Posted on 4/20/2016 at 2:27 PM
by AFB Staff
Photo of Google logo from the Sydney Google office
On the heels of major accessibility announcements from Twitter and Facebook,
tech giant Google recently highlighted its own efforts to build a more
inclusive world for people with disabilities. Here are four ways Google is
working to improve the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired:
1. Gaining equal access to information—As part of the Google Impact Challenge
the company recently awarded $20 million in grants to 29 grantees around the
world. One of the grantees, the DAISY Consortium is developing
industry-standard accessibility tools for publishers to ensure that every book
is accessible to people with disabilities.
2. Getting around—Another Impact Challenge grantee is Wayfindr from the Royal
London Society for Blind People, which delivers audio-based directions to
users’ smartphones. Eventually, the goal is to allow people who are visually
impaired to independently navigate anywhere, indoors or outdoors. Perkins
School for the Blind was awarded a Google Impact Challenge grant to develop a
mobile app that helps users independently locate bus stops and other very
specific locations.
3. Improving screen readers—Now, every ChromeBook comes with a built-in screen
reader called ChromeVox, which allows people with visual impairments to
navigate the screen via text-to-speech output. The newest version, ChromeVox
Next (beta), includes a simplified keyboard shortcut model, a new caption panel
to display speech and braille output, and a new set of navigation sounds.
4. Creating accessible apps—The Accessibility Scanner is a new tool for Android
that lets developers test their own apps and get tips on ways to enhance
accessibility. For example, the tool might recommend enlarging small buttons or
increasing the contrast for easier use by people with low vision.
