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New Smart Tech Helps Visually Impaired South Koreans Increase Mobility

woman in wheelchair using her smart phone for wayfinding and accessible mapping

South Korea’s second largest city is using new, inclusive technology to bring down barriers to mobility for people who are blind.

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How We Made GOV.UK More Accessible

How We Made GOV.UK More Accessible

It’s not just about meeting the regulations, it’s about making GOV.UK accessible for everyone. It’s important to us that we do not stop at meeting the standards. GOV.UK should be accessible for everyone so we’re aiming to fix the other accessibility issues we found, even if they’re not covered by WCAG.

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Smart Cities Could Give The Blind A New Outlook On Urban Life

Smart Cities Could Give The Blind A New Outlook On Urban Life

Traveling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these seemingly simple things can be a serious challenge. But imagine a city equipped with technology that enables the visually impaired to recognise people, places or even bank notes, helping them…

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How Can Shopping Malls Be Accessible to People with Disabilities?

How Can Shopping Malls Be Accessible to People with Disabilities? – Inclusive City Maker

Over 116 000 shopping malls are spread in the United States of America and generate each year around 5 trillion dollars. But are they accessible for people with disabilities?

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Smart Cities Could Give the Visually Impaired a New Outlook on Urban Life

Smart cities could give the visually impaired a new outlook on urban life — GCN

Travelling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these seemingly simple things can be a serious challenge. But imagine a city equipped with technology that enables the visually impaired to recognize people, places or even bank notes, helping them…

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Will New York City Become the Most Accessible City in the World?

Will New York City Become the Most Accessible City in the World?

Do you think New York City can be the most accessible city in the world? That’s Victor Calise’s goal. He’s the Commissioner for the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, and Jay spoke with him about how his disability catapulted him into his professional journey. They discussed what accessibility on a broad scale means, and how his…

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Research Reveals Inclusive Design Can Expand Customer Reach Fourfold

World-first report Research reveals inclusive design can expand customer reach fourfold

World-first report: Research reveals inclusive design can expand customer reach fourfold New research launched today by the Centre for Inclusive Design in partnership with Adobe and Microsoft has revealed that products and services designed with the needs of people experiencing poverty, disability or the effects of aging in mind can reach four times the number of intended consumers and impact…

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“Access” a Short Film About Accessibility

Announcing “Access,” a Short Film About Accessibility

Access, is Chris Higgin’s short documentary about accessibility. It follows Cory Joseph through a typical day, showing how he uses his smartphone, Braille display, tactile watch, and guide dog (named Vine) to navigate the world. I hope you watch it, and I hope it inspires you to make your work more accessible to more people….

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The Future of More Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities

The Future of More Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities

Watch the Video!   In our third public talk, author and community organizer Jane Farrow will moderate a conversation with three accessibility experts who are challenging cities to incorporate principles for inclusive design and ensure accessibility for all: Luke Anderson – Founder & Executive Director – StopGap Foundation; Consultant – AccessAbility Advantage Darren Bates – Founder – Smart Cities Library™;…

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Inclusive Public Procurement Policies Will Help Create More Accessible ICT …

More Accessible ICT Will Help Create More Inclusive Smart Cities

Inclusive Public Procurement Policies Will Help Create More #Accessible #ICT —and More Accessible ICT Will Help Create More #Inclusive #SmartCities — Smart Cities Library™ (@SmartCitiesL) August 21, 2018

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SMART CITIES – DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR A MORE LIVABLE FUTURE

Screenshot-2018-5-10 When kids put on their urban planner hats – cities are better for everyone

Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population, and they are expected to add another” “2.5 billion new residents by 2050. They face increasing environmental pressures and infrastructure needs—and growing demands from residents to deliver a better quality of life and to do so at a sustainable cost. Smart technologies can help cities meet these challenges, and…

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A Smart City is Tech, Data and Community: But Will That Build a Fairer Society?

Screenshot-2018-5-16 A smart city is comprised of technology, data and community but will that build a fairer society

The number of smart speakers bought in 2018 alone has doubled in the last four months with the likes of Alexa and Google Home answering queries in the home. Meanwhile driverless cars are being developed by the likes of Amazon and Tesla to deliver packages cutting human interaction. The idea sparked debate at The Drum’s Smart Cities Off Stone briefing…

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Web Standards to Enable an Accessible and Inclusive Internet of Things

MIT IoT Accessibility

The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have an unprecedented impact on our daily lives. In particular, “smart environments” will change how we interact with our surrounding and with each other, including at home, in public spaces, and at the work place. This provides an opportunity to ensure equal access for people with disabilities. For example, operating doors, windows,…

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A Techies Guide for Monitoring Urban Accessibility in Smart Cities

Urban Accessibility

Abstract The present work discusses the possibilities offered by the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies with the aim of designing a system to dynamically obtain knowledge of accessibility issues in urban environments. This system is facilitated by technology to analyse the urban user experience and movement accessibility, which enabling accurate identification of urban barriers and monitoring its effectiveness over…

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Smart City Tech Guides Blind Transit Riders Right to the Bus Door

Smart City Tech Guides Blind Transit Riders Right to the Bus Door

Bluetooth technology, crowdsourcing, and connected devices are making mobility easier for blind, visually impaired or disabled transit riders. In Boston, transit officials, through a partnership with Perkins School for the Blind, have been contributing data to the app BlindWays, which combines GPS data with special clues to get users to the exact location of a bus stop. The clues are…

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Apps and Technologies That Make Smart Cities More Inclusive

Smart cities and smart citizens: the apps and the technologies that make cities more inclusive and open | URBACT

Even just walking on Via del Corso in Rome or on Esplanadi in Helsinki it is possible to notice how much people live their city through the smartphones, but we rarely focus on how the use of the new technologies is contributing to promote inclusion and participation to the life of the urban contexts. The metropolitan areas of Helsinki and…

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Kiosk Accessibility: The Law is Paying Attention – Law Office of Lainey Feingold

Kiosk Accessibility: The Law is Paying Attention – Law Office of Lainey Feingold

.entry-header .post-thumbnail Website accessibility is important. Website accessibility is something that receives significant attention in the legal space. But digital accessibility is not just about websites, and the law is taking notice. This post highlights cases about kiosk accessibility. I use the term “kiosk” broadly to include tablets and any piece of technology offering services, products, and information. Who will…

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MIT Hackathon Tackles Accessibility Challenges

digital-inclusion

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently hosted its annual Assistive Technology Hackathon (ATHack), an event that brings together people with disabilities and students from the graduate to Ph.D. level to work on prototypes for assistive tools. During this year’s multidisciplinary event, teams built “an accessible beanbag-toss game, a personalized blood pressure cuff, a portable and collapsible shower chair, battery and…

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Why Companies Must Invest In Accessible IoT and Universal Design

Screenshot-2018-4-4 Why Companies Must Engage Accessible IoT and Universal Design Smart Cities Library™

Innovating for People With Disabilities Why companies should invest in universal design. Sensor technology, automation, artificial intelligence and the evolution of natural-language processing have made our personal electronic devices more intuitive and functional than ever. In recent years, these technologies have converged to make up the Internet of Things (IoT)—that is, a movement to make everyday items “smart” by embedding…

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