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Microsoft Announces Recipients of First-Annual PC Accessibility Research and Development Grants
LOS ANGELES, March 17, 1999 - Double clicks. Flashy graphics. Beeps and dings. To most users, these functions are merely helpful guides in navigating today's computer technology. To users with disabilities, however, these same functions can prevent access to the most basic operations of a computer.
Showcasing research projects that will usher in the next generation of PC and Internet technologies for people with disabilities, Microsoft today awarded $150,000 in grants to non-profit and educational research institutions for original research in the field of PC accessibility. The seven grants, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, are the first to be awarded in Microsoft's "Exploring PC Accessibility: New Discoveries" international grant program.
The grants will finance concept exploration and technology development, with all research to be made available free-of-charge for use in mainstream and accessibility-specific products at the end of the one-year research period.
Greg Lowney, director of accessibility at Microsoft, announced the grants at the CSUN Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference in Los Angeles. "I am really looking forward to watching these research projects unfold over the next year," Lowney said. "The work of independent researchers, combined with efforts by mainstream and accessibility-specific technology companies, will result in computers that work better for more people, including those with physical, sensory, or cognitive limitations."
According to Oxford Brookes University grant recipient, Mary Zajicek, "The Microsoft grant will enable us to combine the latest Web browser technologies with our existing speech output browser. As a result, blind and visually impaired people will be able to effectively scan the Web just as sighted people do."
The 1998 Exploring PC Accessibility: New Discoveries grant recipients are:
Accessibility Concept Research Awards
- University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, U.K., "toneWeb: using sound to enhance access to the World Wide Web for visually impaired people," Dr. Helen Petrie, Director, Sensory Disabilities Research Unit.
Addressing the lack of exploration into the use of sound to enhance the Web experience for visually impaired people (VIP), this project will thoroughly investigate the use of sounds, both ecological and musical, in a web browser for VIPs.
- University of Glasgow, "3D Audio Windows: Enhancing PC Accessibility for Visually Disabled Users," Dr. Stephen Brewster and Dr. Ashley Walker, Multi-modal Interaction Group, Department of Computing Science.
Citing the difficulties faced by the visually disabled in distinguishing between multiple simultaneously running background tasks, such as file transfers, downloads, database queries, etc., this project will explore the use of 3D spatial audio to increase the display bandwidth of user interfaces.
- University of Pittsburgh, "Development of Compensatory Software for People with Neck Range of Motion," Dr. Jennifer Angelo, Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation.
Focusing on users with limited range of motion due to paralysis or other physical disabilities, this project is aimed at developing software that would demonstrate techniques for allowing people with limited head movement to use existing head control hardware for improved computer access.
- New York University, "An Investigation of the Use and Potential Use of Accessibility Options in Operating Systems," Anita Perr, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Education.
Using focus groups composed of individuals with a range of disabilities, this project will seek to develop improved mechanisms to help distribute information about access features in various operating systems.
- University of Washington, "Cognitive Benefits of Speech Recognition Technology for Persons with Learning Disabilities," Prof. Philip Bell, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education.
Addressing the needs of computer users with learning disabilities, this project will explore the effectiveness of speech recognition technology with an aim to developing future products that better meet the needs of people with -- and without -- learning disabilities.
Accessibility Product Development Awards
- Syracuse University, "Improving PC Accessibility with NeatTools," Edward Lipson, Professor, Department of Physics and David Warner, M.D., Northeast Parallel Architectures Center.
Earmarked for the continuing development and documentation of NeatTools, an accessibility software that is the core component of the University's Pulsar Project, this grant will be used to develop affordable, customized human-computer interface technologies for people with severe disabilities.
- Oxford Brookes University, "The BrookesTalk Adaptation Kit (BAK) Project," Mary Zajicek, Principal Lecturer, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences.
By integrating the key functionalities of BrookesTalk, the University's Web browser for the blind and visually impaired, with Internet Explorer 5.X, this project is aimed at supporting rapid Web orientation through its search and summarization features.
A cooperative effort between Microsoft's community affairs group and the company's accessibility and disabilities group, the "Exploring PC Accessibility: New Discoveries" grant program is one of many initiatives Microsoft is undertaking to better understand and respond to the technology needs of people with disabilities. The grants are intended to increase the knowledge base of all groups dedicated to improving accessibility of PC technology and to facilitate the dissemination of new accessibility concepts and products.
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