What NAB do for the blind!

• Education
• Vocational Training
• Sports
• Theatre
• Rehabilitation
• Employment
• Computer Training
Education :
• Integrated Education Pattern
• Students attend regular schools
• Provide with specialised training & support at home
• Specialised teachers.
BRAILLE
• Textbooks in Braille
• Special Typewriter in Braille
• Magnification Aids and textbooks
with enlarged font sizes for low vision children.
Income Generation
• Vocational training and assistance
• Loans to visually impaired to be self reliant.
 UNDERSTANDING VISUALLY
IMPAIRED
• Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to
physiological or neurological factors.
• Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of
vision loss blindness and define.
• Total blindness is the complete lack of form and visual light
perception and is clinically recorded as NLP, an abbreviation
for "no light perception. “
• Blindness is frequently used to describe severe visual
impairment with residual vision.
• Those described as having only light perception have no more
sight than the ability to tell light from dark and the general
direction of a light source.
• There are few terms which often occur or are used when
describing or working with visually impaired . They are:
• Vision loss: Refers to individuals who have trouble seeing,
even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, as well as to
individuals who are blind or unable to see at all.
• Self-reported vision loss: It is determined on an individual
basis based on that person's perceived visual ability and its
effect on daily functioning.
• Legal blindness: It is a level of vision loss that has been legally
defined to determine eligibility for benefits. The clinical
diagnosis refers to a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in
the better eye with the best possible correction, and/or a
visual field of 20degrees or less. Often, people who are
diagnosed with legal blindness still have some useable vision .
The concept of legal blindness arose with the introduction of
social security systems .The term legal blindness is generally
used by governments to determine the criteria by which a
person is deemed eligible for government concessions, such
as income assistance and disability support.
• Total blindness: It refers to an inability to see anything with
either eye.
• Low vision: It is a term often used interchangeably with visual
impairment and refers to a loss of vision that may be severe
enough to hinder an individual's ability to complete daily
activities such as reading, cooking, or walking outside safely,
while still retaining some degree of useable vision.
• Visual impairment: It is often defined clinically as a visual
acuity of 20/70 or worse in the better eye with adaptation.
Best correction, or a total field loss of 140 degrees. Additional
factors influencing visual impairment might be contrast
sensitivity, light sensitivity, glare sensitivity, and light/dark
ARCHITECTURAL PERCEPTION
SENSORY PERCEPTION
• sense and perception need to be defined together as
definition of one calls for defining the other.
• Oxford Dictionary defines sent Sense as 'A faculty by which
the body Perseus perceives and external stimulus ; one of the
faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.' where as
perception is defined as ' debility the ability to see, hear ,or
become aware of something through the senses.
• Sensation is the instant response of our sensory receptors .
• The five traditional senses, we need to first understand what
they are and how they are defined which is:
• Visual sense: it is the sense which is related to seeing and
visual perception of a space.
• Tactile sense: it is related with the sense of touch and tactile
experience.
• Olfactory sense: it is related to the sense of smell
• Auditory sense: it is related to the sense of hearing
• Gustatory sense: it is concerned with the sense of tasting
• A clear understanding of how senses affect the perception of
architecture it is of utmost importance to understand the
categorisation of senses under heads like psychology
physiology Anatomical study receptor organs etc.
• The limitation of this dissertation we will focus on the
classification based on receptor organs and stimulus location.
• It is very important to understand the classification of sensors
based on the receptor organs and the stimulus location
because in architecture design elements very much depend on
how and at what level of contact it has to be perceived.
• e.g. visual perception can happen at an immediate contact
level dealing with texture and colour as well as at a distant
level where we focus on the overall form whereas for tactile
perception we need to have an immediate contact.
• Based on the distribution of the receptor organs in the body
senses are categorised as:
• General sense: In which receptor organs are distributed all
over the body and no special organ is dedicated to them.
• Special sense: In which receptor organs are housed in one
Complex setting (head) and has a dedicated organ associated
with it.

senses and architecture:

• As mentioned before the perception of a space completely
depends on the senses and the level to which they have
developed in .
• The responsibility of architecture to invoke and make us aware
of the senses that have gone dormant.
• Architecture does not happen in isolation. Architecture exists
with the nature and acts as an extension of nature into the
man-made realm.
• Every experience of architecture unless intentional is
perceived by all the senses together. one receptor feeds and
collaborates with the other to create a multi-sensory
experience.
• All the four senses vision ,smell,hear and taste acts as an
interface between the tactile sense, which has skin as its
receptor and the world. It is an interface between the exterior
and interior of the body.
• A living room has the senses of vision and touch associated
with it. but if we look closely it can't function without
responding to all the five senses.
VISUAL PERCEPTION
• visual perception has become one of the most important
aspects of architecture master architect like Le corbusier have
always advocated the importance and dominance of visual
sense through their design and writings.
• Architecture as something which only has meaning when put
in light, whereas the Japanese favor shadows and darkness
over light in their architecture.
• Constant and uniform light freezes the imagination and time
whereas darkness and shadows makes us go inwards and
takes us towards the peripheral experience of the visual.
DOMINANCE OVER OTHER SENSES
• Visual has not always been the most dominant of all senses,
but it has only earned this status around the sixteenth century
where geometry and order got a strong hold in designs.
• Renaissance, not only brought a change in the approach
towards architecture but one of the basic reasons of
renaissance, the invention of printing press, brought a shift in
how people perceive information and communicate.
• Julio Bermudez has his concems regarding the representation
and communication that are taught in architectural schools
and which the architects follow today. One of the major tasks
of a school is to teach the representation techniques and
language of architecture.
• Now this technique has mostly to do with the visual
representation and communication. And since the architects
are visually versed people, how to represent and
communicate the non-visual aspects of design visually has
always been a point to ponder upon.
• And somewhere what we cant represent is hard to think of or
communicate, and thus results into a phenomenologically
week architecture.
TACTILE SENSE
• All the senses, including vision, are extension of the tactile
sense; the senses are specialization of skin tissue, and all
sensory experiences are modes of touching and thus related
to tactility.
• Tactile sense is the one which is present in us since the time
we are born . A child experiences the whole world mostly by
hand -touch.
• According to the Jain philosophy, human being is classified on
the basis of minimum senses it has.
• Touch is placed at the first place, which means all human
beings are supposed to have tactile sense and anyone having
any other sense will definitely have this.
• Vision is placed at the fourth place after touch, taste and
smell.
• Touch is divided into active touch and passive touch
psychologist.
• In architecture we mostly have active touch whereas
experience through passive touch is not explored much.
• Gibson explains active touch as more exploratory in nature,
like touching a textured wall or putting the hand in a water
pool, whereas passive touch is more receptive in nature.
• In Passive touch, we haven't planned to. World predominant
of visual sense makes us focused to the experiences around us
and the concept of peripheral vision or experience disappears.
• QED came up with an interesting article based on a study
done on mind wanderings by john Tierney.
• The study suggests that tactile perception of a space shapes
up not only what we perceive through other senses but also
what we feel and think.
• So, whatever we see or feel is somewhere strongly connected
to our tactile perception of it, be it active or passive.
• Response to tactile sense makes a space more inviting at an
intimate level.
• Standing inside the Taj Mahal and looking at people going
again and again to touch the intricate inlay work on the walls
and the jail patterns and feel the precision and dedication
devoted by the craftsmen, made me actually see the bond
between a building and the observer being built through
tactile sense.
• Weathered and discolored white marble motifs, floors and
hand rails told me that we have been touched, walked on and
felt before which made me a part of the experience which is
rooted deep in history.
• Mastery of human Greek figures was achieved a thousand
years before it was achieved in painting .
OLFACTORY SENSE
• "Smell evokes much deeper memories than either vision or
sound." (Hall, 1990)- Edward T Hall Every house has a different
odour which is developed through the years of its occupancy.
Every space has a different smell and memory associated with
it. Relationship between memory, smell and thermoception is
so strong that one cant exist without the other .
• This relationship can be understood as odour of a place
depends on the temperature around, as when a person is in a
hot condition, the skin molecules gets excited and the smell of
perfume or sweat starts to spread.
• Odours of different people in a space build up a collective
odour of a space which then creates a distinct olfactory
memory. All these factors to be same for different spaces are
almost impossible.
• Overlapping of thermal or olfactory spheres of people create a
sense of discomfort in them unless they are closely related.
AUDITORY SENSE
• "Sight isolates, whereas sound incorporates; Vision is
directional whereas sound is Omni-directional" When auditory
and visual sense is compared, the former is seen as the
passive receptor (which receives information) whereas the
latter is seen as the active receptor (which reaches for
information).
• Perception of sound is not focused, although it gives the sense
of direction, once the sound reaches the ears.
SPACES OF SHADOW
• Light and shadow exist together. Shadows are made when
there is light, otherwise when there is no light, its darkness
that exists. Shadows are made because of any solid or
translucent form coming in between the path of light, whereas
darkness can exist anywhere, where there is no light.
• Works of architects like Tadao Ando, shows a perfect blend of spaces
with elements of deep breathing of shadows and light; shadow
inhales and illumination exhales light. " shadows, darkness and light.
• He describes the construction of a temple, where the roof of the
temple is built first and then the rest of the structure is made in the
shadow cast by it. Scrolls are placed in the alcoves to add depth to
shadows created in it .
• "Homogenous bright light paralyses the imagination" Bright lights
always keep us at our exteriors, focusing on the world around,
whereas shadows make us go inwards, in an imaginary world of
thoughts.
• Light is not just a source which helps us see things. There are many
layers in which the whole perception of space or form in light
happens.
• In the Holocaust museum, Israel, designed by Moshe Safdie, spaces
have such a dramatic composition of light and shadow. Bold inclining
concrete walls with a slit through which light comes and falls on its
rough surface, not only adds richness to the concrete texture but
also makes bold patterns on it.
UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURE
IN NON-VISUAL WORLD
• Studies done by Hazelwood school team, resulted into
creating 5 themes or factors which would help create a
healthy educational and living environment for the visually
impaired students.
• Those 5 themes area: a. Access to nature. b. Kitchen and
dining as primary Social space. c. Color, Texture, and lighting to
enhance sensory d. 'Landmarks' and 'Shorelines' to support
navigation and circulation. e. Social interaction and
community involvement. According to VI-Fu Tuan if 'space' is
defined as movement, then each and every pause in that
space would be defined as a 'place'.
CIRCULATION AND MOBILITY
• One of the main component of architecture and its Perception
is the movement pattern. The built network of spaces affects
the way in which way interact move our surroundings.
• Alvar Aalto and Carlo Scarpa, whose work have a rigorous
appreciation of a multi-sensory architecture. Be it a chair
designed by Aalto or a staircase by Scarpa, It's all about a
multi-sensory experience.
DESIGNING FOR THE BLIND
UNDERSTANDING BLINDNESS IN
INDIA
POPULATION
• The current population of India is 1,372,492,364 as of Thursday, December
12, 2019, based on Worldometers elaboration of the latest United Nations
data.
• Nearly 40 million people in India, including 1.6 million children,
are blind or visually impaired due to uncorrected refractive error.
CURENT SCHOOL & RESEARCH CENTER
• M.Krishna school for blind (Banglore)
Facilities: Co-Ed Institute, Boys Hostel, Girls Hostel, Library, Cafeteria,
Laboratories, Gym, Sports Facilities, Transports, Wifi, Auditorium, Bank & ATM,
Medical Facility, Private Institute.
• Pune blind school
Facilities : Co-Ed Institute, Private Institute
• Asha deepa school for blind
Facilities :Co-Ed Institute, Boys Hostel, Girls Hostel, Library, Laboratories,
Sports Facilities, Auditorium, Private Institute
• Mathru educational trust for blind
Facilities: Co-Ed Institute, Boys Hostel, Girls Hostel, Library, Laboratories,
Sports Facilities, Auditorium, Private Institute
• CAREER FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED
• Assistive technologies such as Braille computer displays and voice-command
technology have made it possible for the blinds and people with visually
impaired professionals to find jobs in almost every vocation. There are several
jobs that can be performed regardless of you have vision impairment. These jobs
include self-employment, sales, accounting and teaching.
• Accountant
An accountant is a professional, who handles financial matters. You can either
look for jobs in companies or financial institution firms or choose to become a
self-employed professional accountant.
• Call center/customer service representative:
• Call center executive position can help visually impaired
professionals making a living for themselves. This is because
the call center or customer service jobs are done over telephone.
• Financial experts
• Another high-growth field in the financial sector, persons with visual
impairment will be increasingly being preferred as financial analysts who
prepare forecasts for industrial, corporate and economic conditions.
• You can work either for organizations as a financial analyst or you don’t
intend to go out you can also work from home. If you are blind or visually
impaired person looking to seek jobs, management and human resource are
hiring people like you.
• Government sector
The implementation of Persons with Disability Act 1995 which mandates 1
percent of jobs for people with visual disability in government and public
sectors has paved the way for the visually challenged. With its specialized
training initiatives that backs the visually challenged with skills, several IAB
alumni are gainfully employed in the government sector in sectors like
teaching, railways and banking.
• So far about 750 IAB alumni have been employed in Government sectors. In
a unique initiative several IAB alumni have been reemployed in IAB after
retiring from Government service.
• Private Sector
IAB has taken the initiative of identifying employer needs and then placing
students whose skill and capability match the requirement in the right
position.
• Self-Employment
Self-employment is another area that IAB encourages students towards by
providing vocational training
• In House Placement
Keeping pace with current market demands and trends IAB has reoriented its
employment avenues. Among its initiatives is a BPO that offers support
services to impressive clientele include Tata DoCoMo, SUN Direct and Bharath
Post Graduate College, Chennai.
• Complex perceptions like voice recognition or discrimination of similar
sound sequences need experience and can generally be trained. Complex
perceptions are often multi-sensory perceptions. Example: To distinguish
between a real apple and fake the subject needs to touch or to smell it,
because visual inspection may be insufficient.
• Depending on previous experience with similar situations the subject will
decide which strategy to use. Vision-Motor-Perception Program is based on
the assumption that vision is the most important sensory mechanism. This
program, to help children gain superior perception abilities, was developed
based on theory and research in how they develop. [1]
• The basic principles of perception training are similar to problem
solving.[2] The perception of a simple stimulus (like a sound of a given
intensity) can normally not be trained to function below its intensity
threshold
Understanding Visual Impairment
• Visual Disorder refers to anatomical changes in the visual
organs caused by diseases of the eye.
• Visual Impairment refers to the functional loss that results
from a visual disorder.
• Visual Disability refers to vision-related changes in the skills
and abilities of an individual. It describes the level of
performance of a person based on functional vision.
• Visual handicap refers to the psychosocial and economic
consequences of visual loss, such as the loss of independence
or the inability to work.
Functional categories of visual impairments
Low Vision
• • print users • may require special devices or aids
Blind
• Low Vision defined:
• • Partial vision loss that cannot be corrected by regular
eyeglasses or contact lenses, and cannot be fully restored by
surgery or use of drugs or medicine. • Can be mild, moderate,
severe and profound.
• Visual Disturbances Produced by Loss of Vision
• Central Visual Field Loss
• affects the ability to see the objects or people in direct line of
vision
• color vision may be affected
• difficulty in seeing details
• distorted vision
• Peripheral Visual Field Loss
• difficulty with individual travel
• banging with obstacles on the sides such
• as furniture
• difficulty engaging in steps
• This section briefly introduces five categories of visual impairment
that impact web use, not including total blindness:
• Visual acuity
• Light sensitivity
• Contrast sensitivity
• Field of vision
• Color vision
• Visual acuity is the clarity or sharpness of vision .Measurement of
distance visual acuity is based on a standard of 20/20 (6/6 in metric).
• Some low visual acuity can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses,
or surgery – and some cannot. Therefore, some people will have
blurry vision (low visual acuity) no matter what.
• User needs related to visual acuity (clarity) are addressed in the
following sections:
• Perceiving - text size, font, style, capitalization, size of all elements
• Spacing for Reading - leading, letter spacing, word spacing,
justification, margins and borders, spacing between elements
• Identifying Elements - element-level customization, proportional
text increase
Light Sensitivity
• Many people with low vision have extreme sensitivity to light
(called photophobia). Bright light makes it difficult or
impossible to see, and causes eye pain and headaches. For
some people, the normal brightness of a computer screen
with a light background is not readable and painful. They need
to change the background to a darker color.
• User needs related to light sensitivity are addressed in the
following section : Brightness and Color
Contrast Sensitivity
• Contrast sensitivity is the ability to distinguish bright and dim
areas of images, for example, to discern text on a background.
A common accessibility barrier for people with low contrast
sensitivity is gray text on a light background.
• User needs related to contrast sensitivity are addressed in the
following section: Brightness and Color
• Color Vision
• Some people cannot see certain colors well or at all, usually
because of deficiencies in the cone receptors of their eyes
which are responsible for color perception.
• This is commonly called “color blindness”, even though most
people who are color blind can see most colors. It is rare that
a person cannot see any color at all. Globally, approximately 1
in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women have color vision
deficiencies. Color vision deficiencies are not classified as
“low vision” or disabilities in many contexts.
TECHNOLOGY
• Google Map
• Digital Impression Board –Haptic Pen
• Walking Stick
• Jacket
TECHNOLOGY FOR BLIND
• Google Map
• Digital Impression Board –
Haptic Pen
• Walking Stick
• Jacket
GOOGLE MAP
DIGITAL IMPRESSION BOARD- HAPTIC PEN
Jacket ,ultra scan stick