Join Jessica, Tomi, and Rachel for another exciting VIP as they explore this week’s latest in technology. This week, it’s all about movies, and the devices you watch them on. Check out these exciting stories.
Without You, There wouldn’t be an ACB or a Convention!
This is the time of year, where the blindness organizations in the U.S. round up the troops and get everyone together for their annual conventions! The American Council of the Blind is holding there’s from June 30-July 7 in Sparks, Nevada. There’ll be plenty of technology to see at the exhibit hall, workshops until you drop, and seminars and meetings to keep you hoppin’ throughout the day. And just to make sure you earn your sleep at night, there’ll be plenty of activities and gatherings happening after the exhibit hall closes each day. From a showcase of talented folks, (you know, ACB’s version of “So You Think You Can Dance”), among other wonderful things, to tours that take place around the city. From a candy factory to a train museum, there are activities for everyone!
Cool Picks: June 28, 2017
Join CBT this week as they talk about their favourite Cool Picks.
Accessibility Settings in iOS 11 Beta
In this podcast, James Oates takes a look at the new accessibility settings in iOS 11 Beta. Join us as he uncovers some exciting new features for VoiceOver and braille users.
Philips Televisions Are Now Accessible for the Visually Impaired
The entire line of 2017 Philips brand televisions and video players now offers Enhanced Accessibility to allow blind and visually impaired users to control the devices’ functions. Adding Enhanced Accessibility to products entails the addition of voice guide descriptive menus, easy to read user interface, guide dots on remote controls, easy access to closed captioning/subtitles and secondary audio, easy access to support, and an easy way to identify these products with the help of an Enhanced Accessibility logo.
IBM’s Buddy for the Blind Solution Helps the Blind Swim.
If you are visually impaired, you know what a challenge it can be to swim freely without any assistance. First point, the wall is not your friend. If your swimming at top speed, and you can’t see that you are approaching the wall, it isn’t going to turnout well for you. Also, it can be a challenge to stay in your swimming lane and out of the way of other swimmers.
IBM took on this challenge by developing a system of Bluetooth beacons and haptic devices to help the blind swimmers. Sense Bluetooth doesn’t work under water, they placed Bluetooth beacons on a steel wire that runs 4 to 5 feet above the water along the center of the lane. The swimmers ware a device on their heads beneath their swimming caps that vibrate more intensely as they stay centered. So far, the tests have yielded very positive results, and the blinds swimmers feel a sense of freedom that they haven’t felt before.
Source.
Source.
Spotlight with Stephen Ewell: Executive Director of the CTA Foundation
In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Stephen Ewell, the executive director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation. The CTA Foundation, a public, national foundation affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, was launched in 2012 with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives.
The foundation strategically supports programs that affect these communities and facilitates dialog between industry, consumers, government, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders.
Steve talks about the foundation’s role in featuring accessible products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the foundation’s role in producing the first fully accessible self-driving vehicle, and his trips to CSUN and South by Southwest.
You can follow Stephen Ewell on Twitter here, and you can follow the CTA Foundation on Twitter here.
Workplace Accommodation Case Management App Is Bridging the Gap
IBM and West Virginia’s University’s Center for Disability Inclusion have developed a Mobile workplace accommodation case management app. The Mobile Accommodation Solution is designed to help employers create a more inclusive workplace environment for employees with disabilities. As of March 2017, only 20.4% of people with disabilities were employed, while 68.7% of people without a disability were employed. There are many reasons for this disparity, but one of the reasons is that employer’s do not know what accommodations are necessary for a person with a disability, and they also don’t know how to request those accommodation’s. Employees also often don’t know how to request accommodations. The app provides an accessible environment on iOS or Android for employers and employees to fill out the appropriate forms and get them to the correct people to handle the requests. The MAS app will also leverage the deep knowledge and tools of the Job Accommodation Network, a leading source of free and expert guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Even if an employer has met the accommodation needs of an employee, things change over time. An employee who has never needed workplace accommodations, or a different employee who has had accommodation need met, may later find that they need additional or different workplace accommodations. This app intends to tackle those issues as well.
The iOS version of the app is expected later this year, and the Android version will be available in 2018.
Source.
Now Available In Narrator! AI-tagged Image Descriptions
If there was a word which is to define the era that dominates this early 21st century, it no doubt would be the cloud. Everything has moved to incorporating some cloud-based feature or another. Whilst screen reading has done OCR and other image recognition prior, this too was relegated to locally performed magic, rather than anything that used the cloud to process data. The rise of huge AI clusters which now can process trillions of calculations a second has created a better opportunity for so much more to be off-loaded to these systems.
Geting Wires Crossed–Not Anymore, with the InnLife Bluetooth headphones!
No doubt this has happened to you. You’re riding in a car, you reach your destination, and then it’s time to take off your seatbelt and exit the vehicle. Which is all fine, except, if you happen to be wearing a headset connected to your phone while in route. more often than not, the wires of the headset get tangled in the seatbelt, and it looks like Stretch Armstrong is trying to materialize out of the tangled mess before you get things straightened out without breaking the fragile wires.
You must be logged in to post a comment.