletter/

We’re in full swing preparing for our visit to Australia, presenting our work at this year’s 18th ISAAC Conference. The conference is from the 21st to the 26th of July 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. We will give four platform presentations and one poster. Please find abstracts on our ISAAC 2018 page.  

Lee Ridley is coming to Edinburgh’s National Museums Scotland as part of our EPSRC Telling Tales of Engagement project. Extremely funny, he uses an iPad communication aid to deliver his performance. Make sure you don’t miss it and take a look at all the other brilliant events during the Edinburgh International Science Festival! “Join Lost Voice Guy, Lee Ridley stand-up comedian at the Edinburgh International Science Show at National Museum of Scotland on Thursday 12 April. Lee Ridley, AKA Lost Voice Guy, can’t talk but isn’t silent. One of the UK’s first stand up comedians using speech synthesis technology, for one night only Lee will perform his laugh out loud comedy set as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Book now! https://www.nms.ac.uk/lostvoiceguy”

… and great ambassador for AAC. This morning, Stephen Hawking, the world renowned physicist died at the age of 76. Listen to his interview on the BBC Desert Island Discs from 1992: (might be only accessible when accessed from the UK)

The School of Life Sciences at Dundee University has won the Gold Watermark for their Public Engagement (PE) work from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE).

A man who spent 14 years in institutions for people with profound learning and physical disabilities after contracting a brain infection will share the story of how he battled back to health at this year’s Margaret Harris Lecture at the University of Dundee. ‘Strength in Silence’ takes place at the Dalhousie Building on Wednesday 1 November from 6-7pm. Free tickets for this event are available via Eventbrite, calling 01382 385108 or from the University’s Tower Building Reception.

Professor Annalu Waller will run a two hour TCELT workshop at 2pm today (Dalhousie 2F03), Adapting Research Methods for People with Physical and Speech Impairments. Click here for more information. You can also view a copy of the presentation slides by clicking on the link below: TCELT Workshop Handout – PDF format

Great news: Our ‘I have Aphasia’ app has been recommended by the new MyTherappy Health App NHS website by the multi-award winning Neurorehabilitation Team at Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust. After a very successful launch of our ‘I have Aphasia’ app at the end of the Aphasia Awareness Month in June, the group is now working hard on the first update to make the app also available on Android devices! Other new features aim include adding a choice for language and accent.

The Dundee Augmentative and Alternative Communication Research Group ventured out to Edinburgh for the first of three Museum After Hours events at the National Museum Scotland. Parallel with preview acts for the current Fringe Festival, the Group demonstrated an eye gaze system that allows people to work on a computer by just looking at it. This time though not work but creativity was asked for when visitors were able to use the system to paint their own Jackson Pollock style picture by just using their eyes! A panoramic view of the event (courtesy of Rolf)

‘I have Aphasia’ is a new iOS app for people with aphasia, giving a brief but succinct explanation of their condition, which affects the ability to create and understand language. The app provides a short animated film made by people with aphasia outlining the key communication difficulties they face so that they can show it to others without the stress of trying to explain this themselves. The animation illustrates how people can assist them through understanding and patience. The iOS app is now free to download from the app store (uod.ac.uk/2u5Pvj1), a preview of the app animation can be found at aac.dundee.ac.uk/tap-and-talk. Picture shows Shona Robison MSP (Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport) speaking at the launch event, watched by Sir Pete Downes (Principal, University of Dundee), John Connell (Chairman, NHS Tayside), Lesley McLay (Chief Executive, NHS Tayside), members of the design team and members of the user group.

The Dundee AAC Research Group will be involved in two talks at the PITL conference: Thursday, 15 June 2017, 11:45am, Room 1F01 “CamOnWheels”: Increasing narrative skills and participation for young people with complex communication needs Mascha Legel, Annalu Waller (Abstract booklet) Thursday, 15 June 2017, 2:30pm, Room 1F06 Empowering Disabled Educators Annalu Waller, Kathleen Cummins, Alan McGregor (Abstract booklet) From the PITL website: “Organised by PAMIS and the Research Centre for Transformative Change: Educational & Life Transitions, which is part of the University of Dundee, the first PITL (Promoting Inclusion, Transforming Lives) International Conference in June 2017 will attract more than 200 national and international delegates to Dundee and Angus for a 2 day conference.

At least two fully funded MSc in AAC places available for the academic year 2017/8 through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The funding is currently advertised on the following website: https://www.dundee.ac.uk/study/pg/scholarships-fees/sfc-funding-programmes/. If you have any queries, please get in touch with Prof Annalu Waller, email: a.waller@dundee.ac.uk.  

The Brian Cox Prize Excellence in Public Engagement Project of the Year was awarded to Outer Space | Inner Space. The project is an interdisciplinary project between Centre for Gene Regulation & Expression (GRE), Computing in the School of Science and Engineering and Leisure & Culture Dundee aimed at ensuring accessibility for all. Recent installations include Ways of Vision, A Very Fishy Tale, Build a ‘Scope – Look Near and Far and The Giant Worm. Valerie Bentivegna and Rolf Black, members of the Outer Space | Inner Space project team, were both highly commended for the Engaged Researcher of the Year award.    

The Outer Space | Inner Space project, a collaboration between the University of Dundee and Leisure and Culture Dundee, has taken off to a new dimension. A local special school for children with multiple disabilities visited recently for a multi sensory trip to the stars! The new immersive screen was filled with images and videos about everything you need from space boots to meteorite clusters. Access via switch allowed for our young space pioneers to keep control and everyone arrived safe back on earth!

Prof Annalu Waller OBE is featured in the top 100 list of people who affect life in the “Courier Country”. “PANEL VIEW: Prof Waller has made a real difference to the lives of disabled people. She has given them a voice through her research, and as a disabled person herself who has achieved so much in her own life, she is an inspiration to children, young people and adults.” Congratulations from everyone on the team! For more details, visit the Courier online at: thecourier.co.uk/impact-100/

A new interactive project demonstrating how the ‘C. elegans’, a minuscule worm that lives in your compost, helps world-leading research carried out at the University of Dundee will go on display at Mills Observatory this weekend. A massive interactive video wall will allow visitors to get up close and personal with the inner world of the 1mm long roundworm, which is widely used in experiments including those by NASA and other space agencies to test the effects of space on aging and weightlessness.

“THE UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING CENTRES FOR RESEARCH INTO AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR PEOPLE WITH SEVERE COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES, HELPING GIVE THEM A VOICE.” Read the full story in the latest issue of the CONTACT Magazine. More issues on the CONTACT page at the University of Dundee’s Press Office.  

A great evening at the Queen Mother Building for our event that was part of the Dundee Science Festival 2016: Our researchers explore where technology delivers social and healthcare benefits for older and disabled people. In repeated short lectures and showing interactive displays visitors were able to engage with projects about how older people can use computers, people control computers with their eyes, computers can be used to view colours in a different way – and much more. Try this with your eyes! @DundeeAAC @DundeeSciFest @UoDComputing Tonight 6-9pm. https://t.co/ARBxfagLV3 pic.twitter.com/JFx8SDPe1F — Dundee AAC Research (@DundeeAAC) November 10, 2016

Computing’s Tap and Talk Aphasia iPad Group proudly presented their work at today’s premier of the shorts: “I have Aphasia” and “Aphasia in our own words”. The short animation videos were created by the group during the last 10 weeks during an animation workshop funded by the NHS Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust THAT with the help of artist and film animator Andrew Low. A documentary, Aphasia – Telling our Stories, filmed by Steve Soave informs about the background and life behind the scenes of this exiting project. More information on the groups webpage: aac.dundee.ac.uk/tap-and-talk

The pioneering User Centre at the University of Dundee celebrates a decade of bringing the benefits of modern technology to the elderly and adults with severe communication disabilities. The User Centre, based in the Queen Mother Building, commemorates its first ten years of innovative research with the unveiling of a plaque in memory of John Gibson, first chair and founding member of the Centre who passed away last year. The event coincides with the announcement of Hollywood actor Brian Cox as the Centre’s first Patron.

Our team presented our Work at the international conference ISAAC 2016 in Toronto, Canada. The conference programme is online at ISAAC 2016 Schedules. Here a list of our presentations: Aphasia iPad User Group: Establishing a Collaboration between Users, Therapists and Researchers. Rolf Black, University of Dundee; Annalu Waller, University of Dundee; Laorag Hunter, NHS Scotland; Amy Hanschell, NHS Scotland; Eddie Gasowski, Speakeasy; Helen Gowland, Speakeasy. ACE-LP: Augmenting Communication using Environmental Data to drive Language Prediction. Rolf Black, University of Dundee; Per Ola Kristensson, Dr P, University of Cambridge; Stephen J. McKenna, University of Dundee; Jianguo Zhang, University of Dundee; Annalu Waller, University of Dundee. No Further On After 30 Years, Still Can’t Speak Fast Enough. Alan McGregor, University of Dundee. Supporting Personal Narrative Elicitation: Identifying Discrete Moment of Interest Event Cues Within Digital Video Footage. Christopher Norrie, University of Dundee; Annalu Waller, University of Dundee; Douglas Potter, University of Dundee. 

A £1 million research project that aims to change dramatically the way people with no speech and complex disabilities can have a conversation with others has been launched by the Universities of Dundee and Cambridge. Computer-based systems – called Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) – use word prediction to speed up typing, a feature similar to that commonly found on mobile phones or tablets for texting and emailing. However, for those with complex disabilities, including for example Professor Stephen Hawking, using typing to communicate can still be extremely slow, as little as 2 words per minute, which makes face-to-face conversation very difficult. Even with an average computer-aided communication rate of about 15 words per minute, conversations do not compare to the 150 words per minute speaking rate of people without a communication impairment.

We are excited to welcome Dr Kate Woodcock to  the QMB this August 24th for her seminar entitled “Helping children with neurodevelopmental disorders to show fewer temper outbursts: developing parent training and video games using human centred design”. Sounds fascinating! All welcome!  

We were very pleased to  welcome Fiona Menger to deliver her talk on the IDEA Project at the end of April as part of Computing’s ongoing Research Seminar Series.  Much enjoyed by all who attended!  

It’s official: We have our very own Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Annalu was down south on Friday to meet The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace for a wee chat and her well deserved badge of honour! Congratulations again from the whole team here in Dundee.

Professor Annalu Waller, Chair of Human Communication Technologies at the University of Dundee, has been awarded an OBE for her services to people with complex communication needs. Professor Waller has been based in Computing at the University since 1989 and has helped established Dundee’s reputation as one of the world’s leading centres for research into augmentative and alternative communication technologies for people with severe communication difficulties. She works closely with children and adults with disabilities, involving service users in the development of innovative technologies.

The Stories at the Dentist project looked at the difficulties of people with a variety of disabilities when visiting their dentist. Especially if you have no speech a checkup appointment can become a daunting experience. Dr Rachel Menzies, one of the researchers of the team, has written a guest blog on our dentist project on the well know PrAACtical AAC website.