Tech resources can be downloaded for free and help people with disabilities
The deputy of the Chamber of Deputies, Mara Gabrilli, is the only Brazilian parliamentarian to participate in secret votes and other plenary sessions using Indra's Headmouse virtual mouse, aimed at helping people with disabilities to use the computer, through facial gestures and head movements. The software was designed by the Robotics Group at the Universidad de Lleida (UdL) under the Indra-Fundación Adecco Research Chair in Accessible Technologies in Spain.
But, this technology is accessible to everyone and at cost. HeadMouse together with VirtualKeyboard (virtual keyboard), also developed in the same Chair, has already surpassed the figure of 400 thousand downloads from 95 countries on five continents. Both solutions can be downloaded free of charge from Indra's website http://www.tecnologiasaccesibles.com/en/headmouse.htm or from the Universidad de Lleida http://robotica.udl.cat.
How it works in the Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber's electronic voting system has biometric security devices to electronically authenticate people. In the case of Gabrilli, the Headmouse allows him to participate in plenary sessions to vote through a computer and a webcam, making small movements of the head, without physical contact with other devices.
The House of Representatives computer center chose Headmouse for its speed, reliability and ease of use. In addition to moving the cursor, it is possible to click very simply through quick facial gestures, such as opening the mouth.
In addition, there is great interest on the part of the public body in expanding its collaboration with the Chair and with Indra, a multinational consulting and technology company with more than 43 thousand professionals around the world who, in addition to their knowledge of Accessible Technologies, more than 15 years of experience in electronic voting systems.
HeadMouse can be used by any user and has a help manual in Portuguese, Spanish and English. VirtualKeyboard offers three dictionaries that incorporate the most common words from Portuguese, Spanish and English. The software has an automatic learning system that expands the word base and creates new dictionaries, as it is compatible with the symbologies and characters of more than 20 languages.
As part of its Corporate Responsibility, Indra has developed, over more than 10 years, innovative solutions and services to facilitate access to technology and social and labor integration for people with disabilities. Worldwide, the company has already developed more than 40 R&D projects in this area.
The multinational created 14 Research Chairs in Accessible Technologies in Brazil, Spain, Argentina and Mexico, in collaboration with different universities, associations and foundations. Indra in Brazil created its first Chair last year with Red Ilumno, a network of Latin American universities that includes the Brazilian Universidade Veiga de Almeida (UVA) and the Centro Universitário Jorge Amado (UNIJORGE).
Present in Brazil since 1996, Indra is one of the main technology, consulting and outsourcing companies in the country. It currently has a team of more than 8 thousand professionals and a wide geographic coverage, with offices distributed in the main Brazilian states and 4 software labs. The multinational offers solutions and services to the Financial, Energy and Utilities, Telecommunications, Public Administration and Health, Industry, Transport and Traffic and Defense and Security sectors.
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