Google's How-To Videos Explain Assistant's Accessibility Features

May 16, 2019

Google demonstrated at I/O 2019 how AI could be leveraged to extend and create new accessibility features. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the company is publishing a series of how-to videos about setting up Google Assistant and Google Home.

Available on YouTube, this new series features visual and audible directions to “help the accessibility community set up and get the most out of their Assistant-enabled smart devices.”

Two videos detail how to “Control your smart home with the Google Assistant” and “How to use Google Assistant verbose mode with Chromecast.” Others provide an overview of “Google Home Audio Accessibility Features” and “Setting up a Google Home with a screen reader.”

You can find step-by-step tutorials to learn how to interact with your Assistant, from setting up your Assistant-enabled device to using your voice to control your home appliances, at our YouTube playlist which we’ll continue to update throughout the year.

Google will be creating more videos throughout the year with the current focus on getting the most out of Assistant in smart homes.

This playlist came out of conversations within the team about how we can use our products to make life a little easier. Many of us have some form of disability, or have a friend, co-worker or family member who does.

Moving forward, the company is working on Project Euphonia to improve its ability to understand the diverse speech patterns of those with impaired speech following strokes, ALS, or Parkinson’s. This involves recording voice samples and optimizing speech-to-text algorithms to reliably transcribe words spoken by all users. Google also demonstrated Live Captions in Android Q to create automatic captioning for any playing audio on your phone.

Other tools available from Google include the Android Accessibility Suite for mobile devices, as well as live phone and video Disability Support.

Source: 9 to 5 Google