1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: how stuff Works, and I love all things tech. And 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: one of my favorite things about technology is how we 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: can provide people with capabilities they otherwise might not possess 7 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: or might not be able to tap into. For all 8 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: walks of life. It can open up access to incredible 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: volumes of knowledge and expertise. It can boost our ability 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,279 Speaker 1: to do everything from travel faster to figuring out what 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: book we should read next. And it can enhance the 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: lives of people who live with injuries, disabilities, or other 13 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: factors that make our world a little more challenging to 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: navigate for them than for other people. Which brings us 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: to today's topic, which is a request from tech stuff. 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: Listener can can ask me this quite some time ago, 17 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: so I apologize for how long it's taken me to 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: get to this. But Ken wanted to know about the development, design, 19 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: and deployment of accessible technology. That is, technology meant to 20 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: provide accessibility to people who might otherwise have a challenge 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: accessing that technology. They might have a visual impairment or 22 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: hearing impairment, or health condition or injury that prevents them 23 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: from accessing technology the way other people do. So this 24 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: episode is all about making tech accessible, and this is 25 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: just an overview because accessible tech covers an enormous spectrum 26 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: of approaches and technologies. So I may go into further 27 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: detail on some of these in future episodes, but this 28 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: is kind of a very high level look at the 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: the whole idea of accessible technology, with just a few 30 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: examples thrown in. So I want to stress that this 31 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: is something that can be really difficult to do well. 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: And part of that is just because the designers and 33 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: engineers who are responsible for making the hardware and software 34 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: that we rely upon might not have the same challenges 35 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: as some of the people who will be using that 36 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 1: technology do, and so those designers and engineers might make 37 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: assumptions about how that tech needs to be used, and 38 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: sometimes those assumptions can exclude people who have these problems, 39 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: these issues, these disabilities, these challenges. I don't want to 40 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: classify everything as a problem. I'm just saying, you know, 41 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: people who are incapable of accessing the technology the way 42 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: everyone else tends to do. The intent these designers might 43 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: have is to help, and even if they're trying to 44 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: design assistive technology specifically for that purpose, the execution can 45 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: sometimes be clunky or inelegant, or it fails to make 46 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: the technology more accessible at all. I think it's of 47 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: critical importance that designers work with people whose life experience 48 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: mirrors that of those who actually uh do have those challenges, right, So, 49 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: if you're trying to design accessibility technology to help with 50 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: people who have visual impairments, it's important to have people 51 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: working with you on the development who also have those 52 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: visual impairments to give you real time feedback on designs 53 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,799 Speaker 1: to make sure that the technology you're creating actually does 54 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: what was intended. So in the United States, there are 55 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: no laws that mandate accessibility with tech hardware. In general, 56 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: no company is legally required to make certain the technology 57 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: it creates is accessible to those who are differently abled, 58 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: and there's a lack of standards and expertise in the 59 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: field in general, a lack of awareness and education in 60 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: the field, and that complicates matters. It is a little 61 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: different if you happen to work for the federal government 62 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: in the United States, there there is a legal basis 63 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: for accessibility, but only if you're working for the federal government. 64 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: Section five oh eight Standards for Electronic and Information Technology 65 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: states that quote, when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or 66 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: use electronic and information technology, federal employees with disabilities have 67 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: access to and use of information and data that is 68 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: comparable to the access and use by federal employees who 69 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: are not individuals with disabilities, unless and undoe burden would 70 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: be imposed on the agency end quote. So it's saying, 71 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: anytime you're going to be uh incorporating technology into a 72 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: federal agency, there must be consideration put toward making that 73 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: accessible to people who have disabilities. But that puts the 74 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: burden more on the agency than the companies that are 75 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: making the technology, Right Like, unless the federal agency is 76 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: making its own technology, it's outsourcing that. And when it 77 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: outsources it, it may mean that the agency has to 78 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: take a very close look at the different competing products 79 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: that are on the market, and it may very well 80 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: mean that the federal agency will make a choice of 81 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: a product not because it was the best cost for 82 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: what they needed to do, but because it fit this 83 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: other requirement more than the competitors did. It does create 84 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: an incentive. But this is just a policy that only 85 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: applies to people who work for the federal government. It 86 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: doesn't apply to state governments or local governments, and it 87 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: doesn't apply to consumer products in general. But things are 88 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: not dire. There are a lot of companies, major companies 89 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: that are working very hard to make certain that the 90 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: technolog ology they create is accessible to people of all abilities. 91 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: More on those efforts in a bit. One other thing 92 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: I want to mention is that accessible technology is distantly 93 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: related to another concept called regionalization. This refers to adapting 94 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: technology so is meaningful and helpful to people in different 95 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: parts of the world. Again, people who speak a different 96 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: language than the developers do, or who live in a 97 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: culture that has different values and therefore different needs, different challenges. 98 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: Those require special consideration. Technology is not always a one 99 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: size fits all solutions. Sometimes you have to tweak things 100 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: for the end user. And I'll probably do a dedicated 101 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: episode about regionalization in the future because there's a lot 102 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: of different aspects to that as well, from software to hardware. 103 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: But let's go back to accessibility. I'd like to quote 104 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: the organization earn E a r N that stands for 105 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: employer Assistant and Resource Network on disability inclusion, as they 106 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: lay out in their web page about technological accessibility quote 107 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: when talking about technology, accessible means tools that can be 108 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: used successfully by people with a wide range of abilities 109 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: and disabilities. When technology is accessible, each user is able 110 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: to interact with it in ways that work best for 111 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: him or her. Accessible technology is either directly accessible, whereby 112 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: it is usable without additional assistive technology a t or 113 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: it is compatible with a system of technology. For example, 114 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: a mobile smartphone with a built in screen reader is 115 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: directly accessible, whereas a website that can be navigated effectively 116 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: by people with visual impairments using a screen reader is 117 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: a syste of technology compatible. Now, another thing I want 118 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: to mention early on is another tool called edge, which 119 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: in North America is a technology assessment tool developed by 120 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: the Urban Libraries Council. The ULC creates a place for 121 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: libraries to share and learn from best practices in numerous 122 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: fields that relate to libraries and communities. And to all 123 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: you librarians out there, thank you. You guys are awesome. 124 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: And hey, a former tech stuff host is among your number. 125 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: One of our former tech stuff hosts is a librarian. 126 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: So back to edge and to talk about what's important 127 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: here for this podcast. The Edge Toolkit includes many different 128 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: benchmarks to guide libraries in making the best use of 129 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: technology in order to help communities, and that includes everything 130 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: from training people to become more tech savvy, to increase 131 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: digital literacy, provide access to the Internet, and other valuable 132 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 1: services that are absolutely crucial to interact with society today. So, uh, 133 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 1: it's it's very easy to get left behind if you 134 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: are not of a particular demographic, right. I come from 135 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: a very rural part of Georgia. I live in Atlanta now, 136 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: but I come from a very rural community. When I 137 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: was growing up, it was extremely rural, to the point 138 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: where we had cattle farms and chicken farms around us, 139 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I was in a little subdivision, 140 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: so it wasn't like I was miles away from everybody, 141 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: but a lot of people didn't have access to technology. 142 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 1: And granted, the Internet was not really a big thing 143 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,359 Speaker 1: when I was growing up. I'm old enough to predate 144 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: when the Internet was it was prevalent, but even to 145 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: this day, people in those communities don't necessarily have access 146 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: on a daily basis to the technology that a lot 147 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: of us take for granted and their local libraries act 148 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: as a community center and a source of contact for 149 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: that kind of technology. They can also serve as a 150 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: way for people to become more educated about that technology 151 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,319 Speaker 1: so that they can make meaningful contributions in a world 152 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: that is increasingly reliant on that tech. And so libraries 153 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: are one of those points where people aren't being left 154 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 1: behind because they have the access to those libraries. This 155 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: is Jonathan on a soapbox saying libraries are really important more. 156 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: It's more than just checking out books, which by the way, 157 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: also really important, But it's more than that anyway. Let's 158 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: get back to the benchmarks. There's a specific one called 159 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: benchmark eleven that's about accessibility with technology. The core statement 160 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,959 Speaker 1: for benchmark eleven is libraries ensure participation in digital technology 161 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: for people with disabilities. So to meet that benchmark, that 162 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: libraries should in fact also provide access to people who 163 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: have disabilities, provide access of technology to peopleho have disabilities. 164 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: The library must have at least one public terminal has 165 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: assisted of technology incorporated for the visually impaired. It has 166 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: to have a public terminal that is accessible for people 167 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: who have motor and dexterity impronments. It needs to have 168 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: a workstation that can accommodate people who are in a 169 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: wheelchair or other mobility vehicle, that kind of thing, etcetera. 170 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: So it needs to have these points of access for 171 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: people who otherwise would be left out. And I think 172 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: it's valuable to look at the edge tool, not just 173 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: to acknowledge how important libraries are and uh and because 174 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: me it's clear that I think they are very important, 175 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: but because they lay out goals, they get the conversation 176 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,959 Speaker 1: rolling about making technology accessible to all people. Now, some 177 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: areas of tech are ahead of the game compared to others, 178 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: like the world Wide Web. So the Worldwide Web Consortium 179 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: or W three C formed back in Nino with the 180 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: goal to develop standardized protocols for the evolution of the 181 00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,040 Speaker 1: Web to make sure that it moved forward in a 182 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 1: way that was uh easily distributed and developed so that 183 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: you didn't have a bunch of splintered experiences. They wanted 184 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,439 Speaker 1: something that was going to be interoperable across the entire web. 185 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: One of the four domains that covers is the Web 186 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: Accessibility Initiative or w a I, and that has five 187 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: primary purposes to ensure that web tech supports accessibility, to 188 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: develop guidelines for accessibility, to develop tools to evaluate and 189 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: facilitate accessibility, to conduct education and outreach, and finally to 190 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: coordinate with research and development. So as such, the W 191 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: three C has issued guidelines for Web content accessibility to 192 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,559 Speaker 1: help ensure that developers make sites and services that are 193 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: in fact accessible for a broad range of people. And 194 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: those guidelines are pretty exhaustive. They have sixty five checkpoints 195 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: and each checkpoint has an assigned priority between one and three. 196 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: A Priority one checkpoint is one that tackles a barrier 197 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: that would make access impossible for one or more groups 198 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:11,559 Speaker 1: of people, so it identifies something that could potentially make 199 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 1: technology completely inaccessible too an entire group. Priorities two and 200 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,559 Speaker 1: three mark challenges that would make it difficult, but not 201 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: necessarily impossible, for one or more groups to access the 202 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: web content. And this is a big issue UH in general, 203 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: just the idea of accessibility. A two thousand eleven report 204 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 1: from the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability saw 205 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: that people with disabilities make up nineteen of the United 206 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: States population. Now that report points out that if people 207 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: with disabilities were recognized as a minority group, that would 208 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: actually be the largest minority group in the United States. 209 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,559 Speaker 1: It represents a large population of people, and without these 210 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: UH considerations for excess stability, that would be nearly one 211 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: fifth of all citizens of the United States left out 212 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: of being able to access that technology. So that's why 213 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: this is of critical importance. When I come back, I'll 214 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: give you some more examples of some of the types 215 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: of assistive technology and accessible technology that are out there, 216 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: But first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 217 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: For people who have visual impairments, there are a variety 218 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: of assistive technologies and they range from ways to help 219 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: people with limited vision to ways to help people who 220 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: have no site at all. And one of the ones 221 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: that is a fairly simple implementation is screen magnification systems, 222 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: and these are digital screen magnification systems. They enlarge text 223 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: and graphics on the computer screen make it easier for 224 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: people who have paired vision to read and see things. 225 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: So it does act like a magnifying class. Typically, a 226 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: user will move a cursor over the page using keyboard 227 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: strokes or a mouse, and wherever the cursor is, that's 228 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:15,840 Speaker 1: the area that will increase in size to make it 229 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: easier to see, so you can scan across the page 230 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: as if you're using a magnifying glass and you're reading 231 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: text on a piece of paper. Some systems also will 232 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: include things like a a an option to scroll down 233 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: the page at a predefined rate, so that you don't 234 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: have to just sit there and and babysit the mouse 235 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 1: and or keyboard and move the cursor manually. It'll move 236 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: automatically at a speed that you've already determined, so that 237 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: you can just read along. Many will also offer a 238 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: contrast adjustment so that the highlighted or magnified text or 239 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: image stands out more dramatically against the background. Here in 240 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: Georgia are electronic voting systems have that kind of capability 241 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 1: built into them, which is a good thing. But pretty 242 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: much everything else about those electronic voting kiosks isn't so great. Uh. 243 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: They are a very old and vulnerable technology, but that's 244 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: a matter for another podcast. The accessibility features of that 245 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: technology are good, so I want to stress that's the 246 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: rest of it that may not be so great. Operating 247 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: systems like Windows, and it's not just Windows, just saying 248 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: Windows does have this have accessibility features that can adjust 249 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: font size, resolution, scroll bars, icons, color scheme, and more. 250 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: Mac Os has a similar series of options, all designed 251 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: to make use of that technology more uh well easier 252 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: for people who have visual impairments. Uh. Windows also or 253 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: vision impairments. I guess I should say visual impairments is 254 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: a improper way of saying it, but vision impairments. Windows 255 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: also has a screen magnifier feature built in. It's not 256 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: the only U BRING system to do this, but again 257 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:07,400 Speaker 1: it has that. There are also screen reader technologies. Essentially 258 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: that gets down to sort of a text to speech 259 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: program that can read out text to a user. I've 260 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: definitely engaged that by accident in the past. Found it 261 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: pretty interesting that it was a integrated feature. Now I 262 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,719 Speaker 1: don't need a screen reader, but the fact that it 263 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,119 Speaker 1: was built into the operating system did impress me. It 264 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: meant that the designers were thinking ahead and wanted to 265 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,199 Speaker 1: have that capability to be standard and not something a 266 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: user would need to add on as an option. Apple 267 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: has a feature called voice over. It's frequently cited as 268 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,679 Speaker 1: an innovative assistive technology. Voiceover gives auditory descriptions of what 269 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: is on a screen, including all the different on screen 270 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: elements such as on screen controls, and it can work 271 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: with apps as well. Now that requires developers to actually 272 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,119 Speaker 1: tag the various elements in their apps so that the 273 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: voiceover function can effectively relay that information to the user. 274 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,360 Speaker 1: So it's kind of like meta information at specific meta 275 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 1: information for voiceover. So, for example, a play button on 276 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: an app that would initiate a sound would need an 277 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: appropriate tag so that the voiceover system could alert the 278 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,679 Speaker 1: user about the function and relative position of the button. 279 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 1: Then there are things like refreshable brail displays that provides 280 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: access to information on a computer display through brail. Uh. 281 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: And this time we're talking about a computer display that's 282 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: not necessarily it's it's not a screen. It's typically a 283 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: a flat surface that has little holes through which retractable 284 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: pins rounded pins can extend up and then form characters 285 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,439 Speaker 1: in brail. And a typical brail display can show around 286 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 1: eighty characters at a time. It's refreshable because the pins 287 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: can fall or rise up and form different characters, and 288 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: they'll do this as you move a cursor around the screen, 289 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: So you can scan over a screen and these characters 290 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: will change under your fingertips and you can read Brail 291 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: that way. The history of Brail, by the way, is 292 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: pretty darn interesting all on its own, so here's a 293 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: quick tangent about the history of Braille. Louis Braill was 294 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: a young man in France born in eighteen o nine 295 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: who suffered a childhood injury at the age of three, 296 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: and it left him blind. He attended school and he 297 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: would listen very carefully to lessons. He was a good student, 298 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 1: and then went on to attend the Royal Institution for 299 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 1: Blind Youths in Paris UH and that school owned a 300 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: few books that had raised print on them. That raised 301 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: print was essentially created by stamping pages with copper wire 302 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 1: that was bent in the shape of letters, so it 303 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: was just, you know, the letters of the alphabet UH 304 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: embossed essentially on pieces of paper. Braill heard a story 305 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: about a soldier named Captain Charles Barbier de la Sere. 306 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: He was a captain in the French army who had 307 00:19:57,119 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: developed a system of writing for soldiers so that they 308 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: could send and read messages even at nighttime without turning 309 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,240 Speaker 1: on any lights, because a light would give away your position, 310 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: which in war time is not great. So this system 311 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: used raised dots and dashes on paper. You would create 312 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: these raised elements and then by running your finger across 313 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: you could read the message. So Braile decided to adopt 314 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: that method when developing his own system of writing. In 315 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: eighty nine, Louis published the first book written in Brail, 316 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: and he would later add some more characters to his 317 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:36,679 Speaker 1: system to incorporate stuff like musical notation and mathematics, and 318 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: a system would be tweaked over the decades that followed. 319 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: It really only began to get widespread adoption well after 320 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: his death in eighteen fifty two. But flash forward to 321 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy and a company called Pop and Meyer and 322 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,199 Speaker 1: a man named Dr Werner Bolt of dortmun University in 323 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:00,679 Speaker 1: Germany created a refreshable Brail display called Braile X. And 324 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: so it's like Brail with an X at the end. 325 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: It was a stand alone system for information storage and retrieval, 326 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 1: so it's not like it was a computer peripheral in itself. 327 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: Was a system that would allow you to create information 328 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,639 Speaker 1: and store it in Brail, and to retrieve information and 329 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,159 Speaker 1: have it displayed in Brail. When writing on the device, 330 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: you would assign a code word to that information, and 331 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: it was essentially a file name, so you could call 332 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: up a code word or file name and then retrieve 333 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: the information and read it in brail. It originally used 334 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: an audio cassette data storage system, so would store everything 335 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: on magnetic tape, and then later models would upgrade to 336 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: a floppy disk system. Later still it would include a 337 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: serial port which would allow the user to connect to 338 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 1: the device to other peripherals like a computer system or 339 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: a brail emboss or or brail printer, so you could 340 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 1: actually print your workout on paper. The first refreshable brail 341 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: display for users in the United States was the Versa 342 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 1: Brail that did not launch till night teen e two, 343 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: and the National Federation of the Blind released NFB Trands, 344 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: which was a brail translation program in nineteen eighty. That 345 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: program could translate text into brail and send it to 346 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: a special brail embosser or brail printer. That original program 347 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 1: sold for hundreds of dollars when it first came out, 348 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: but in nine its utility was considered so important that 349 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: the NFB released the software to the public domain. In 350 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: Dr Kenneth Yearnigan opened up the International Brail and Technology 351 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: Center for the Blind at the National Federation of the 352 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: Blind Headquarters, and that center evaluates assistive technology for the blind, 353 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: so it puts it to the test to make certain 354 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: that the technology does in fact help as opposed to 355 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 1: just become a frustration or or an impediment to using technology. 356 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,400 Speaker 1: And as you would expect, this technology found its way 357 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: into other foreim factors, including portable devices. In fact, really 358 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,879 Speaker 1: early and it found its way into portable devices. In 359 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: seven the Brail and Speak became an early forerunner of 360 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,719 Speaker 1: the personal digital assistant, and this was all for the blind. 361 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: This became the first of a class of devices called 362 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 1: note takers, and it had a speaker and a six 363 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: key Brail keyboard, and it was made in Germany, so 364 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,160 Speaker 1: it had a data system where it could speak to you. 365 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,680 Speaker 1: And because it was made in Germany, the system actually 366 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: had a bit of a German accent and it synth 367 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: the size speech, which is kind of interesting. I watched 368 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: a video that played some of the audio from one 369 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: of these devices. Typing would involve pressing key combinations to 370 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: access options and type in letters and I could save 371 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: information and bring you back to it later. And this 372 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,440 Speaker 1: was all before personal digital assistants would emerge. For cited 373 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: users there have been many note takers since that one 374 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 1: way back in There's been some cool pieces of technology 375 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: to incorporate brail displays over the years. One recent one 376 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: I've seen that I thought was pretty interesting was the 377 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,679 Speaker 1: dot watch, which I think debuted in TV. It's a 378 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: smart watch with its own refreshable brail display. So it 379 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 1: looks like a big white watch face with a little 380 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 1: little round circles cut into the watch face which through 381 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: which the pens can extend and create the various characters 382 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: in brail. The watch thus can can display time, it 383 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: can alert you to messages that can actually spell out messages. 384 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: It's it's like a smart watch, and it's pretty nifty 385 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,479 Speaker 1: and concept. I have no, well, no idea how well 386 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: it performs in the wild. I don't know if it 387 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: works as well as the concept UH would have you think, 388 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: but I love the idea. I hope it works as 389 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: well as the videos suggest it does, because I think 390 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: it's super cool to have a brail smart watch. Well, 391 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: I have a lot more to talk about with accessibility technology, 392 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 1: but first let's take another quick break to thank our 393 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: sponsors for the Heart of Hearing and the Deaf Community. 394 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: Assistive Technology can include things like captions and transcripts. Automatic 395 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: systems that generate captions and transcripts do exist. They typically 396 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: use speech recognition technology to analyze speech and try to 397 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: create text based on that. They are a variable quality. 398 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: I've seen some caption programs that are pretty good, and 399 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: I've seen others that end up telling a story that 400 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: turns out to be very different from the one that's 401 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: being delivered by audio, which could be funny while you're 402 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: watching it if you're able to hear, you know, you're 403 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: able to hear the difference, and you're reading the text 404 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: and you're seeing where it's not matching up, and you're thinking, oh, 405 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: that's kind of funny. But if that's the way that 406 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: you get the information, it's really frustrating. It is it 407 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 1: is not accessible, it is not inclusive. It's excluding you, 408 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: and I can't imagine how uh upsetting that's got to 409 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: be after a while, when you realize as you're reading 410 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 1: in you're like, there's no way that's what that person 411 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:24,880 Speaker 1: is saying, because it doesn't make any sense. But those 412 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: are technologies that are getting wider us, and as speech 413 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: recognition gets better, I will expect that we'll see those 414 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: error rates go down and it will become less of 415 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 1: a frustrating experience. But in the meantime that is a problem. Now. Granted, 416 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: there are plenty of UH services out there that actually 417 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,160 Speaker 1: use human beings to create transcripts and captions, where it's 418 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 1: someone listening to the content and actually typing it out, 419 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,360 Speaker 1: and they tend to be a little more reliable in general, 420 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: depending upon the content they're listening to, the dialect or 421 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 1: accent that is being spoken, and the home dialect or 422 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 1: accent of the person doing the transcription, because sometimes you 423 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: listen to someone from a different part of the country 424 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: or a different part of the world, and it becomes 425 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: a real challenge to figure out what the heck they're saying. 426 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 1: I should know, I married a woman from Philadelphia, and 427 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: there are days where we just don't understand each other. 428 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: She talks faster than I can hear. To be fair, 429 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: we Southerners are, We're slow talking people. So another technology 430 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 1: that is often used for accessibility is haptic feedback technology. 431 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: Haptics referred to feedback that engages the sense of touch. 432 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: So typically it involves a rotating weight that's slightly off center, 433 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,199 Speaker 1: and so when it rotates, it creates vibration or a 434 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: rumble sensation. This is the technology that's inside a phone 435 00:27:56,119 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 1: to create the vibrate feature or in a rumble feature 436 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,680 Speaker 1: in a video game controller uses the same sort of thing. Uh. 437 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: That's a very common use of haptics, and they're often 438 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: incorporated into things like robotic prosthetics, which help give pressure 439 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,959 Speaker 1: feedback to users so that they can get a sense 440 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 1: of important informations just how hard a robotic hand is 441 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: gripping an object. So if you have a robotic prosthetic, 442 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: let's say you've got a robotic arm, and it gives 443 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: you the capability of picking up different objects, and you 444 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: can pick up a whole variety of things that a 445 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: variety of weights. You know, ideally you want to have 446 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 1: a robotic prosthetic that is as capable as the average 447 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: human's arm is. Then you need to have some sort 448 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,360 Speaker 1: of feedback to let you know how hard you are 449 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: gripping the thing right, so that way you're not going 450 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: to cause damage to something. If you're picking up let's 451 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: say a lightbulb, you don't want to squeeze it so 452 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: hard that you break it. But if you're picking up 453 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: a brick, you want to make sure the grip is 454 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 1: strong enough to actually lift the brick. So that's frequently 455 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: used as a feedback mechanism to alert the user how 456 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,160 Speaker 1: much force is being exerted by that robotic prosthetic. It's 457 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: also used in systems to help visually impaired people navigate 458 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: through different environments. I've seen some videos of this. I 459 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: don't I'm not aware of any technology that's out in 460 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: the wild beyond the prototype stage, but I've seen this 461 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: approach and I think it's fascinating. It provides haptic feedback 462 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: systems that are hooked up to optical sensors cameras, essentially, 463 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: so the wearer can walk around where who has a 464 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,600 Speaker 1: impairment in their in their vision, They're walking around and 465 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: whenever they get close to an obstacle that's picked up 466 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: by the optical sensors, they get feedback. They get a 467 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 1: vibration that tells them, oh, you're getting close to something, 468 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: maybe it's a table or some stairs or something. And 469 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: it's sort of like spidy sense in a way, which 470 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: I think is pretty interesting. But again, I'm not aware 471 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: of any technology on the wild that people have access 472 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 1: to easily. I have seen laboratory videos of this sort 473 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 1: of stuff. Uh, there's so much more we can talk about. UM, 474 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: I haven't really touched on mobility issues. There are many 475 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: technologies designed to help people who have challenges in moving 476 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: on their own to operate technology. These range from Bluetooth 477 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,600 Speaker 1: controllers that can map app commands to simple switches that 478 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:31,240 Speaker 1: some one might operate with a foot or a finger, 479 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: um or even their mouth. These sort of devices do exist. 480 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,760 Speaker 1: These switches do exist, and mapping them to apps allows 481 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: people to navigate that technology and that it improves accessibility. Uh. 482 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: There are all these other types of apparatus that people 483 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,720 Speaker 1: might depend upon, including things like mouth sticks or head 484 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: pointers that can allow them to interface with computers and 485 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: other devices. Uh. There's eye tracking technology that can allow 486 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: someone with mobility issues to take control of the device 487 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: using their eyes to navigate or to type out messages. 488 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: There are brain computer interface designs that are the next 489 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: step out. They would interface directly with a brain to 490 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: send commands from someone's brain to a computer system to 491 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: create some sort of effect. Those are still fairly rare, 492 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 1: and they're still very much in the testing phase for 493 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: a lot of different use cases. But we've seen some 494 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: incredible advances in that it does require a very long 495 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: session of training, not just the person who's using the technology, 496 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,840 Speaker 1: but the technology itself to interpret the person's UH commands, 497 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: because our brains when we send commands are not doing 498 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: it in a in a precisely identical way. So it 499 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: actually requires quite a bit of adaptation and tweaking to 500 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,160 Speaker 1: get the system tuned just right to the specific and 501 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:05,480 Speaker 1: but it does have the potential to really improve accessibility. Uh, 502 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:08,520 Speaker 1: it's really exciting stuff. Some R and D labs are 503 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: incorporating various ways to simulate these challenges so that a 504 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: person a designer or an engineer who may not have 505 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:23,640 Speaker 1: these sort of disabilities or other issues, can simulate that 506 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: and see what it's like to interact with their technology 507 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: with that simulated disability. So, for example, you might have 508 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: gloves that limit hand mobility, or you might have goggles 509 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 1: that reproduce color blindness, and then you try to navigate 510 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,480 Speaker 1: your product, your technology, and you see where the challenges 511 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: may be and you think, oh, we need to fix 512 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: this because I didn't realize that because I made this design, 513 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: you can't effectively see a very important element on the 514 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,760 Speaker 1: website because people who have color blindness. They're not gonna 515 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: be able to to differentiate these colors I've picked out, 516 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: so it may require either creating an alternative so that 517 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: people who are color blind are able to see it, 518 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: or just changing the design entirely. All of it is 519 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: meant to get designers to think outside of their own 520 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: experience when they're creating products like hardware and software to 521 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: make sure it's accessible to that larger user base. UM 522 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: there's an organization that I think is really important that's 523 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: going to help a lot called Teach access It's working 524 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 1: to create tools and curricula to introduce accessibility design in 525 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 1: education in academia. So ultimately the goal is to create courses, 526 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 1: educational courses that would be part of your design education 527 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 1: when you were starting to look into going into this 528 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 1: sort of field, and to learn about accessibility design while 529 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: you're still in school. And the group hopes to encourage 530 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,960 Speaker 1: the engineers and designers of tomorrow to take accessibility into 531 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,680 Speaker 1: consideration as a core design principle, not as something you 532 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,080 Speaker 1: add on at the very end, but something that's incorporated 533 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: from the beginning. The group's website asserts that a lack 534 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:12,240 Speaker 1: of understanding about basic accessibility issues presents a huge challenge 535 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: today and that by creating these curricula, these courses that 536 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,400 Speaker 1: can be incorporated into a student's work, much of that 537 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: can be mended. And this goes back to what I 538 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: was saying at the beginning of the show. Designers draw 539 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 1: primarily upon their own experience, their own life experience when 540 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,439 Speaker 1: they're building their tools and their products, and it takes 541 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,839 Speaker 1: a lot of discipline and effort to step outside of 542 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,720 Speaker 1: your own world experience and to create stuff that's for everyone, 543 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,120 Speaker 1: not just people who happen to think and behave the 544 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: way you do. And again, this isn't coming from any 545 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,800 Speaker 1: sort of exclusionary mindset necessarily. It's not like people are 546 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 1: trying to create stuff that's that's excluding others. You can 547 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 1: probably think of a few different companies that have made 548 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: products that appeal to a certain niche audience that happens 549 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 1: to be similar to the people who made those products. So, 550 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,440 Speaker 1: for example, I'm gonna throw Google under the bus here. Now, 551 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: I'm an Android user. I use a lot of Google products, 552 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,960 Speaker 1: and I've come to the conclusion that many of their 553 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,040 Speaker 1: especially their web based products, many of their web based 554 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: products were made by engineers for engineers, and that people 555 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: who were not of the engineering mindset may have found 556 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 1: some of those products and services challenging to navigate or 557 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: counterintuitive or non intuitive, and as a result, those various 558 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,399 Speaker 1: products and services didn't get widespread adoption. And so it's 559 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: become kind of a longstanding joke that Google would introduce 560 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: a new product online product and then within three or 561 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: four years discontinue it because of lack of adoption. But 562 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:55,880 Speaker 1: I think a large part of that was because some 563 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,120 Speaker 1: of the design was while it made perfect sense to 564 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 1: the people who were making the product, did not necessarily 565 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: make sense to other people from different experiences. So it 566 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 1: wasn't that the products were bad, It's just that they 567 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 1: were not accessible to everybody. Teach access has grown out 568 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:19,400 Speaker 1: of efforts from accessibility teams that were founded in Yahoo 569 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 1: and Facebook, but now there are lots and lots of 570 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:28,320 Speaker 1: companies and institutions that are part of it, like Stanford, Microsoft, Twitter, Adobe, 571 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: Google is part of it, LinkedIn A T and T, 572 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: A whole bunch of different companies and organizations are part 573 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:38,960 Speaker 1: of this initiative. It's exciting to see companies take such 574 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: an active role in a holistic approach to increasing accessibility. 575 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: Acknowledging the education and incorporation into fundamental design strategies is 576 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,080 Speaker 1: a really good start. And there are two really big 577 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:52,440 Speaker 1: reasons that I am so passionate about this. You know, 578 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 1: I know I've talked about this kind of thing and 579 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 1: a very touchy feely kind of way that some people 580 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: might find off putting, but uh, frankly, I don't care, 581 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:06,880 Speaker 1: because I think the two things that really drive my 582 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 1: passion in this is. First, there's compassion. I want inclusions 583 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:16,760 Speaker 1: so that people are not frustrated, they're not isolated because 584 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:18,840 Speaker 1: of the design of technology. I want them to be 585 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: able to enjoy the benefits of technology, to flourish in 586 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,799 Speaker 1: part because technology is allowing them to do so in 587 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,919 Speaker 1: ways they could not otherwise. I want that to be 588 00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:36,040 Speaker 1: the case. And from a selfish perspective, I want it 589 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 1: because you can't even imagine the contributions people might be 590 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,920 Speaker 1: able to make if they just have access to technology 591 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,920 Speaker 1: in a meaningful way. You never know who's going to 592 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:52,320 Speaker 1: come up with the next incredible innovation or next scientific principle. 593 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:57,040 Speaker 1: Imagine if Stephen Hawking had been silenced due to his 594 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: uh A L s, If if he had been rendered 595 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: incapable of communicating without the use of technology, or even 596 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,319 Speaker 1: with the use of technology. If he could not communicate, 597 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,880 Speaker 1: it would have not just been a terrible personal tragedy 598 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,239 Speaker 1: for him, because of course it would be, and for 599 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:18,799 Speaker 1: his family, it would also have left a gap in 600 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:25,440 Speaker 1: scientific discourse that would have been a terrible detriment for everybody. 601 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,520 Speaker 1: So I think accessible technology is important for everyone, not 602 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:34,080 Speaker 1: just the people that directly benefit from it, but from everybody, 603 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,520 Speaker 1: because we can all stand to benefit in the long 604 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:39,840 Speaker 1: run in ways that we can't imagine. Here's here's a 605 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:44,840 Speaker 1: simple and silly, somewhat silly example in the sense of 606 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:50,480 Speaker 1: the aid that it gave everybody. So back in and Kalamazoo, Michigan, 607 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: the city began to alter their sidewalks. They started to 608 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: create curb cuts. So these are the first curb cuts. 609 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:01,280 Speaker 1: This is the sloped section on a herb that allows 610 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 1: someone who's in a wheelchair to move from street level 611 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:08,319 Speaker 1: up to sidewalk level so they can cross streets. That 612 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,960 Speaker 1: part is not the silly part. That part is incredibly important. 613 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,600 Speaker 1: It gives people in wheelchairs the capability of navigating around 614 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:19,440 Speaker 1: their city in a way that they otherwise would have 615 00:39:19,719 --> 00:39:22,640 Speaker 1: problems doing. So. That part is important, But the part 616 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:24,640 Speaker 1: that's a little more silly is that that those singing 617 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:28,960 Speaker 1: ramps allowed for other uses, Like if you happen to 618 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:32,560 Speaker 1: travel around on the scooter and you don't want to 619 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:37,000 Speaker 1: go in the street and there are no, i you know, 620 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 1: no local laws that prevent you from going on sidewalks 621 00:39:39,719 --> 00:39:43,000 Speaker 1: with a scooter, then these slopes allow you to do that. 622 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 1: For parents who are pushing strollers, they can move from 623 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: street to sidewalk. Those were not the primary intent of 624 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,959 Speaker 1: those curb cuts, but they are other benefits that rose 625 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 1: up from that program. So there can be benefits beyond 626 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:06,279 Speaker 1: the primary intended purpose for accessible technology, both from the 627 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: technology standpoint and the people who get to take advantage 628 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,880 Speaker 1: of it. So that's why I think it's an important 629 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:16,799 Speaker 1: concept and an important endeavor to pursue. Now, obviously we 630 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:19,919 Speaker 1: could talk in greater detail about all these different types 631 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,879 Speaker 1: of technology, and probably in the future I will cover 632 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,719 Speaker 1: them more in more depth. UM eye tracking technology I've 633 00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:29,200 Speaker 1: talked about before in the past, but going into greater 634 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:33,239 Speaker 1: detail with that would be great because the tech has 635 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:37,239 Speaker 1: improved significantly since I first started playing around with it 636 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 1: a few years ago, and it'd be great to sort 637 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,719 Speaker 1: of talk about the implications of that, but we've kind 638 00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,040 Speaker 1: of run out of time, so I want to thank 639 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:52,600 Speaker 1: Ken again for the suggestion to do accessible Technology. And uh, 640 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,160 Speaker 1: if you guys have any suggestions for future episodes of Tech, 641 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:58,160 Speaker 1: whether it's a type of tech, a company, a person 642 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,000 Speaker 1: in tech, maybe there's someone I should enter you let 643 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,920 Speaker 1: me know. Send me an email. The addresses tech Stuff 644 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,640 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. Remember, you can also 645 00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:09,719 Speaker 1: get in touch with me on Twitter and Facebook. The 646 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,200 Speaker 1: handle with both of those is tech Stuff hs W. 647 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:17,719 Speaker 1: Don't forget. 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