Reducing barriers for the blind

Visually-impaired people face a number of challenges every day, from reading a label on a canned drink to figuring out if they are at the right bus stop.

Even though there are a number of disabled Malaysians, certain infrastructures and many facilities are not disabled-friendly.

According to Health Ministry’s National Eye Survey, which was conducted in 2018, the prevalence of low vision among the general population is 2.44% while blindness is at 0.29%.

This means that 800,000 Malaysians could be partially sighted and almost 95,000 are blind.

Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) accessibility and advocacy executive Siti Huraizah Ruslan cited food and drink vending machines as an example of a facility that was easily accessible to able-bodied people in public spaces but does not cater to the visually impaired.

Siti Huraizah, who is also a committee member of Society of the Blind in Malaysia (SBM), said it was a painful reality for her and her visually-impaired friends.

Such barriers make it harder for them to be independent and lead normal lives.

“Most of the facilities provided, especially in Malaysia, do not have universal design features.

“It hinders the visually impaired from using them independently even though such a right is enshrined in the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008.

“The visually impaired are not able to see clearly but we use other senses to live life just like those who are sighted.

“So, in the context of a vending machine, it needs to be equipped with Braille to be read by touch and spoken announcements to be heard,” she said.

She added that for those with limited vision, the use of colour contrast on the buttons’ lights was important to make it easier to distinguish the functions provided.

As such, MAB has teamed up with food and beverage vending operator Atlas Vending to roll out a pilot programme for drink vending machines.

The machines are specially equipped with assistive features to ensure visually-impaired customers can use them.

The vending machines, which were certified by Malaysia Book of Records on May 28 this year as the first Braille-enabled vending machines in Malaysia, will be stocked with popular bottled and canned drinks.

Audio instructions are incorporated for all visually-impaired users to purchase drinks, with cash and cashless payment options.

Siti Huraizah elaborated that all 11 vending machines had been deployed across the Klang Valley, including Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur.

The locations were chosen on the advice of MAB, where the visually impaired travel back and forth to MAB for work and social purposes.

“For ease of access, the machines have been equipped with Braille plates as well as indicator lights and motion-sensor-triggered audio instructions.

“The vending machines’ assistive features have been designed and tested in collaboration with MAB’s Access team, which specialises in evaluating accessibility functions for the visually impaired.

“This is to ensure that the special features are well-suited to the needs of visually-impaired consumers, although the vending machines also retain typical features for use by other consumers.

“For the partially sighted, they may be able to perceive colour and light, and even movement and form.

“So the indicator lights on the machines are a helpful tool, in addition to the Braille plates and audio instructions for all visually-impaired users,” Siti Huraizah explained.

MAB chief executive officer George Thomas said the collaboration was part of the organisation’s aim to educate and create equal opportunities for visually-impaired persons, to enable them to enjoy the same quality of life as the sighted.

“If there is no such assistive technology for vending machines, people will surely not realise that our visually-impaired members face barriers in performing seemingly simple tasks that sighted persons may not give a second thought to, like purchasing a can of drink from a vending machine without assistance,” he said.

Atlas Vending marketing and ancillary business head Amy Gan said the initiative was in line with the company’s aim to reduce barriers faced by the visually-impaired community, as the company strives to progressively increase accessibility for people with special needs, enabling them to gain access and improve their purchase experience.

“We are extremely delighted that this collaboration has come into fruition after months of working with the team at MAB, from conceptualising and prototype testing to the actual roll-out.

“At each step, the feedback and suggestions from the MAB team were studied and incorporated to ensure that the final design of the machines would be truly convenient for visually-impaired customers.

“Details such as the speed of the audio instructions and colours of the indicator lights were crucial and helped the Atlas Vending technology team to improve the physical design and software features. “We have been in the business of dispensing drinks for the past 40 years, so this initiative to improve inclusivity by progressively increasing accessibility using technology is another milestone for us.

“We are also looking forward to expanding the roll-out, where there is demand or need from the community,” she added.

The existing assistive features for visually-impaired customers could be adapted to various types of vending machines, not just for selling drinks, said Gan, noting that introducing Braille-enabled vending machines for food products was possible in the near future.“The Braille-enabled vending machines have been well-received.

“We look forward to working with non-governmental organisations such as MAB and other partners to further increase accessibility to vending machines and expand the number of machines in use,” she added. — Bernama