Other News

January 15, 2013 — Two new National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) priorities were proposed in January. The first recommends a Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP) on the development of inclusive Cloud and Web computing infrastructure that incorporates accessibility features and allows individuals with disabilities to easily operate, interact with, and understand the software [FR Doc No: 2013-00577].

The 2013 M-Enabling Summit will be held on June 6-7 in Washington, DC. This global conference and showcase is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and focuses on and promotes accessible mobile technology that can assist senior citizens and users of all abilities. The conference serves as a forum for U.S. and international mobile service providers, policy makers, and app developers to share experiences and perspectives on accessible mobile technology.

December 2012 - At the end of December, several disability organizations, referred to collectively as the “Consumer Groups,” filed an informal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) alleging that Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) repeatedly violated the FCC Internet Protocol (IP) closed captioning rules, 47 C.F.R. § 79.4. Under the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) enacted in 2010, television shows and videos available online are required to provide captions and increase accessibility for all individuals, including those with disabilities.

December 10, 2012 — Ayanna Howard, a Georgia Tech professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Hae Won Park, a Georgia Tech graduate student, have developed and created Access4Kids with the goal of helping children with limited mobility, “giving them the ability to use what’s in their mind so they have an outlet to impact the world.” Access4Kids is a wireless input device that utilizes a sensory system to measure pressure, which translates a child’s physical movements into fine-motor gestures that enables them to control and interact with a tablet computer.

December 6, 2012 — Amazon announced that early next year the accessibility features, “Voice Guide” and “Explore by Touch,” will be introduced to the standard definition Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD 7. The Voice Guide provides text-to-speech capabilities and reads aloud any action performed by the individual using the Kindle device. Also helpful to individuals with vision loss is Explore by Touch, which announces what item an individual touches, for example the title of a book, and if the item is tapped twice, it results in the default action (i.e. the book would open).