DevOps
Automating Accessibility Testing of Web Applications
IBM has released a new solution that is designed to allow developers and testers to integrate automated accessibility testing within Chrome browser development tools to help deliver an optimized user experience and conform to industry standards. IBM AbilityLab™ Dynamic Assessment Plugin, a browser extension that quickly identifies accessibility issues, and evaluates and recommends potential fixes, including those […]
DevOps
Open Source Accessibility Tools Help Streamline Inclusive Development
IBM is embarking on a new era of open source accessibility by releasing tooling, samples and design patterns to help streamline the development of inclusive web and mobile applications. IBM has released two new projects on the developerWorks/open community, AccProbe and Va11yS, to help alleviate accessibility roadblocks during the agile development process, strengthen the user […]
Aging
Transforming Transportation for the World’s Aging Population and People with Disabilities
The earned privilege of driving tethers us only as far as the road, fuel, and our physical and cognitive abilities can take us. And, we all know what waits for us on the horizon as we age – losing the freedom to safely operate a vehicle. By teaming with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation […]
IBM Accessibility Research at CSUN 2018
Artificial intelligence (AI), automation, compliance, and best practices in enterprise accessibility make up the IBM Accessibility Research lineup for the 33rd annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in San Diego next week (March 19-23, 2018). CSUN is the world’s largest event dedicated to presenting and exploring new ways technology can assist people with disabilities. At the […]
IBM Employees with Disabilities Volunteer Time to Create Accessible Technology
Who better to confirm the accessibility of solutions before they are released to market than people with disabilities? Being visually impaired, I rely considerably on magnification and altered colors to see what’s on my device screens. One day, not long ago, I sat in a room full of developers in a meeting and it was illuminating to […]
Simplifying the New WCAG 2.1 Guidelines
Recommendations for new accessibility guidelines were released on January 30, 2018 by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In this new draft version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), none of the current 2.0 Success Criteria have been altered. Instead, 17 additional criteria have been recommended for 2.1. This article is intended to help […]
Revised Section 508 Standards Now in Effect
In the United States, the Revised Section 508 Standards went into effect on January 18, 2018, a year after the U.S. Access Board published the final rule of the updated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines. The Revised 508 Standards, and the accompanying updates to Section 255 of the Communications Act, have transformed […]
Streamlining the Workplace Accommodations Process
I’ve been deaf since contracting spinal meningitis at two years old. I am accustomed to a world without sound. Many call it silence, but from my perspective, I’m here to make as much noise as possible – at work and in my personal life. As a sixth grader, I wrote my first program using BASIC […]
The Power of an Inclusive Workforce
Mobility and independence are powerful devices, especially for someone with a disability. Every year as we celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I am reminded why I work for IBM – its long history of inclusion, commitment to workforce diversity, and innovations in accessibility. I joined IBM in 2013 for the IBM Accessibility Research team […]
What Does Accessibility, Diversity and Inclusion Mean to IBM?
by Dr. Ruoyi Zhou, Director, IBM Accessibility Research, and Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, IBM Chief Diversity Officer Celebrating and reflecting on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we call upon everyone to build awareness and create real change for people with disabilities. Through workforce policies and new technology innovations, we must ensure that people of all abilities […]
Looking to the Future in Celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities
When I began working in the accessibility field, I relied on interaction, empathy and observation to help identify the challenges of users with disabilities. There were two things that really made the job fascinating: the constant opportunity for technical innovation, and the ongoing, invigorating phenomenon of witnessing users benefit directly from my interventions. Now, 18 […]
Effects of AI on Aging and Ability
I recently attended the Boston Accessibility and Grace Hopper conferences, and from Orlando to Cambridge, artificial intelligence (AI) was at the center of discussions. The next generation of accessibility technology will be driven by AI and have a profound effect on improving the lives of people with disabilities and our growing aging population. It is poised to augment our […]