Smart Lang AAC - User's Manual

Purpose

This manual describes how to use and maintain the Smart Lang AAC system. It provides instructions for both the end-user (caregivers/students) and the maintainers.

Quick Start Guide

For the experienced user.

1. Access the Application: Navigate to https://smartlangaac.netlify.app/ in your browser.
2. Login: Click "Sign in with Google" to access your caregiver or student account.
3. Communicate: Tap on tiles to construct phrases; the app will speak the phrase via text-to-speech.

Installation

The system is built as an Offline-First Progressive Web App (PWA). No installation is required.

Server Deployment (Maintainers):

1. Ensure yarn is installed.
2. Run yarn install to fetch dependencies.
3. Run yarn run build to generate the production build artifacts.
4. Deploy the contents of the app/build/ directory and root HTML to a static host (e.g., Netlify, Firebase Hosting) OR use yarn start to run locally.

Configuration

Requires setup of Firebase environment for cloud synchronization.

1. Ensure a .env.local file exists with:
   • VITE_FIREBASE_API_KEY
   • VITE_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN
   • VITE_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID
2. Update Firestore Security Rules in the Firebase Console as outlined in the maintainer documentation.

Security

• Passwords: Authentication is handled via Google OAuth. The system does not store passwords locally or in its own database.
• Please ensure that caregivers do not share their physical devices if it remains logged into a sensitive account.

Database

• Offline Mode: Uses local PouchDB. Data is stored in the browser's IndexedDB. No external database maintenance required for isolated clients.
• Cloud Mode: Uses Firebase Firestore.

Application Functions

• Tile Management: Caregivers can edit, hide, and assign visibility to specific tiles dynamically to a student's board.
• Speech Synthesis: The words attached to clicked tiles will be read aloud sequentially.
• Push Boards: Caregivers can assign entire communication boards immediately to specific students.

Backup and Recovery

• All local user configurations are maintained in your browser's persistent storage.
• Provided the device is online and signed into Google, changes are automatically synced to Firebase. To recover an account, simply login onto a new device via the same Google account.

Troubleshooting

• Board Sync Inconsistent: Clear your browser's cache or refresh the page, then try re-pushing the board assignment from the caregiver account.

Support

For technical issues, contact the maintainers at the linked Jira Helpdesk or directly via the project repository's Issue Tracker.