Ubi: The ubiquitous computer
Ubi, the ubiquitous computer, is a hands-free, voice-activated computer that is always on, allowing users to stay connected while engaging in everyday activities. Ubi plugs into a wall socket, can be placed in various rooms around your house, and accesses the Internet through a wifi connection. Saying “Ubi” wakes up the Ubi for receiving verbal […]
New Sensors Help Patients With Dementia Avoid Getting Lost
Like most patients with dementia, Ray Ciancaglini has good days and bad days. On his worst days, Ciancaglini, a retired boxer, might wander off in the dead of winter from his home in Finger Lakes, New York, without notifying his wife Patty. Occasionally, he’ll walk for miles and forget his home address.
How Tech Helps Guide the Blind
New developments in accessible technology have made it easier than ever for the visually-impaired to connect. Gus Chalkias challenges me to spell my name. Chalkias, who lost his vision at age 28 and now runs the demo center at the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People at Baruch College in midtown Manhattan, hands me an iPhone […]
How Google designs for the blind
Laura Palmaro was 10 years old when she rubbed her eyes and noticed something was wrong with her vision. She had a hemorrhage in the left eye and lost central vision, part of a rare condition called choroidal osteoma.
The Challenges of Surfing While Blind
The other day while going about my business on the Internet, I hit a brick wall: a map of the United States. I was diagnosed at 28 with retinitis pigmentosa and declared legally blind at 41. I no longer see the screen well enough to use my mouse to point and click. But with a […]
Can Technology Ease The Burden Of Caring For People With Dementia?
A doctor I interviewed for this story told me something that stuck with me. He said for every person with dementia he treats, he finds himself caring for two patients. That’s how hard it can be to be a caregiver for someone with dementia.
Google’s Guide To Designing With Empathy
![[Illustrations: Daniel Salo]](https://universaldesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/google.jpg)
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people worldwide have a disability. To Astrid Weber and Jen Devins, Google’s resident accessibility experts, that stat should be stamped on the back of every designer’s hand, because it means that one out of every seven people on the planet is potentially left behind by […]
Fitness game for people with mobility disabilities
Modern IT has the potential to make fitness training more varied for people with mobility disabilities. But what exactly is required? Fraunhofer put this question to thalidomide victims, and developed new IT-based fitness training technology in close collaboration with them. The method motivates users with elements found in computer games.
New Samsung app aims to aid social development for children with autism
A new app released by Samsung aims to improve the lives of children suffering from autism by presenting a fun, smartphone or tablet-based developmental aid. Many who have the condition struggle to convey the simplest of emotions or form bonds with others, due to the behavioral development issues that prevent simple interactions such as eye […]
How Diversity Makes Us Smarter
Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups. It seems obvious that […]