NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Diebold's Dave Barker knows October is World Blindness Awareness Month. Barker is a principal strategist specializing in human factors for Diebold. As a member of Diebold's industrial design team, Barker's role is to ensure Diebold products are accessible to people of all abilities.
Before Diebold launched its Opteva family of ATMs, Barker and the design team worked closely with representatives from the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Barker said organizations like the NFB are crucial to design decisions. During product testing for the Opteva line, it was members of the NFB who suggested the location of the audio jack that enables those who are blind to use headphones and voice guidance at the ATM. This important feature is now conveniently placed on the same plane as the keypad and comes standard on all Diebold Opteva products.
Opteva self-service terminal features include primary and secondary transaction functions grouped by location, pronounced bezels for the card readers and headphone jacks to aid identification, a telephone-style keypad with raised key tops and text-to-speech capabilities. While only 9 percent of the blind population reads Braille, Diebold provides Braille signage options on all units.
According to the NFB's findings, those who tested the Opteva machines preferred the raised keys and the tactile feedback the keys provided when used. Testers also liked the "click" heard when the card was accepted into the machines' motorized readers; this audio feedback is a positive sound that gives sight-impaired users confidence that the machine is working properly.
