Suwon City Holds Demonstration of Unmanned Information Terminals... Nationwide Expansion Expected

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province held a demonstration of the 'Barrier free Kiosk' in the city hall's medium conference room on the 11th.

The barrier free kiosk is an unmanned information terminal that applies intelligent information technologies such as voice and facial recognition and sign language video guidance, designed to be conveniently used by socially vulnerable groups including people with disabilities and the elderly.

Last April, Suwon City was selected for a demonstration project announced by the National Information Society Agency (NIA) to standardize barrier free kiosks. Since October of that year, a total of six kiosks have been installed and operated at temporary screening clinics in Paldal, Gwonseon, and Yeongtong District Public Health Centers.

The 2.2-meter-tall barrier free kiosk features a vertically mounted 32-inch monitor, with various buttons including a braille keypad for people with disabilities installed below the monitor.

Citizens can use the barrier free kiosks installed at the reception desks of temporary screening clinics to easily input medical questionnaire data and tester information, as well as apply for specimen testing.

For users with disabilities, customized services are provided according to the type of disability, such as wheelchair, visual, and hearing impairments.

When 'wheelchair' is selected on the kiosk start screen, the kiosk monitor lowers to allow users seated in wheelchairs to input information comfortably.

For visually impaired users, guidance is provided via the braille keypad or voice, and for hearing-impaired users, a female avatar appears on the monitor screen to provide sign language service guidance.

Air touch technology, which allows various functions to be operated like a touchscreen through simple hand gestures without touching the screen, is applied to reduce concerns about COVID-19 infection.

After the progress report, citizens with physical and hearing disabilities and Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young demonstrated the use of the kiosk.

Mayor Yeom Tae-young of Suwon said, "The installation of barrier free kiosks is a valuable step toward increasing the inclusiveness of our society," adding, "I hope the results of the demonstration project conducted in Suwon will spread nationwide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.