Assistive Technology

The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) announced their 2013 Student Design Competition (SDC). The annual competition provides teams of students with the opportunity to present creative and innovative assistive technology designs that can help people with disabilities function more independently. Students from a variety of disciplines are able to participate, including: mechanical, electrical, biomedical engineering, computer information science, architecture, and physical and occupational therapy.

September 4, 2012 – The 2013 International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN) general session call for presentations was announced.  Topics of interest include emerging assistive technologies; web accessibility; aging and disability; technologies designed for people with specific disabilities such as blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, cognitive, and learning; technology applications for employment and education; and legal ramifications, among a multitude of other topics.  Submissions are due Friday, October 12, 2012.

July 12, 2012 –The American Foundation for the Blind and FloCo Apps, LLC have collaborated to produce AccessNote, a note-taker app for any iOS tablet or smartphone. AccessNote is compatible with the built-in accessibility features of iOS such as Voice Over and the iOS screen reader. It is also compatible with Apple’s wireless keyboard and wireless braille keyboards and displays.  AccessNote is scheduled for release this summer at a price point below $30.    [Source: American Foundation for the Blind]

July 2, 2012 –The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission launched the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program on July 1, 2012. The goal of the program is to ensure that individuals who are deaf-blind will receive the specialized customer premises equipment needed to effectively access telecommunications services, Internet services, and advanced communications services.

06.13.2012 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Television Data Systems Subcommittee has formed a new working group to examine the effects of Internet-delivered closed captioning in relation to recent FCC regulations.  In January of 2012, the FCC issued a Report and Order (R&O) implementing rules governing closed captioning for previously televised video programming delivered using Internet protocol (IP).