DEMONSTRATION AND EVALUATION OF VISUAL DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR TRAVELLERS WITH HEARING AND COGNITIVE DISABILITIES

Text display technologies are helpful for persons who cannot hear or effectively comprehend public announcements or boarding information in airports. For this project several text display technologies were demonstrated and evaluated with subjects at Ottawa International Airport. Four types of text display technologies were tested: electronic reader board, full screen text on a gate monitor and a terminal monitor, and open captioning on a Flight Information Data monitor. After the demonstration the technologies were assessed for usability, functionality, effectiveness and technical feasibility. Participants who were hard of hearing or deaf, or who had cognitive disabilities tested the technologies in a setting similar to real conditions (i) at the waiting lounge of an Air Canada gate counter, and (ii) in a public waiting area in the terminal. The test methodology included observations, formal questionnaires and discussions with the participants. The results indicated that the electronic reader board provided the most effective display, followed by text display on monitors. It is recommended that an in-service demonstration program be devised that would monitor these technologies in several airports and evaluate their performance.

• Record URL:
  http://www.tc.gc.ca/tdc/summary/14000/14056e.htm
• Corporate Authors:

  Transport Canada

  Transportation Development Centre, 800 Rene-Levesque Boulevard West, Suite 600
  Montreal, Quebec  Canada  H3B 2X1

  Rhodes and Associates Incorporated

  177 Jenny Wrenway
  Toronto, Ontario M2H 2Z3,   Canada 
• Authors:
  • Rhodes, W
  • Rutenberg, U
• Publication Date: 2003-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 112 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aircraft gates; Airport terminals; Airports; Barrier free design; Cognitive impairment; Communication systems; Deaf persons; Hearing impaired persons; Information display systems; Information services
• Uncontrolled Terms: Electronic reader boards; Flight information (Passengers); Open captioning (Hard of hearing); Text displays on monitors
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00973845
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: TP 14056E, Final Report
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 7 2004 12:00AM