One of the coolest things about CES isn’t just the flagship products but the ways brands you don’t think of as technological find ways to improve our lives. The L’Oreal HAPTA and Brow Magic merge makeup with accessibility, and we’re so excited about the possibilities!
Many years ago, my grandmother had a computer. She was super excited to keep in touch with me when I went to college, and she mostly used it to email me and play solitaire. Unfortunately, it eventually proved too complex for her, and she reluctantly gave it up. Technology has made a huge leap forward in the intervening 20 years, and now people have significantly more options for keeping in touch with elderly relatives. GrandPad thinks they have developed a smooth and easy way to keep grandparents and families connected. Does it work? Read on to find out!
Robotics is doing a lot more for the world than just creating autonomous vacuums (although those are pretty great!). One of the most interesting and world-changing ways that robotics can change the world is through improvements in prostheses. Esper Bionics’ new Esper Hand is taking cloud connections, robotics, and prostheses to a new level!
The Olive Pro Audio Enhancing Earbuds look similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro; they have the same white color and a similar design. At $299, they are pricier than Apple’s offering, but unlike the AirPods, the Olive Pro are not just true wireless earbuds. They are also a hearing aide that eliminates background noise and amplifies voices so you can better engage with others.
At Samsung’s (virtual) press conference presentation yesterday, the company announced new products and initiatives that reflect their commitment to innovation. Televisions that are more immersive than ever were on display, as were innovations that can make entertainment more accessible to more people. Here’s a look at some of what they shared.
I can’t imagine a world in which I couldn’t read anything put in front of me (assuming it was in a language I understood, of course), but for many people that is a reality. Whether because of dyslexia, illiteracy, moderate vision impairment, reading fatigue, or aphasia, many people can’t do something I take for granted. OrCam Read is here to help.
What’s the first thing you do when you can’t understand dialogue on your TV? You turn it up, right? But doing so only makes all the sounds around the dialogue louder — which means higher volumes and you still can’t understand a darn thing. There’s another solution — voice clarity with the ZVOX AccuVoice AV203 TV Speaker.
Baby-boomers are often referred to as the “Sandwich generation”, stuck between taking care of older parents and family members as well as caring for their own children. It stretches everyone thin, and at CES 2018 we are seeing more and more technological solutions designed to give everyone a bit of peace of mind without forcing anyone to teach Grandma how an iPad works.
A few years after his stroke my father was still able to get around thanks to an electric scooter. It was exactly what you think of when you think electric scooter. Now WHILL, Inc. Has launched its new Model Ci. Model Ci is an intelligent, personal electric vehicle (PEV). Here’s a look.
A CES Innovation Awards Honoree designation is nothing to gloss over, and the LIZN Hearpieces are as innovative as you can get at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2018. And the Hearpieces are a GREAT product that has many use cases.
One of the bothers that comes with getting older is that you’ll likely have to add at least a few medications to your daily routine. Whether you are keeping up with your own meds or those taken by an elderly relative, the PillDrill aims to make the process of remembering to take those medications as painless and streamlined as possible.
Leka Robot is a smart toy that is set on “changing the way children with developmental disorders learn, play and progress.” Today they are revealing their latest breakthrough in product development: autonomous features.
Are you sick of bulky key rings? Are you ready for a solution that will for sure keep them handy? Well look no further, because the KeySmart Key Organizer is here for you.
Those, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials aren’t the least bit amusing if you or a loved one deals with old age or physical disabilities. My father, for example, is a stroke survivor, and anything that makes his life easier and/or safer is a good thing. That’s where the V.ALRT Personal Emergency Alert Device comes in.
Nuance has just announced a brand new version of Dragon Dictate. Nuance Dragon Dictate for Mac Version 4 offers voice recognition that is faster and more accurate than ever. In addition, Dragon Dictate includes powerful audio file transcription prowess. I’ve been using the new version of the voice recognition app for Mac for the last week, and I’m impressed.
Enhanced voice recognition in OS X Mavericks means that you are no longer limited to the amount of time you speak and can dictate even when offline. It means global dictation is available everywhere and without time limits. It is a far easier way to write. In fact, I am dictating this and I’m not even wearing a headset.
There are several people in my family who have hearing troubles, some more severe than others. For instance, my mom started having degenerative hearing loss when she was in her early 20s, and for as long as I can remember she has worn hearing aids. My daughter, Sarah, has always had problems with certain tones; she has trouble discerning what people are saying if they don’t speak clearly or if they mumble, and she has used the closed caption setting on her TV to watch movies since she was 15 or so. I’ve had Sarah’s hearing tested, and although it’s…
Ever since Siri hit iOS, the idea of using voice features on my phone has become quite interesting. While Siri does not do exactly what I would like yet, I am always looking for other apps that add voice functionality. Sometimes I do not need to dictate to my phone, but would not mind my phone speaking information to me. With this in mind I found a nifty app called Winston. With a polite disposition and English accent, Winston presents stories from social media and news feeds as a personalized briefing. All you have to do is sign into…
Over the years that I have worked in an IT support role, I have often had the experience of talking to people who didn’t have perfect eyesight or who might have other disabilities. What might be easy for you or me to do on a computer might be extremely difficult for someone who doesn’t have perfect vision, hearing, motor control, or other disabilities. I have had friends who were completely thrown for a loop when their interface changed — not just because it looked different, but because their screen reader would no longer work or because the interface looked fuzzy…
I am fascinated by the ways technology can open up the world and make it more accessible for people with disabilities. What is a convenience for you and me may be a life changer for someone else. Unfortunately, sometimes technology outpaces itself, and leaves the accessibility features playing catch-up. It is something of a mixed bag in many areas, especially for the deaf and hard of hearing community. According to Slate, closed captioning is not required on Netflix, Hulu, and other digital media options. While Netflix does offer some closed caption titles, not all of their library is set up…
The iPhone is one of those devices that prompts its fans to declare “This phone changed my life!” Yes, the apps are great and add an immense amount of convenience to everyday life. And the ease of use means just about anyone can pick one up and grasp the basics within minutes. But then there are those individuals who can say “The iPhone changed my life” without hyperbole or out of tech geek exuberance. No, these people talk about how transformative the iPhone is thanks to the accessibility features built into it. Dan has written about how voice recognition, especially using…