Achieving a Safe and Seamless User Experience Through Accessible Web Applications ABSTRACT: Web applications with flexible and dynamic user interaction models form a set of tools which are growing rapidly in availability and can be used at any time, in any place, on any device, and without the learning curve typically associated with a new platform. But perhaps more importantly, web applications which are fully accessible to users with disabilities can be equally accessible to users who are driving and require hands- and eyes-free interaction with their device in order to be safe. Thus accessible web applications are a means to achieve a user experience which is safe and seamless and do so at a greatly reduced cost to device manufacturers who can provide their customers with the tools they desire simply by implementing browser support. The automotive industry should strongly consider moving in this direction. =============== We envision a seamless user experience in which our technologies adapt to us rather than the other way around; in which the data held by the tools we use enhance our daily activities wherever we happen to be; in which we stop looking down at our devices and start looking up at the world around us. In order to achieve this seamless user experience, we must move away from device-specific tools and towards device-independent solutions. We must stop thinking about user interaction models as entirely discrete use cases and start thinking about them as a continuum along which one naturally moves in response to environmental and circumstantial changes. After all, the tasks that a user wants or needs to perform do not go away or change simply because the user happens to be driving, walking, or on a plane; in the office, at home, or in a hotel; with a disability or without. All that really changes is how the user performs those tasks. Web applications are becoming increasingly prevalent. And given the fact that Windows 8 applications can be built using HTML and JavaScript, this trend does not seem likely to halt any time soon. While native applications will be around for the foreseeable future, developers wishing to maximize their reach will start migrating towards the web as their primary -- if not their only -- platform. Thus web applications with flexible and dynamic user interaction models form a set of tools which are growing rapidly in availability and can be used at any time, in any place, on any device and without the learning curve typically associated with a new platform. Such applications will bring about a seamless user experience, and do so at a greatly reduced cost to device manufacturers who can provide their customers with the tools they desire simply by implementing browser support. The automotive industry should strongly consider moving in this direction. Of course, there is still the matter of safety. According to distraction.gov, a project of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "in 2010, 3092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver." [1] Providing automotive applications which are likely to be used while driving, without also providing a means to ensure they can be used safely under those conditions, would be irresponsible. For this reason, the automotive industry should also actively collaborate with those doing work in the area of accessibility to bring about a safe, seamless user experience. Admittedly, the connection between driver safety and accessibility is not immediately obvious. But these two areas are, in fact, closely connected because quite a few needs which on the surface appear unique to each field can be addressed by a relatively small number of shared technologies: * Speech input support provides hands-free device interaction to drivers as well as to users who cannot use a keyboard and/or touch screen. * Speech output support and gesture support provide eyes-free device interaction to drivers as well as to users who are blind and/or do not have or cannot use a keyboard. * Simplified user interfaces minimize the time required to interact with a device while driving, but also eliminate visual clutter for users with low vision or who have a visual learning disability. And perhaps most notably, a web application which is fully accessible to users with disabilities can be equally accessible to users who are driving and require hands- and eyes-free interaction with their device in order to be safe. By working together to achieve shared goals, both fields will benefit economically, and the fields' users will benefit experientially. =============== Alejandro Piņeiro Iglesias Alejandro has been a free software developer since 2004. While his experience includes a variety of GNOME and freedesktop.org projects, his focus since 2007 has been accessibility. Alejandro is a maintainer of ATK (Accessibility Toolkit), HAIL (Hildon Accessibility Implementation Library), and Cally (ATK implementation for Clutter). He implemented accessibility support in GNOME Shell, and continues to contribute to WebKitGtk accessibility, Gtk+ accessibility, AT-SPI, and the Orca screen reader. He is the GNOME Accessibility Team lead and a member of the GNOME Release Team. Igalia, S.L. Igalia is a dynamic and highly specialized open source consultancy founded in 2001. With headquarters in Spain and engineers around the world, Igalia designs, develops, customizes, and optimizes free and open source software solutions for companies across the globe. Our engineers have expertise in a wide range of technologies from every layer of the software stack and years of experience contributing to open source projects and communities. Igalia leads the development of essential projects and components in the areas of web rendering and browsers. It has 15 engineeers dedicated to the development of the WebKit engine, which it sees as the most promising solution for displaying web content in the mobile and embedded markets [2]. =============== [1] http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html retrieved 8 October 2012 [2] http://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=1&qpcustomb=1