How Accessibility Technology is Transforming Daily Life: Tools and Innovations

According to a World Health Organization report, over a billion people worldwide rely on assistive products. With aging populations and a rise in noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, that number is expected to rise to 2 billion by 2050. In the United States, 26% of adults live with a disability, many of which result in a reliance on accessibility technology to enhance their quality of life. We’re fortunate to live in a time where this level of assistance is more accessible to more people, but until I had a job interview several years ago, I didn’t realize the scope of available services and products.

I can’t go in-depth on every possible assistive option, but I want to spotlight some pieces of tech that are providing a quality-of-life upgrade for people who are using them. You may be using some of this technology even if you don’t particularly require accessibility features, because some of it is just incredibly useful in its own right. As with much technology innovation, solving one problem often means that everyone gets something new to use.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ACCESSIBILITY?

When we talk about accessibility in technology, we refer to designing and developing products, services, and environments so that they can be used by everyone, including people with various disabilities. It’s a really broad topic, because we can talk about making websites and software usable for people who have visual auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments, but we also get into hardware as well. A few examples are screen readers, captions for videos, and keyboard navigation for people who can’t use a mouse.  

THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESSIBILITY

As a writer and artist, I want my work to be available to everyone, including anyone with any disability, and every content creator I know feels the same way. Business owners want their goods and services available to everyone as well. It isn’t always possible to make absolutely everything completely accessible, but it’s a worthy objective. I also love using my technology to get stuff done, and I would love to see everyone who wants to get things done have the ability to live a fulfilling life, and if technology makes it possible, I want to see it happen. The contributions of someone with a physical impairment can enhance society overall, but only if that person can manifest their vision.

Accessibility also refers to a level of independence and empowerment that is available when people with disabilities have the tools they need to perform tasks. There’s a lot of value in having a level of self-sufficiency that I know I don’t really appreciate since I’m not disabled.

ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES IN EVERYDAY DEVICES

You’re already using many accessibility features, but try to imagine what game-changers these tools are to someone who needs them for daily tasks. Before I walked into the interview I referred to earlier, I heard the vision-impaired company owner using a screen reader to read him my resume. He had verbally invoked the screen reader and opened the file that contained my resume. I have a sister with impaired vision as well, and she uses a special monitor that magnifies everything immensely.

Closed captioning on television shows and movies makes entertainment and education better for someone with hearing impairment. I use it myself when the conversation takes a low volume or if, for some other reason, it’s hard to understand.

We have assistive touch and customizable gestures on our phones, tablets, and trackpads on our laptops. We have talk-to-text features as well,  so that someone who can’t type an email can speak it. It’s exactly this type of technology that my friend used to write the draft of his book. (I typed mine because I change my mind too much when I’m writing.) Computers also have various visual modes or themes to adjust the text scaling and contrast.

Voice-controlled assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Assistant can help disabled people control their environment by controlling lights, thermostats, ambient sound, and even window treatments. (Just make sure you set it up securely – see my article on that!) I had wanted to be able to control my porch lights from my iPhone, but until smart light bulbs came out, it was just a wish. Now I can turn them on in my car from my phone and tell the device to turn them off when I come into the house. I have several of these wonderful devices throughout my home, and occasionally one of us will speak loudly enough to one of them for another one to respond. My husband was telling me about the bedroom device not understanding him when he spoke the command, “Alexa, play ocean sounds.” He was in the living room, and the device in my office started playing ocean sounds. Just a funny story.

We even have a Bluetooth-connected bird feeder that can send photos of the feathered visitors to any device we select. This isn’t particularly a necessary thing, but it’s a simple pleasure that isn’t limited to people who can walk outside to watch the birds. Camera doorbells provide security as well, without having to look through a peephole to see who’s on the front porch. Alarms and property camera systems have become commonplace in homes, rather than just industrial properties.

ACCESSIBLE MEDICINE TECHNOLOGY

Health apps can be made accessible and intuitive and easy to navigate, which will ensure that patients of all abilities can use them without difficulty. Additionally, they can interact with screen readers, and keyboard navigation can support users with motor impairment. While the devices the apps run on can have adjustable contrast and text sizes, it’s also important that the apps have those features as well. Accessibility should also include support for multiple languages, so that users whose native language is not the one in which the app connects can still have comfortable medical consultations.

Telehealth services can use visual consultations, to reduce the need for physical travel. Wearable devices and remote monitoring systems can track vital signs and other health metrics, allowing real-time access to important medical data from a different location. These devices can also be programmed to interpret the data points so that if the patient experiences unusual health conditions, caregivers or emergency services can receive an alert, ensuring quick responses to emergencies.

CHALLENGES IN ACCESSIBILITY TECHNOLOGY

Of course, we have to have a challenges section, because new technology is challenging. It can also pose a perceived threat to users and promoters of existing systems. One of the biggest challenges, though, is that many developers and designers are simply not fully aware of the standards and best practices, which can lead to inconsistent implementation. The standards are also often really complex and difficult to interpret (legalese, anyone?), which makes correct implementation difficult. Smaller organizations might also not have the expertise among their personnel to implement correctly.

There are also going to be cost challenges. This stuff isn’t cheap right now, although we can expect costs to fall over time, but the research and development costs are high, and maintenance is an ongoing cost. People with disabilities also often face financial challenges; the portion of the population that needs this technology the most frequently finds that it is out of their reach. It’s also going to be difficult to use it in low- and middle-income countries, where the infrastructure cannot support it and where there are few local suppliers.

Finally, it can be hard to get good test data if the products aren’t thoroughly tested with the users that the technology is designed to serve. Disabled users aren’t targeted to be part of the design and development process, so the solutions rarely fully meet their needs.

THE GOOD NEWS

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will improve the data available for the design and development teams, increasing the understanding of the needs of users and reducing the costs of the process. Support for the devices can be handled remotely, with remote monitoring during the testing process and in actual use. We can expect to see further voice and facial movement integration into device functionality, and more gesture-based controls.

YOUR TURN

Drop a comment below and tell me about an interesting or innovative application of assistive technology, or how technology has worked to improve accessibility for someone you know. I’d love to more about what’s being done. To tie the bow on that job interview, as much as I’d have loved to have that job, it would have required a lot more travel than I was prepared to do at the time. I lost the business card of the man I interviewed with so I haven’t been able to find out how the company is doing. I hope they’re prospering.

Here are a few more resources if you want to dig deeper:

Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C

Augmented Reality Navigation – All You Need to Know (plugxr.com)

Accessibility In AR/VR: How To Make Immersive Digital Experiences More Inclusive

https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-usability-inclusion

Accessibility and Inclusivity in Telehealth Interface Design ⋆ Geneca

Assistive Technology in Health and Social care | Types & benefits (cpdonline.co.uk)

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