Welcome to Tech Enabled, a new series chronicling the role tech plays in providing new kinds of accessibility.
Google engineer, Lorenzo Caggioni, was inspired by his brother with Down syndrome to make Google Home better for people who don't speak.
"How is heaven going to be better than that?"
Companies like Apple, Microsoft have been making their tech more accessible. But for all the wins, there are still lots of misses.
App accessibility isn’t just about a facelift. It’s the use of tech like AI and voice recognition to really make apps work for everyone.
The American Printing House for the Blind is making tech to teach blind and visually impaired children how to code.
The innovative technology teaches children who are blind or visually impaired how to code.
The tools are coming to Android phones, but not iPhones.
A mixture of AI and augmented reality will bring books to life for children who cannot hear them being read.
The programs also support live subtitles in multiple languages.
New features include "alternative text" to provide descriptions for pics.
The tech is aimed at people with physical disabilities. Testing is set to start in Swiss hospitals early next year.
This could be a step towards better accessibility features in the future (or maybe just the laziest way to chill for some people).
It's designed for people with disabilities, but gives everyone more accessibility options.
Hearing aids could get way smarter with official Android support from Google.
A focus on artificial intelligence could lead to fewer people losing their sight.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller is one of the most forward-thinking Microsoft products in years. It required a complete revamp of the company's design philosophy.
The $100 Xbox Adaptive Controller lets you plug in the gadgets you need. It's all about accessibility.
Morse code only uses two symbols (dots and dashes), making it an easy way for people with limited mobility to communicate.
It isn't telekinesis.
You could ask the browser, which boasts tremendous accessibility potential, to load a website, and it could read it to you.
Jamie Dupree's archived audio, pulled from years of his material, is letting him tell radio stories once more.
Preorders are open now.
The USB HID standard should make it easier to plug in a braille display.
From an Xbox adaptive controller to Apple bringing coding tools to the blind and deaf, inclusivity is the topic of the day.
Technology can solve a lot of problems, says Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft’s head of accessibility.
A photo of a mystery Xbox controller leaked on Twitter that some think is Microsoft's new model for making gaming more accessible.
Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the tech giant discusses its work helping people with disabilities.
The Android app will offer users spoken clues to the objects, text and people around them.
Diabetes 1, or even Diabetes 2 diagnosis is a shock to the system. But from online support groups to "bionic pancreases," there are ways to manage the incurable disease.
A rare disease might have taken Pat Quinn's mobility and speech, but new voice AI software has given him a digital copy of his voice to let him speak again.
Google and a slew of startups are including accessibility information in apps to help people navigate the world if they use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.
Traditional hearing aid makers and the likes of Bose and Harman are pouring resources into augmented hearing and "hearable" devices that do more than improve sound.
Smarter hearing aids are incorporating AI and fitness tracking, Facebook's Cambridge Analytica problem got worse, and more from Amazon Key.
A new wave of robots and toys offer you comfort when you need it the most.
Prostheses are morphing into mind-controlled extensions of the human body that let their wearers feel what they're touching.
Apps are changing the way that amputees do everything from staying fit to operating their prosthetic limbs.
If Apple gets its way, these could appear on your phone.
The iPhone maker offered up 13 new designs for review.
Photographers who are quadriplegic or legally blind are taking amazing images using ingenious hacks and other senses.
The company has made improvements to its Narrator app and eye control capabilities.
Google Maps makes it easier for people using a wheelchair to navigate on public transportation.
Accessible Olli was designed from the ground up to help people with disabilities get where they need to go.
London's National Theatre is using augmented reality to make its performances more accessible for hard of hearing customers.
If you struggle to hear in loud environments, Lizn's Headpiece earbuds could be a social lifesaver.
A revolutionary device called Graphiti displays tactile images in near real time.
The option, which gives you a launchpad and lets you use your mouse and keyboard with a stare, aims to improve the accessibility of the operating system.
A vibrating belt and a smartphone app could help reduce falls by assisting people who have balance problems.
The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor uses iOS to help people with hearing loss listen to high-quality calls and music.
New designs and applications are helping doctors, soldiers and the visually impaired see the world in unexpected ways.
CNET travels to Boston to see how smart glasses changed one visually impaired marathon runner's life.
A legally blind man ran the Boston Marathon with the aid of a Google Glass and a remote guide. That's just the start for smart glasses.
This is the latest experiment from the software giant that uses artificial intelligence in an unusual way.
In hot and sunny Texas, Morgan’s Inspiration Island calls itself a park of inclusion for those with special needs of all kinds -- and everyone else, too.
Depressed? Anxious? A friendly new chatbot out of Stanford University wants to help you crush the self-defeating thoughts bringing you down.
Smart home devices can help aging adults live independently and give caregivers peace of mind -- as long as you know how to start the conversation.
With the right combination of emerging technology, schizophrenia treatment could be on the brink of a major shift.
Vint Cerf says "it's almost criminal" that programmers aren't held accountable to design with disabilities in mind.
Disabled players are employing innovative hardware and software hacks to get in the game.
Organizations like AbleGamers help disabled gamers find new ways to play.
Researchers are working on robots that can monitor and care for the elderly. But it's not about pawning off your grandfather to an android.
We tour one of the VA's technology labs and talk with veterans about how smart gadgets help make their lives easier.
An innovative branch of the Veterans Affairs department works to find the right connected tech for disabled veterans and service members.
Could smart homes help seniors stay in their homes and communities longer?
Our second installment of Tech Enabled is all about the smart things in your home that can empower the elderly and people with disabilities.
One startup wants to bring about a revolution in eldercare using smart home technology.
In a bid to advance the development of lifelike prosthetics, researchers turn to the sun's rays to power sensors that allow electronic skin to mimic the human kind.
From CNET Magazine: Exoskeletons are slowly making their way out of hospitals and rehab centers and into homes.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, yes ... but it's also a world-class medical center and teaching facility.
Take a look inside this Orbis plane, a fully certified hospital as well as a world-class training facility for teaching doctors in developing countries.
The automatic subtitles make videos more accessible for people with hearing impairments and anyone trying to stealthily watch a clip during church.
Almost like the VISOR in 'Star Trek,' the eSight 3 lets low vision wearers do almost anything, from reading a menu to playing basketball.
An artificial intelligence upgrade means the social network's computers better understand photos. That helps image search, too.
As protests erupt over President Trump's policies, disability activists are taking to social media to ensure that the demonstrations are accessible to all.
Special telepresence bots let people with physical disabilities explore cultural venues, such as Vegas' Mob Museum, just like everyone else.
Kids and adults with visual impairments can use Apple's Swift Playgrounds to learn programming on their iPads.
Special hearing aids that meet Apple's specifications can tap directly into iPhones and iPads to stream audio.
Tom Wlodkowski has sculpted tech for people with disabilities for 25 years. A lifetime of experience being blind didn't hurt, except for the times he fell off his bike.
Individuals with intellectual disabilities have it particularly rough when it comes to getting hired. Here's how some are addressing the problem.
Apple followed Microsoft in kicking off a big presentation with a video showing how it's making its products accessible to folks with disabilities.
The Silicon Valley giants are embracing users with disabilities, resulting in tech and features that everyone can appreciate.
Vision impairments affect the way people live and work. These technologies aim to make doing the simple stuff a lot easier.
The Sesame Enable app uses a phone's front-facing camera and voice commands to give the physically disabled a way to use the device.
Brian Cooley drives the wheelchair-accessible Braun Ability MXV and checks all the cool tech.
