Making Television Accessible for People with Sight Loss
The prize given by the AFB honors RNIB and Panasonic for working together to develop Voice Guidance. We have been awarded in recognition of 'an exceptional and innovative effort that has improved the lives of people with vision loss by enhancing access to information, the environment, technology, education, or employment, including making mainstream products and services accessible'.
From http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/tvradiofilm/tvradiofilmnews/Pages/video_accessible_tv.aspx, April 19, 2013
Making Emergency Information via Video Programming Accessible
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released a Report and Order and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) (FCC 13-45) related to the accessibility of emergency information provided in video programming. The Report and Order requires that emergency information communicated via video programming is accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. This includes the requirement of an aural presentation of the emergency information on a secondary audio stream that must be conveyed at least twice in full. The use of text-to-speech (TTS) technologies is permitted for providing the aural presentation. In addition, the Report and Order also establishes apparatus requirements for the transmission of emergency information and video description to individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the apparatus is required to “receive, play back, or record video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound.” TTS capability is permitted, but not required.
From http://www.wirelessrerc.gatech.edu/content/newsroom/making-emergency-information-video-programming-accessible, April 18, 2013
Latest Samsung Smartphone Adds Health Functions
Samsung put a health tracker in its phone! Which is actually a great idea. S Health is an app that will track your steps, stairs climbed, and the ambient temperature and humidity, plus track your food intake and estimate calories consumed/burned. You can even track sleep with an optional accessory. This makes Samsung the first manufacturer to fully embrace the integrated value of health sensors and applications – in a single smartphone device – with accessories that are supportive and not stand-alone or separate.
From http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2013/03/14/latest-samsung-smartphone-adds-health-functions/, April 17, 2013
AARP and StartUp Health Announce 50-Plus Innovation Curriculum and Industry Insight Reports
AARP and StartUp Health, a long-term academy and network for digital health and wellness entrepreneurs, are developing a customized curriculum designed to educate and inspire health tech entrepreneurs to deliver technologies that will address the needs of the aging community.
From http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10636939.htm?sf11763877=1, April 17, 2013
Video: Head-Mounted Laser Beam Allows Persons with Disabilities to Control Computer
asers are now being used to help people with disabilities communicate. CNN got a firsthand look at how this assistive technology works when Sandy Hanebrink, executive director of Touch the Future, gave us a demonstration of the Lucy 4 keyboard at the Abilities Expo in Atlanta.
From http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/12/tech/innovation/orig-ideas-laser-keyboard/index.html, April 12, 2013
UK: NatWest Launches Talking Cash Machines
Some 80pc of the 4,800 ATMs and in-branch cash and deposit machines which are branded NatWest or Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), its sister bank, will be speech-enabled over the next couple of years. The upgrades will start early next year and should be completed by the end of 2015, meaning that people will be able to plug earphones into the machines so they can be verbally guided through their transactions.
From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/banking/9983716/NatWest-launches-talking-cash-machines.html, April 11, 2013
Portalble Text to Speech Solution for Dyslexia
Last December, I reported on a few text-to-speech (TTS) apps with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for Apple (iOS) mobile devices. On the Android side of the planet, there is an app called CapturaTalk from Iansyst Ltd, whose main feature includes TTS with OCR. This full-featured app powered by ABBYY, a popular and powerful OCR engine, allows a person to take a picture of text with their Android phone or tablet (with a 5MP camera or higher) and have it read back to them while seeing the words highlighted on the screen.
From http://ndipat.org/blog/another-portable-text-to-speech-solution-for-dyslexia/, April 11, 2013
App Factory's Annual (2013-2014) Call for Proposals
Each year, the Wireless RERC’s App Factory invites experienced organizations or individual developers based in the U.S. to submit proposals for financial support to develop assistive and/or accessibility apps for mobile platforms (e.g., Android, Blackberry 10, iOS, Windows Phone). Apps developed through this program include AccessNote by the American Foundation for the Blind, BrailleTouch by BrailleTech, LLC, and Sprint ID Accessibility Packs, Currency Identifier, and IDEAL Group Reader by Apps4Android.
From http://www.wirelessrerc.org/content/newsroom/app-factorys-annual-2013-2014-call-proposals, April 10, 2013
Hyundai Unveils the Future of Personal Mobility
At the Seoul Motor Show, Hyundai's engineers unveiled a moveable egg concept that promises speeds faster than a Segway. The egg is entitled the E4U – standing for Egg, Evolution, Electricity and Eco-friendliness. The result of an annual invention contest among Hyundai engineers in South Korea, the odd-egg was designed as a potential future of personal mobility: It can travel up to speeds just shy of 20 mph, weighs 176 lbs, and boasts a 24V battery attached to a 500W electric motor.
From http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/hyundai-unveils-future-personal-mobility-because-walking-doesn-150759928.html, April 10, 2013
US Justice Department May Revise Web Accessibility Rules
As vendors such as Adobe look to make websites and documents like PDFs accessible for people with disabilities, the tech industry and disabled users await more clarity on accessibility laws. The US Justice Department may update the 1990 American With Disabilities Act (ADA) to outline how state and local government websites can make “services, programs, or activities” accessible to people with disabilities, according to DOJ guidance at Reginfo.gov. A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is scheduled for July 2013.
From http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/us-justice-department-may-revise-web-accessibility-rules-112315, April 10, 2013
