Supervisors info:
Κουρουπέτρογλου Γεώργιος, Καθηγητής, Πληροφορικής και Επικοινωνιών, Εθνικό & Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνων.
Summary:
This thesis belongs to the category of Alternative and Augmentative Communication
(AAC) open source systems with the ability to convert text to synthetic speech in the
Greek language for people without speech or with severe dysarthria combined with
mental retardation or aphasia. At the beginning, the existing web-based solutions were
evaluated comparatively and we chose Cboard as the most suitable. To this end, we
have developed conceptual selection tables based on the ARASAAC symbolic
dictionary, covering a wide range of communication needs. More specifically, the
scenarios can serve emergencies (transfer and hospital stay, personal information),
expression of feelings and needs (toilet), desire to eat at home and in a restaurant
(breakfast, snack, lunch). Next, we developed the user test protocol (presentation,
training, testing), as well as the requirements that prospective users must meet. Two
non-speech users were then asked to rate the application and complete a
questionnaire. The questionnaire is divided into two categories of use (use inside and
outside the home). Each use category was divided into four phases of the day (morning,
noon, afternoon, evening). Users also evaluate the concept dashboards separately, the
difficulty of communicating before and after using the application and the difficulty of
using it before and after training. The test results showed that users rate the application
and dashboards with high marks. In addition, we observe higher scores in the use of the
application outside the home than inside, as well as the score for the difficulty they face
with the use of the application is low.
