International Conference and Forum on
Assistive Technologies for Special Needs

Biography:

Dr. M. Balakrishnan is now a Distinguished Visiting Professor with Plaksha University, Mohali as well as Honorary Professor of CSE at IIT Delhi. He has served as a faculty in IIT Delhi for 33+ years - teaching courses conducting research while holding a number of senior academic leadership positions. His research interests include assistive technologies, embedded systems, EDA and system level design. His work on Assistive Technology is well recognized in India and abroad. Two of his most impactful works are: SmartCane which has sold 130,000+ units and tactile books and kits from the non-profit Raised Lines Foundation used by thousands of visually impaired students for their STEM education. OnBoard a device that assists visually impaired persons to board public buses independently is now going to be piloted on 700 buses in two cities in Southern India. He is a recipient of three national awards and ACM Eugene Lawler award. He is a fellow of ACM as well as INAE.

Abstract:

Societies today strive for inclusion of all sections of the population including of persons with disabilities (PwDs). In low resources large population countries like India, this is still a major challenge. Note finding a technology solution itself is just a small step. There are significant challenges lie in scaling it for production, dissemination including training while keeping the device/solution affordable to the end user. ASSISTECH is a laboratory in IIT Delhi which has been working for mobility and education of visually impaired for nearly 20 years. We have been successful in getting multiple solutions out of the lab to the end user. In this talk I would share this journey along with its successes as well as disappointments.

Biography:

Mohamed JEMNI is a Professor of Computer Science and Educational Technologies at the University of Tunis, Tunisia. He is the Director of ICT Department at The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (www.alecso.org) and Minister Plenipotentiary at Arab League States from December 2013. He has been the General Director of the Computing Center El Khawarizmi, the Internet services provider for the sector of higher education and scientific research in Tunisia, from 2008 to 2013.

At ALECSO, he is currently leading several projects related to the promotion of effective use of ICT in education in the Arab world, namely, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Learning, OER, cloud computing and the strategic project of development of the “Unified Arab System for Blockchain-based Certificate Authentication”.

He produced two patents and published more than 350 papers in international journals, conferences and books. He produced many studies for international organizations such as UNESCO and ITU.

Prof. Jemni has been awarded the honorary distinction of Commander of the Order of the Tunisian Republic in May 2009 and the Order of Educational Merit in July 2007.

Prof. Jemni and his research Laboratory have received several awards, including the silver medal of the International Fair of Inventions in Kuwait 2007, the UNESCO Prize 2008 for the e-learning curriculum they developed for visually impaired, President's Award for the integration of persons with disabilities 2009 and the "World Summit Award (WSA) - Mobile 2010" in the field of social inclusion. In April 2012, his laboratory LaTICE received the Google Student AWARD, and he received the Best Communication Paper of the Web for All 2012. Prof. Jemni received the International Telecommunication Union Award: “ICT Innovation application challenge” during the WSIS Forum in Geneva in May 2013, and recently, the project “ALECSO APPS” that he is leading at ALECSO received the Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic Language Award (in the Technology topic), in May 2017.

Prof. Jemni is an IEEE Senior member and member of the Executive board of IEEE Technical Committee on Learning Technology. He is co-editor of Springer Lecture Notes in educational Technology (www.springer.com/series/11777) and member of the steering committee of G3ICT – United Nations, Global initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies and he is also the president of a Tunisian NGO created in June 2011: the Tunisian Association of e-accessibility (www.e-access.tn). He has launched many initiatives to promote ICT accessibility in the Arab region including the project of WCAG2.0 translation to Arabic (www.alecso.org/wcag2.0/) to promote accessibility of Arabic Web Content and the 2009 initiative for using ICT to develop Arab Sign language.

His full CV is available on his web page : www.latice.rnu.tn/english/memb_jemni.html

Title:AI and Accessibility: New Horizons for Empowering People with Disabilities.  

Abstract:

The keynote will explore the transformative potential of AI in enhancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities. It will focus on new AI-driven innovations that empower people through assistive technologies and inclusive digital platforms. The talk will also highlight ALECSO’s efforts in promoting accessibility across the Arab region and beyond, paving the way for an inclusive digital future.

Biography:

Dr. Anasse Bouhlal- Higher Education and TVET Regional Programme Specialist. UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen.

Anasse has worked in TVET and Higher Education for the past 30 years in Finland and other EU countries. Before joining higher education, he worked in the field of industry. He was recently transferred to Doha from the Beirut Office, where he served since 2017 as the Regional Program Specialist in Higher Education for the Arab States. He also had a one-year assignment at HQ in Paris. During this period, Anasse collaborated closely with Ministries of Higher Education in the entire Arab region. In previous periods, Anasse spent four years working for the Ministry of Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, as Director of the Engineering Programs.

In Finland, he worked as a Professor at Tampere University (TAMK) where he was involved, among other things, in quality assurance, digital transformation, Research and Innovation, and the Internationalization of HEIs in the Euro-Med Region. He was elected Member of the Management Board and Senate of the Euro-Mediterranean University in Slovenia. Anasse has also been a visiting Professor at the Bordeaux School of Management and Le Havre University in France for several years.Anasse is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Finnish Institute in the Middle East. Anasse is a holder of a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences and speaks Arabic, French, Finnish, English, and Russian.

Anasse is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Finnish Institute in the Middle East. Anasse is a holder of a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences and speaks Arabic, French, Finnish, English, and Russian.

Biography:

Dr. Mohamed Bouri is a distinguished roboticist and the leader of the EPFL research group REHAssist (Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics). He earned his PhD in 1997 from INSA-Lyon, France. Dr. Bouri is renowned for his expertise in the development and control of advanced robotic systems, particularly in the field of medical robotics. His work primarily revolves around rehabilitation robotics, lower limb exoskeletons, and surgical applications. He holds prominent positions as a board member of the International Consortium on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) and the Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C).

Title:Lower limb exoskeletons to assist gait for daily living, and for lower limb rehabilitation

Abstract:

Powered lower limb exoskeletons (LLEs) and their corresponding control strategies have been developed to assist gait for a wide range of users, including individuals with mobility impairments, for applications in rehabilitation, and for daily activities. In his presentation, Mohamed Bouri will showcase several exoskeletons designed at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), focusing on the key motivations behind these innovations. He will discuss three main drivers:

• Simplicity – aimed at facilitating ease of implementation and increasing the accessibility of this technology for people with lower limb impairments.
• Clear Needs and Specifications – to reduce the time required for evaluating the technology and ensure it effectively meets user demands.
• Development of Advanced Control Strategies – enabling the exoskeletons to assist gait and balance with greater precision and efficiency.

These factors are crucial for the effective deployment of LLEs in both clinical and everyday settings.

Biography:

Dr. Dena Al-Thani is currently an associate professor, the co-founder of the A-sense Centre of Excellence, and the Head of Information and Computing Technology Division at the College of Science and Engineering at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Dr. Al-Thani was awarded her MSC in Software Engineering and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Queen Mary University of London. Her research areas of interest include accessibility, inclusive design, Human-AI interaction and eHealth. Dr. Al-Thani is now actively publishing her work in high-ranked journals and presenting her work at international conferences. She is keen to see the impact on the world of her research on inclusion, and, to that end, she is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) technical advisory group on assistive technology and the Arab ICT Accessibility Expert Group, an initiative by Mada.

Title:Towards Personalized Learning in Inclusive Education: Attention Detection in Children with Autism Using Machine Learning

Abstract:

Detecting the attention of children with autism is crucial for achieving optimal learning outcomes. Since children with autism often exhibit unique challenges in maintaining and assessing their attention, it is essential to understand and monitor their attentiveness during learning activities to ensure meaningful educational progress. Traditionally, teachers have relied on subjective methods to evaluate the attention of children with autism. While these methods can provide insights, they are often labor-intensive and inconsistent due to the wide range of attentional behaviors that children on the spectrum may display. This study investigates the attentional behavior of children with autism in comparison to typically developing (TD) children. By leveraging advanced, unobtrusive technologies such as webcams and eye-tracking devices, the research aims to detect and measure attention objectively, offering a more reliable alternative to subjective observation. Machine learning algorithms are applied to analyze the gathered visual and behavioral data, providing deeper insights into attention patterns. Three machine learning models are proposed: face-based models (which analyze facial expressions and movements), gaze-based models (which track eye movement patterns), and hybrid models (which combine face and gaze data). The performance of these models in detecting attention is evaluated, with the gaze-based model proving to be the most accurate of the three. An important aspect of this study is the distinction between generalized and person-specific models. Generalized models are designed to work across multiple individuals, while person-specific models are tailored to the unique attentional behavior of each child. The study reveals that person-specific models significantly outperform generalized models, particularly for children with autism. This result highlights the need for more personalized approaches to attention detection, moving away from one-size-fits-all models and toward solutions that better address the diverse needs of children with autism. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential of using technology to transform how attention is monitored in educational settings for children with autism. By adopting personalized, technology-driven solutions, educators can gain a more accurate and detailed understanding of each child’s attentional state, leading to more targeted interventions and better learning outcomes.

Biography:

He is the Head of ICT Accessibility Innovation and Research Section at Mada Qatar Assistive Technology Center, Doha, Qatar. Working on research projects to enable people with disabilities using innovative technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). He worked in several international organizations and institutions, and he is an assistant professor. He is an IEEE Senior Member.

Title:JUMLA Sign Language Framework 

Abstract:

Deaf communities continue to face significant communication barriers, particularly in accessing digital services that rely on spoken and written languages. Technologies like avatar systems and machine translation for sign languages have emerged as potential solutions, but they remain limited in their ability to accurately represent the natural complexity and cultural nuances of sign languages. Issues such as the lack of large, annotated datasets and the visual-spatial structure of sign languages complicate effective translation and representation.

In my talk, I will address these challenges and discuss how the JUMLA Sign Language Framework is tackling them. By providing advanced tools for sign language annotation, avatar synthesis and data processing, JUMLA supports the development of more reliable and culturally sensitive technologies, helping to bridge the communication gap for deaf communities.