"Phone accessibility" - Google News - Friday, September 20, 2019 at 6:00 AM
Why tech giants are creating apps for people with disabilities - CBC News
Tech companies like Google are stepping up efforts to create products for
people living with disabilities as a way to make them more accessible and to
boost business.
Part of that effort is developing apps designed to facilitate communication
between hearing and non-hearing people.
"We have technology and capabilities, particularly in the realm of machine
learning and AI that we can apply," said Brian Kemler, product manager of
accessibility for Google.
In February, Google rolled out Live Transcribe, an app that does literally
that—transcribing speech in almost real-time while detecting ambient sound like
vehicles and specific types of music. It can also transcribe dozens of
languages.
Noisy environments
"It's really convenient," said Anya Karir, a Toronto woman who is deaf. Karir
has a cochlear implant, so she doesn't use the app every day. She said it helps
her in noisy environments, like on a recent trip to New York where she was on a
tour and couldn't hear what the guide was saying.
"I pulled out the phone, connected to the WiFi and I was able to read what he
was saying," she said.
She also said it's useful in everyday situations, like coffee shops where there
is often noise from the machines as well as other conversations happening
around her.
Google's Live Transcribe app transcribes speech in almost real time. (Lisa
Xing/CBC)
Tech giants getting into the business of making their products and services
more accessible is a plus for Derek Rumball, president of the Bob Rumball
Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf.
"Everyone is always inventing a new mouse trap," he said. "Anytime technology
helps me understand a deaf person and, more importantly, helps them be
understood, helps level the playing field."
Good for business
Levelling that playing field isn't just the socially responsible thing to do,
argues tech expert Takara Small, who founded a not-for-profit helping kids from
underserved communities learn about coding and entrepreneurship.
Small said there are dozens of apps out there, developed by startups and big
tech companies that do everything from amplifying sound to mapping out which
buildings are wheelchair accessible.
She's especially noticing tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft taking a
leadership role in the field.
"It's just the right thing to do to make products anyone, anywhere can use,"
she said.
But the approach also benefits the bottom line. In April, the World Bank
estimated a billion people, or 15 per cent of the world's population,
experience some form of disability.
"Technology is so crucial to everything we do so creating products that allow
everyone to participate is a financially smart move," she said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/google-technology-smartphone-app-live-transcribe-1.5288345
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
