Assistive Technology

August 2014 – IDEAL Group Apps4Android, the world’s largest developer of Android accessibility apps, announced the release of the “Document Knowledge Miner” app. The app assists individuals with physical, developmental, cognitive, and other disabilities to gain access to information in documents.  The innovation in this app is that it can access document information even if it isn’t presented in an accessible format. Developed with support from the Wireless RERC’s App Factory and NIDRR, the app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

August 2014 - The Wireless RERC partnered with AT&T early in 2014 to produce Discover Wireless Accessibility!, a series of outreach workshop for consumers with disabilities. They have traveled to Atlanta, Ga., Austin and Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Ill., and Washington, D.C. educating consumers about the accessibility features available on their mobile devices.

August 2014 – Anvato, provider of the leading video platform and multi-device player TV Everywhere, announced that their turnkey video software has reached full compliance with the FCC’s latest closed-captioning mandate. The FCC extended IP closed-captioning to “straight-lift” video clips, montages, and video clips of programming shown live and near-live on television in July. According to Anvato, they have met these requirements, as well as captioning compliance for back-catalog content less than a month after the ruling.

The Shepherd Center and the Wireless RERC have been awarded the Google Glass Accessibility Grant to develop an application to assist individuals who experience brain injury-related memory loss. The $15,000 award amount will go towards app development and testing on the Google Glass device.  The wearable computer technology will aid in helping users recognize people who do not regularly frequent their social circle, a common issue for those who have memory loss.

August 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission released a public notice informing citizens of an adopted order requiring closed captioning of internet video clips [MB Docket No. 11-154]. According to the Federal Register summary, published August 5, 2014, the adopted rules concerning video clips delivered using Internet protocol will be effective on September 4, 2014. Compliance dates are as follow: