August 2009
(External News) 10th AAATE (Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe) conference - 28 August 2009
The 10th AAATE conference from 31st August to 2nd September 2009, aims to explore the concept of Assistive Technology moving away from adopting the most appropriate device/s for each user in order to overcome the limitations to her/his activity to the design and set up of the total environment in which people live, supported by suitable services and, when necessary, by additional support devices integrated within the environment.
(External News) Middlesex University offers an MSc in Digital Inclusion - 28 August 2009
The new MSc Digital Inclusion programme is the first to be offered in Europe and is a groundbreaking programme designed to meet the existing and continuing demand for experts in eInclusion.
(External News) Text telephone (TTY) inventor dies - 28 August 2009
Dr. James Marsters, deaf inventor of the text telephone, has died aged 85.
(External News) New software lets iPhones speak - 28 August 2009
A new software application, available for download free through Apple's iTunes Store, lets people use their iPhone to speak when they're unable.
RNIB Digital Accessibility Team working in the areas of Human Computer Interaction - 26 August 2009
RNIB's Digital Accessibility Team is continuing its work in the areas of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) by participating in relevant groups and committees.
(External News) BBC launches audio description on BBC iPlayer - 26 August 2009
The BBC today announces that approximately 25 hours per week of the BBC's audio-described programmes are now available on BBC iPlayer.
Techshare 2009 - Only 1 week left to book your place - 25 August 2009
RNIB and other leading organisations are hosting Techshare 2009 on 16 - 18 September. The event will explore recent advances in digital assistive technology with leading technology organisations presenting and exhibiting their latest developments.
(External News) Guide Dogs launched screen-reading application for its blind workers- 25 August 2009
Disability charity Guide Dogs has unveiled a new customer relationship management (CRM) system geared towards aiding its blind and partially sighted employees.
(External News) Adobe supports open-source screen reader NVDA- 24 August 2009
Adobe is funding NVAccess to help address support for Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash with the NVDA open-source screenreader.
(External News) Access-IT 2009 - 21 August 2009
Access-IT 2009 will aim to promote usable, affordable and needed developments and solutions that serve the lives of people with a disability and the elderly.
(External News) Eden Project uses symbols to make its website more accessible - 21 August 2009
The Eden Project website has introduced a new image system to make words easier to understand for users with learning difficulties.
(External News) Standards.Next - Cognition and accessibility - 20 August 2009
The next free Standards.Next meetup on 19th September 2009 is to focus on cognition and accessible web design.
(External News) 2010 CSUN Conference - Call for Papers Announcement - 20 August 2009
The Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge, USA is pleased to announce that the Call for Papers for the 25th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference will open on Monday, 24 August 2009.
Special Techshare 2009 offer - late availability accommodation - 20 August 2009
We have just secured an amazing deal for Techshare delegates. Book 2 days at Techshare 2009 and get 1 night accommodation (17 September) for only £20 +VAT at the Custom House Hotel near ExCeL!
Universal Text Recognition: A Wayfinding Tool for People with Visual Impairments - 19 August 2009
UMASS Computer Science Department's current project is to develop software for reading text in complex indoor and outdoor environments as the key missing piece of technology in a universal reader, a device that could assist those who are blind and visually impaired in navigating and operating in natural scenes and environments.
Making Small Visual Displays Accessible to People with Vision Loss - 18 August 2009
AFB TECH's latest project will assess the accessibility and usability of small visual displays for use by people with vision loss.
Techshare 2009 - Only 2 weeks left to book your place - 18 August 2009
RNIB and other leading organisations are hosting Techshare 2009 on 16 - 18 September. The event will explore recent advances in digital assistive technology with leading technology organisations presenting and exhibiting their latest developments.
(External News) Application opens up Twitter to disabled users - 18 August 2009
Keyboard-accessible links, audio cues and simplified layouts are some of the features present in ‘Accessible Twitter’, a new application under development to make the popular microblogging service more accessible to disabled users.
RNIB: Talking up digital technology - 17 August 2009
Millions of people worldwide are set to gain an improved experience of TV thanks to a collaboration between The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and leading digital technology companies to develop the world’s first ‘talking’ technology - which will reach the market later this year.
(External News) Mac-cessibility Network for the blind and visually impaired is launched - 17 August 2009
Mac-cessibility Network is a new collection of resources, services and sites devoted to providing information pertaining to the accessibility of Apple products for the blind, visually impaired and other disability groups and connecting the people who use them.
Development of a Digital Sign System for Indoor Wayfinding by the Visually Impaired - 17 August 2009
Advanced Medical Electronics aim to develop a prototype for an indoor wayfinding system that uses a hand-held device and bar-coded signs. Information, including the content of the sign and its position, is then retrieved from a database and provided to the user via synthetic speech.
Wayfinding for the Blind & Visually Impaired Using Passive Environmental Labels - 14 August 2009
The objective of this Smith-Kettlewell project is to tackle the problem of wayfinding faced by blind and severely visually impaired persons who are unable to find or read signs, landmarks and locations. They propose a novel and inexpensive environmental labeling system to provide access to information needed for indoor wayfinding.
SeeStar: A Mobile PDA Phone-based Assistance System for Visually Impaired Users - 13 August 2009
The IVISIT developed SeeStar will be able to offer visually impaired people a "pair of eyes" via the use of a mobile phone camera and data link to a remote assistant who can look at live images through the mobile phone camera and then describe the person's surroundings.
Indoor Magnetic Wayfinding for the Visually Impaired - 13 August 2009
Advanced Medical Electronics proposes the development of an indoor wayfinding device utilizing the unique magnetic anomaly patterns that exist in modern, man-made structures. Such a device would be able to provide low-vision users with a valuable indoor low-cost wayfinding tool analogous to a Global Positioning System device used outdoors.
(External News) Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) - FORUM '09 Vienna - 13 August 2009
The thematic priorities of the first AAL FORUM 09 will be national and European AAL activities, R&D projects and economic aspects of the joint programmes, the third AAL call for proposals as well as key questions of AAL-JP.
(External News) The Blue Badge map on mobile - 12 August 2009
You can now use the Blue Badge map on your mobile phone to find Blue Badge parking bays, accessible toilets, train stations, shopmobility centres and lots more.
The Captioned Braille Radio Initiative: providing emergency information for individuals who are deaf-blind - 12 August 2009
This NIDRR funded project, starting in October 2009, aims to focus research activities on the standardization of a Captioned Braille Digital Radio service model designed to serve consumers who are deaf-blind. The envisioned service is designed to work with USB and Bluetooth connections to the consumer’s existing electronic braillers.
(External News) RAatE 2009 - 12 August 2009
RAatE 2009 is the only UK conference focused on the latest innovations and developments in assistive technology. This conference will be of interest to everyone who uses, works with, develops or conducts research on assistive technologies (AT).
Techshare 2009 - Digital technology for people with disabilities - 11 August 2009
RNIB and other leading organisations are hosting Techshare 2009 on 16 - 18 September. The event will explore recent advances in digital assistive technology with leading technology organisations presenting and exhibiting their latest developments.
(External News) Freedom Scientific announces FREE DAISY Book Reader - 11 August 2009
Freedom Scientific have announced that it is now providing FSReader, its popular DAISY book reader, free to users of its PAC Mate™ and PAC Mate Omni™ accessible Pocket PCs.
(External News) The 2nd International Conference Education for All - 11 August 2009
On 22 - 25 September the Education for All conference in Warsaw, Poland, will explore topics such as universal design and inclusive education.
(External News) Eleventh International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility - 10 August 2009
On 26 - 28 October the ASSETS conference in Pittsburgh, USA, will explore the use of computing and information technologies to help persons with disabilities and older adults.
(External News) Smart Cane gives a new direction - 10 August 2009
A group of engineering students at Central Michigan University say they have designed another tool to improve mobility. The Smart Cane is a device that detects obstacles and provides navigation cues by using Radio Frequency Identification technology...
(External News) Deaf-blind communication goes portable - 10 August 2009
A new portable device for deaf-blind people allows them to have face-to-face conversations, make phone calls using a text relay service and communicate by SMS...
(External News) "Communicating for Success" helps make the digital world more accessible to elderly people - 7 August 2009
"Communicating for Success", a pioneering programme to help the over 55s develop confidence on the Internet and improve their IT skills has provided instruction on how to surf the Internet, how to shop online, upload photographs and send emails and text messages...
(External News) Web 2.0 Accessibility Conference - 5 August 2009
On 22nd September 2009 the UK’s only dedicated event to focus on Web 2.0 accessibility issues this year, invites designers, developers, project managers and testers working in the field, to look at the impact of web technology on disabled end users.
(External News) New guide from BT for deaf or hard of hearing people - 3 August 2009
BT has created "Communication Choices: for deaf or hard of hearing people", the first in a new series of guides being developed by BT offering help and advice for people around specific impairments...
