Accessibility devices at CES 2021 reflect the growing focus on inclusive technology

This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.

The products at CES TVs, computers and phones that deliver the most excitement are also important, but there are also many important and groundbreaking techniques aimed at improving the everyday lives of users who do not receive as much attention. It includes a range of products aimed primarily at accessibility, from hearing aids to braille keyboards to programs that guide visually impaired users.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how critical many of these products are. Tech has played an important role in keeping people connected for tasks such as distance education, work and places to hang out, but the needs of people with disabilities, who make up 15% of the world population, are often overlooked.

Fortunately, this is a problem that is slowly gaining more attention, as companies not only realize the importance of inclusivity, but also see the financial value of making their products accessible to more people. A 2016 report by Nielsen found that consumers with disabilities, along with their families, friends and co-workers, make up a billion-dollar market segment. In addition, a 2018 Accenture report found that as businesses that have greater inclusion of disabilities, they will have access to a talent pool of more than 10.7 million people. By making more diverse appointments, businesses can work better to make their products accessible.

“Inclusive design is now a topic that’s being talked about in the mainstream,” said Greg Stilson, head of global innovation at American Printing House (APH), which makes a hybrid QWERTY and braille keyboard. “Even five years ago, inclusive design for UX designers was not the best,” he added, referring to the design of user experience.

Here are some of the accessibility and assistive technology offerings on display at this year’s digital CES to level the playing field.

Mantis Q40

APH’s Mantis Q40 is a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard that features a refreshable braille display. It frees users who are blind or visually impaired from the choice between a traditional keyboard or braille device. Instead, as they type, the braille display at the bottom provides written information to complement a screen reader, which addresses the descriptions aloud to the users.

The device can be connected via Bluetooth to up to five different devices simultaneously and includes one USB connection. It works with Mac, PC and iOS devices, with Android and Chromebook support coming soon. It sells for a hefty $ 2,495.

The company also sells a smaller, cheaper Chameleon 20 device for $ 1,595, which features a traditional braille keyboard input rather than QWERTY. It features the same functionality with external devices and the same connectivity options as the Mantis Q40.

An important part of these tools is that they build on the accessibility initiatives that more large technology companies are increasingly taking, Stilson said. He notes that while it’s exciting to see companies like Samsung, Apple, Google and Microsoft place a stronger emphasis on inclusive design, “accessibility is not always equally efficient. You can talk to a computer, but there is interaction tools that make it an effective experience? ‘

Products like the Mantis Q40 and Chameleon 20, he says, add that efficiency while allowing users to keep the braille at their fingertips.

The high price on the keyboards is due to the manufacture of specialized devices with refreshable braille technology, Stilson said. But APH is developing a dynamic tactile device that will create multiple braille rules so that a blind student, for example, can have instant access to an image, diagram, or shape that is discussed in class. APH hopes to create a lower-cost refreshable braille technology with the device.

Oticon More

Hearing aids have begun to garner more attention at CES in recent years, especially as they have been boosted by artificial intelligence. According to the World Health Organization, there is a serious need for these instruments, as nearly 500 million people worldwide have a hearing loss.

Hearing aid maker Oticon on Tuesday unveiled Oticon More, designed to help hearing-impaired users better understand speech and record more sounds they need to hear.

The neural network is a computer approach that mimics the way human brains process data on the hearing aid chip. The DNN is trained in 12 million real sounds, the company says. When a sound passes through the hearing aid, it is compared with the results of the learning phase of the DNN. This allows the device to provide a more natural and balanced version of sounds, according to Oticon, and is capable of processing speech in a noisy environment like a human brain does.

Oticon More supports streaming from the iPhone and from some Android devices. It comes in eight colors and the cost is determined by individual hearing professionals.

Other smart hearing aids on the CES virtual floor this year include the Kite personal audio amplifier, which has noise suppression technology and looks like a pair of earbuds attached to a neckband. It has three listening modes: focus mode, which addresses the person in front of you and is designed for one-on-one conversations; environmental mode, which provides overall awareness while also scaling down unwanted noise; and group mode for social settings, which increases speech 180 degrees in front of the wearer and reduces background noise.

Signia also offers a range of smart hearing aids, as well as a Face Mask Mode in its app that helps wearers better understand speech through face masks. Users can tap on the button in the app, which tells hearing aids to focus on someone’s speech signals, so that words sound cleaner and reduce background noise. After the face mask mode is deactivated, the hearing aids return to the ambient sounds in a natural sound balance. The app is available on iOS and Android.

Heard that

Hearing aid carriers that want to better separate speech from ambient noise may find HeardThat useful. The smartphone app, launched late last year and available on iOS and Android, uses machine learning to achieve the goal.

To create the app, neural networks have been trained that use thousands of hours of recorded speech to distinguish useful speech from other noise. While other speech aids tend to amplify or reduce all sounds, including what is useful, HeardThat says the sound apart and throws it away. This makes it easier for users to understand speech.

The app is not designed to replace hearing aids or serve as an alternative to it, says Bruce Sharpe, CEO of Singular Hearing, which makes HeardThat. Rather, it is meant to be an accessory for hearing aids.

To use the app, connect your hearing aid or headphones to your phone and place it in front of you, referring to the person you are talking to.

HeardThat is free, but the company plans to eventually set up a subscription service.

Conscious app

Smartphones also have the ability to help blind or visually impaired users navigate their environment. The Aware app, from Sensible Innovations, provides turn-by-turn descriptive navigation for users, who can put their phone in their pocket and listen as the app announces places where they pass by.

Users can tell the app where they want to go and it will tell them when they arrive at their destination. Aware also provides an audio description of places, such as the layout of a store.

Conscious is available on iOS and will be launched for Android soon.

Sravi

Liopa, a company developed KI-based lip-reading technology, has created an app called Sravi designed to recognize specific phrases by analyzing lip movements. It can be helpful for people with speech problems, or patients in critical care with ailments they cannot speak.

The app is currently being tested in the UK National Health Service and will be launched commercially around early spring.

Sravi assisted in intensive care units within the NHS, given the flood of COVID-19 patients who are on ventilators, says Liampa CEO Liam McQuillan. ICU clinicians tend to use tracheostomies to wean patients off ventilators, which prevents patients from talking. The patients could benefit from an app like Sravi, McQuillan says, and the company has seen an increase in demand for its technology.

Customers use the app by downloading it to their phone or tablet and then holding the device to a patient. Sravi records video of the patient talking, and a deep neural network maps lip movements to find out what someone is trying to say. This information can be returned in textual form or as a synthetic voice to the healthcare provider’s phone or tablet.

The range of accessible products on display at CES highlights a growing awareness of the need for inclusive technological design and product offerings, which Stilson does not expect in the coming years.

“In fact,” he says, “I see it getting stronger.”

The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.