Category: Recreation AT

Chubby Buttons 2 – Wearable & Stickable Bluetooth 5.1 Remote for iPhone & Android

From Chubby Buttons: Complete Post through this link…

About this item

  • Easy-Touch Remote – Never fumble w/ your phone or touch-sensitive earbuds again. The Chubby Buttons Bluetooth remote features big buttons to control your phone even when wearing gloves or mittens.
  • Launch Siri or Google Assistant, Answer Calls, Control Tunes – Compatible w/ all smartphones, music apps, headphones (wired & wireless) & bluetooth speakers. Launch your digital assistant, answer calls, control your tunes & take selfies remotely. Keep your CB up-to-date with the latest firmware using our new companion app.
  • Rugged, All-Weather Use – This smartphone remote is water resistant to make it tough enough to outlast snowy slopes, rain-soaked roads and steamy bathrooms, making it ideal for action sports or active lifestyles.
  • All-Season Battery Life – Lasts & lasts, this smartphone remote control helps save phone battery life in cold weather & keeps working through every ride, powder sesh, & rugged hiking adventure.
  • Wearable or Stickable Convenience – Wear it w/ our new one-size-fits-all armband over big winter coats or skinny forearms- it’s fully adjustable! Or stick Chubby Button’s nanosuction backing to stoves, showers, mirrors, car radios and more!

How eBay Made Its New Accessibility Tool — And Made It Available to All

By: Dan Nosowitz: Complete Post through this link…

Several eBay teams worked together to create a plug-in that makes it easy to include accessibility in a design right from the start.

There is sometimes a fundamental gap between the engineering and design teams when creating a new product. Designers want their work to be accessible, but many of the available tools are cumbersome, confusing, and come with processes that aren’t well-defined. This can lead to designers delivering their work to engineers without fully baked accessibility, which in turn leads to developers having to shoehorn accessibility in at a later stage than would be ideal — or, unfortunately, being unaware of the need to include it at all.

As a solution, eBay’s Core Accessibility, Design, and Design Tech teams worked to craft a new plug-in for Figma, the popular web-based design tool. The plug-in is called Include, and its goal is to make accessibility annotation easy, smooth, and simple, to ensure that accessibility is a core part of the design experience, rather than something crammed in (and then bug-fixed) later.

Include has thoughtful, elegant solutions to these problems. A designer simply selects a frame for annotations, and then the plug-in presents a list of tactical steps to ensure that their design is available to all. It guides the designer through all those steps, which can be done in any order, explaining the reasoning for each suggestion throughout. For example, Include will create a list of images that the designer used in a mockup. If the designer marks an image as informative, the plugin will prompt them to include alt text — a catch that makes sure that screen readers can describe the image.

There are all sorts of additions to the plug-in that help to complete the steps. One of those additions: It automatically makes a copy of the design with text enlarged to 200%, so the designer can easily see where text may overflow, or where the design may break. That feature is hugely beneficial for designers to consider how their designs will look for those who enlarge the text on their devices.

A major consideration for us at eBay is making tools like this available to all. eBay takes open source very seriously, consistently contributing our work back to the community, and Include has been made with that in mind. It’s available to all, on Figma, which is a free service. And the code itself is open-source, available on Github for all to use. After all, how could we create an accessibility tool and not make it accessible to everyone?

New GPT-4 app can be ‘life-changing’ for visually-impaired people, say users

ByThomas Macaulay: Complete Post through this link…

The first app to integrate GPT-4’s image-recognition abilities has been described as ‘life-changing’ by visually-impaired users.

Be My Eyes, a Danish startup, applied the AI model to a new feature for blind or partially-sighted people. Named “Virtual Volunteer,” the object-recognition tool can answer questions about any image that it’s sent.

Imagine, for instance, that a user is hungry. They could simply photograph an ingredient and request related recipes.

If they’d rather eat out, they can upload an image of a map and get directions to a restaurant. On arrival, they can snap a picture of the menu and hear the options. If they then want to work off the added calories in a gym, they can use their smartphone camera to find a treadmill.

Assistive Technology Awareness Day is March 1

From ACL: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Tomorrow, we celebrate National Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Day and the vital role AT plays in the lives of people with disabilities and older adults. AT is any item, device, or piece of equipment used to maintain or improve the independence and function of people with disabilities and older adults.

AT solutions are as diverse as the goals of the millions of people who benefit from them. A few examples of AT that capture this diversity include speech-generating devices, video magnifiers, timers, wheelchairs, automatic lights, ramps and lifts, voice recognition software, shoe horns, and automatic can openers.

ACL is proud to fund Assistive Technology Act programs in every state and territory that help older adults and people with disabilities discover, try, reutilize, and finance assistive technology. As a result of these programs, in FY22:

  • Nearly 45,000 individuals participated in AT device demonstrations.
  • More than 43,000 devices were loaned so individuals could “try-before-they-buy.”
  • 88,000 AT devices were reutilized, saving consumers more than $38 million.
  • $7.4 million in financial loans were made to help finance AT devices.

In December, the Assistive Technology Act was reauthorized by Congress for the first time since 2004. This reauthorization updates and modernizes the law and will help expand the capacity of AT Act programs to innovate, collaborate, and serve people with disabilities and older adults.

We hope you will join us in celebrating by sharing how AT has helped you on social media. Share a photo, video, or story of how you use AT in your life with #ATAwarenessDay.

The National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training (AT3) Center has also developed brief hand-outs that you can share describing how AT, and AT Act programs, support housing, education, employment, transportation, and community living. The Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) also houses various videos and materials about the importance of assistive technology on its  National AT Awareness Day page.

CMS Proposes Benefit Expansion for Mobility Devices, Advancing Health Equity for People with Disabilities

From ACL: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Proposal supports coverage of power seat elevation equipment for power wheelchairs.

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed National Coverage Determination (NCD) decision that would, for the first time, expand coverage for power seat elevation equipment on certain power wheelchairs to Medicare individuals. The proposed NCD is open for public comment for 30 days.

“Millions of people with Medicare rely on medically necessary assistive devices to perform daily tasks that directly impact their quality of life. CMS remains committed to ensuring persons with disabilities are receiving available benefits that improve their health,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “Today’s proposal promotes a first of its kind benefit expansion providing people with Medicare additional tools to improve their lives.”

If finalized, power seat elevation equipment would be covered by Medicare for individuals with a Group 3 power wheelchair, which are designed to meet the needs of people with Medicare with severe disabilities, in order to improve their health as they transfer from the wheelchair to other surfaces. Transfers often strain shoulder and back muscles and constrain an individual’s daily mobility at home and other customary locations.

These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins

By Joanna Thompson: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Prosthetics designers are coming up with new ways to help people feel more comfortable in their own skin.

Many mornings, Dani Clode wakes up, straps a robotic thumb to one of her hands, and gets to work, poring through reams of neuroscience data, sketching ideas for new prosthetic devices, and thinking about ways to augment the human body. Clode works as a specialist at the University of Cambridge’s Plasticity Lab, which studies the neuroscience of assistive devices.

But she also creates prosthetics, ones that often fall outside the conventional bounds of functionality and aesthetics. Her designs include a clear acrylic forearm prosthetic with an internal metronome that beats in sync with the wearer’s heart and an arm made with rearrangeable sections of resin, polished wood, moss, bronze, gold, rhodium, and cork. 

Clode’s current project, one that is also helping her get work done, is a “third thumb” that anyone can use to augment their grip. The flexible device is powered by motors and controlled using pressure sensors in the wearer’s shoes. Volunteers have learned to use it to unscrew a bottle, drink tea, and even play guitar. She hopes that one day the thumb (and devices like it) might help everyone from factory workers to surgeons perform tasks more efficiently, with less strain on their own bodies.

Traditionally, prosthetics designers have looked to the human body for inspiration. Prosthetics were seen as replacements for missing body parts; hyperrealistic bionic legs and arms were the holy grail. Thanks to sci-fi franchises like Star Wars, such devices still have a vise grip on our collective imagination. For better or worse, they’ve shaped how most people conceive of the future of prosthetics. 

Sony Unveils Adaptive Controller for PlayStation 5

By Michael Franz: For Complete Post, Click Here…

In January Sony unveiled Project Leonardo, a new adaptive controller in development for PlayStation 5. Designed with input from accessibility experts and organizations dedicated to making gaming accessible, Project Leonardo is a customizable adaptive controller composed of a pair of circular gamepads with buttons around the perimeter and an analog stick that can be adjusted to be closer or farther from the gamepad. To create a system that suits your needs, you can combine two Project Leonardo controllers with a DualSense controller, or customize Project Leonardo with a variety of analog stick caps and buttons that come with the gamepads. With four 3.5 mm auxiliary ports, you can add components like joysticks, switches and extra buttons that are easily customized via button mapping and three customizable control profiles. 

“Because players can customize Project Leonardo according to their needs, there is no one ‘right’ form factor,” said Sony Interactive Entertainment designer So Morimoto. “We want to empower them to create their own configurations. … I am excited that the design will be completed through collaboration with players rather than presenting them with a single form factor.” 

Project Leonardo does not have pricing or a release date yet, but more information can be found at opens in a new windowPlayStation Blog. 

Michigan Storytellers for Change – Frank Vaca

From Michigan Storytellers for Change: For Complete Post, Click Here…

“I feel like this is my calling: to help others with disabilities explore their potential.” Frank Vaca discusses his work on employment and as a sexuality self-advocacy trainer.

You can learn more about Green Mountain Self-Advocates at https://gmsavt.org/.

You can learn more about the Elevatus Sexuality and Developmental Disabilities Training at https://www.elevatustraining.com/.

For more about Michigan Storytellers for Change, visit https://tash.org/MIStorytellers4Change

‘God of War: Ragnarök’ Wins Big In Accessibility

By Frankie Negron: For Complete Post, Click Here…

The Game Awards have recognized accommodations in the gaming industry since 2020 and on Thursday night that award went to “God of War: Ragnarök.”

The Innovation in Accessibility Award was developed to honor games that ensure as many people as possible can play. This means adding in as many accessibility options to address any kind of need that could come up. The selection panel for this award is made up solely of disabled gamers.

Four other games were considered: “The Last of Us: Part 1,” “Return to Monkey Island,” “The Quarry” and “As Dusk Falls.”

“Ragnarök” had a groundbreaking list of features, more than 70 options designed to suit whatever need a player encountered. This ranged from color-coding subtitles so players would know who was saying what line, changing the size of text and color-coding enemies and allies when it came to combat. The features weren’t solely designed for visual needs, but a variety of needs.

Santa Monica Studio sought consultation from disabled gamers and advocates in order to focus on what would really help to make it accessible, not just adding subtitles and giving options to change game brightness.

Mila Pavlin, a team leader at the studio, had spoken to BBC News and explained that “it was the biggest thing that we looked out for at the beginning of the process of making the game – how to make it more accessible to more people” and pointed out to how “there were many gamers who wanted to play in 2018 but were unable to because of things like low vision, motor issues and cognitive or hearing disabilities.”

OneButtonPIN increases security for blind and low-vision tech users

From University of Waterloo: For Complete Post, Click Here…

New authentication method helps protect data from privacy attacks.

Working closely with blind and low-vision (BLV) users, researchers at the University of Waterloo and the Rochester Institute of Technology have developed a new authentication method that could help BLV technology users more securely access their devices. The new method, OneButtonPIN, allows users to input PIN codes using a single large button and a series of haptic vibrations.

People with BLV frequently express frustrations with existing authentication methods such as drawing patterns, fingerprint and face scans, and PIN codes. Some methods are difficult to use effectively without visual data. Others are vulnerable to privacy attacks.

OneButtonPIN addresses these security issues by using haptic vibrations imperceptible to outsiders. When prompted to enter a PIN code, the user presses and holds a large button on their smartphone screen. This activates a series of vibrations separated by pauses; the user counts the number of vibrations corresponding to the number they desire to enter, then releases the button and repeats the process until the desired numbers are entered.

While biometrics such as fingerprints and face scans are unique and easy to use, a person’s biometrics cannot be changed or reset, explains Stacey Watson, a lecturer in computer science and one of the researchers on the study.

“More traditional forms of entry are vulnerable due to many BLV people’s use of screen reader technology,” said Watson. “PIN users are vulnerable both to eavesdropping and shoulder surfing attacks, which is where someone nearby can observe a user’s device without their knowledge.”