New this month
There was a variety of accessibility information this month together with International Accessibility Consciousness Day (GAAD), an annual occasion that encourages everybody to study and share greatest practices for digital accessibility and inclusion. And to suppose it began with a weblog put up and a telephone name. I had the privilege of speaking with the co-founders of GAAD, Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion, concerning the origin of GAAD and the potential of AI for accessibility and the incapacity neighborhood.
Developments in {hardware}
There have been a number of developments in {hardware} this month. The Designed for Xbox workforce with our associate Byowave, launched the Proteus Controller (out there for preorder), a modular adaptive package with revolutionary “snap and play” components that join to be used in Xbox and PC video games proper out of the field, giving disabled avid gamers the instruments to construct their very own solution to play.
Floor shared its newest developments in {hardware}, together with adaptive contact mode and inclusive keyboards. With adaptive contact mode, you need to use the touchpad with totally different components of your limbs. The touchpad supplies tactile suggestions that simulates the sensation of bodily clicks. Adaptive contact is offered in Floor Professional Flex Keyboard, a removable keyboard that means that you can place your keyboard in essentially the most snug location. The workforce additionally demonstrated how Cephable’s AI-powered platform can use adaptive management inputs to work together together with your Floor. Cephable’s platform takes benefit of the NPU on the brand new Floor units.
AI accelerating accessibility
AI may also help establish new methods to help independence, inclusion, and accessibility. This month, we launched our up to date Accessibility Fundamentals studying path, free for all, and out there now on MS Study, with an choice to obtain and use the course inside a company’s studying surroundings, for the primary time. This new course consists of subjects corresponding to AI fundamentals and constructing inclusive AI experiences.
We’re additionally leveraging AI to higher help you together with your technical wants. Our new Ask Microsoft Accessibility chatbot supplies fast responses to questions concerning the accessibility of Microsoft services and products.
At Microsoft Construct, we showcased the most recent developer instruments, corresponding to utilizing a display screen reader throughout digital machines by way of Microsoft Dev Field, and the launch of Be My Eyes, now out there on Home windows. The app affords wealthy visible descriptions of pictures, graphs, and screenshots for the blind and low-vision neighborhood.
We additionally shared the most recent developments in accessible media. Audio descriptions (AD) present auditory narration of visible content material corresponding to films and tv. Lower than 10% of worldwide digital content material has audio descriptions out there right now, not assembly the wants of the blind and low imaginative and prescient neighborhood. Register now for the preview. By means of co-creation with the incapacity neighborhood and AI, we are able to responsibly speed up the method of incorporating AD so extra content material is offered with significant audio descriptions.
Psychological well being and know-how
Psychological Well being Consciousness Month is a chance to emphasise the vital position know-how can play in an individual’s psychological well being journey. Roughly 970 million individuals all over the world reside with psychological well being circumstances. We’re dedicated to making a tradition of help and offering instruments and assets to our staff and clients that help psychological well being. We’ve additionally been elevating the dialog round psychological well being and leveraging know-how to help individuals with psychological well being circumstances.
Microsoft Analysis co-published “Rethinking know-how innovation for psychological well being: framework for multi-sectoral collaboration” to focus on methods to help larger collaborations throughout sectors towards a future wherein individuals have persistently optimistic interactions between know-how use and their psychological well being.
One of many methods we leverage know-how to help psychological well being is by empowering individuals to inform their very own tales and share their experiences. Max and the Purple Monster is a type of tales. On this father and son collaboration, 13-year-old Judah moved throughout the nation along with his household and felt one thing he’d by no means felt earlier than: nervousness. Judah wrote a narrative concerning the expertise, and he and his dad introduced the story to life with watercolor illustrations, created utilizing AI.
Higher collectively
We all know we can’t obtain our accessibility targets alone. We have to collaborate with clients, builders, companions, advocates, and the incapacity neighborhood. Microsoft works with its world associate ecosystem to create a extra accessible and inclusive future for all, utilizing the Accessibility Horizons Methodology, which affords a standard solution to establish and tackle accessibility wants, to create a long-term worth chain of inclusion with their staff and trade. Companions, corresponding to WPP Satalia, are innovating with AI to make promoting extra accessible for individuals with disabilities. These are simply a few of the unbelievable methods we’re collaborating and innovating with builders, companions, clients, and the incapacity neighborhood, however there’s nonetheless extra to do.
In Brussels, Microsoft took half within the annual European Accessibility Summit, hosted by the European Incapacity Discussion board (EDF). On the summit, we showcased how AI-powered instruments are creating new potentialities for individuals with disabilities. One instance is how the enduring Rijksmuseum is making artwork extra accessible. The Amsterdam museum is utilizing AI to create wealthy descriptions for a million artistic endeavors, making the expertise extra accessible for blind and low-vision guests.
These are simply a few of the methods we’re collaborating and innovating with builders, companions, clients, and the incapacity neighborhood, however there’s nonetheless extra to do. Be part of us on this journey and go to Microsoft Unlocked, the place you’ll discover further accessibility impression tales and assets. Collectively, we are able to make a distinction and create a extra accessible and inclusive world for each distinctive particular person.
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Microsoft accessibility assets and coaching
