If you create technology with individuals with disabilities in mind, you design better technology for everyone.
This was the feeling expressed by Google as it inaugurated its first research and development center in the United Kingdom dedicated to creating assistive technology.
Google collaborated with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute of Deaf People, and the disability charity Everyone Can to build the center in London. It is the company’s first site focused on accessibility outside the United States.
Paul Carter stated that the technology being developed by Google had the “potential to be significant” for the disabled.
“Technology now affects so many facets of everyone’s daily existence, but for disabled people, it may truly transform their lives,” he said.
There’s a saying in the disability community that goes, ‘nothing about us without us,’ and it’s amazing to see a large tech company embracing that philosophy and establishing a space to build goods and services that work with disabled people, not just for them.
Google has numerous research teams working on topics such as artificial intelligence, and a number of its engineers are tasked with “supercharging” accessible technology to make it more popular.
For instance, subtitling technology, which was initially developed to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing television viewers, has had a good effect on society as a whole and has become useful for the majority of people.
As a child, Rachael Bleakley, who is deaf, struggled with lip-reading, but subtitles changed everything.
The 35-year-old stated, “When I was a youngster and captions began to become standard for television broadcasts, mainstream entertainment took on a new meaning for me.
“Captions communicate not only what is being spoken but also any important background noises that help accentuate the plot, such as [dramatic music] for building suspense or a [loud explosion] off camera that helps explain why the main character appears slightly worried,” she explained.
Christopher Patnoe, a member of Google’s inclusion team, stated, “When people have equitable access to information and opportunity, everyone benefits; nevertheless, we recognize that people’s needs change throughout their lifetimes and even throughout the course of a single day.
“We recognize we have more work to do,” he said.
Understanding challenging language
Launching in beta in the United Kingdom, Project Relate is a Google tool that assists people with impairments that make their speech difficult to interpret.
The application learns to better recognize the speech patterns of persons who may have difficulty communicating, such as those with muscular dystrophy and facilitates their communication.
This is accomplished by real-time speech-to-text transcription, voice synthesis, and speaking into voice assistants.
55-year-old Yvonne Johnson, who has a speech impediment, assisted Google with the project.
“I feel more understood, not only by strangers but also by my spouse; it’s the difference between a genuine conversation and someone simply nodding,” she added.
