Technology Accessible to All at CES 2017

For the fifth consecutive year, in conjunction with the CTA Government and Legal Affairs team, we hosted the Disability Advocates Tour. This tour brought leaders from disability advocacy organizations such as Hearing Loss Association of America, American Foundation for the Blind, World Institute on Disability and Gallaudet University to bridge the gap between advocacy groups and industry by fostering relationships to help make technology accessible to all.

The CTA Foundation also produced conference sessions that included Why Accessibility Matters to Tech Leaders and Self-Driving Cars will Aid Independent Living. Panelist companies included AARP, AT&T, IBM and Facebook. CES marked the official announcement of the Foundation’s partnership with IBM and Local Motors to make Olli the world’s most accessible self-driving vehicle.

The partnership is crowdsourcing ideas for making the accessible vehicle. They can be submitted by tweeting #AccessibleOlli.

The Accessibility Marketplace, in its second year, grew by more than 30 percent, but accessibility was also featured across the show floor. Notable exhibitors included Oticon, Resound, NuHeara, and Doppler Labs each highlighting their hearing related assistive technology. TV manufacturers displayed a number of accessibility features including Samsung which won an Accessible Tech Innovation Award. Aipoly and WHILL, previous Eureka Park Accessibility Contest winners, were back displaying an AI object recognition platform and a high-tech wheelchair, respectively.

According to CTA’s Active Aging report, the market for technology for seniors and their caregivers is projected to reach $42.7 billion by 2020. As consumer demand increases, the CTA Foundation will continue to highlight accessible technologies which will benefit everyone.

CTA Foundation Beneficiary, Project Reboot, Opens Computer Center

Project Reboot, a beneficiary of a donation from the CTA Foundation, recently announced the opening of the newly renovated Frederick Douglass Center in Washington, DC. Project Reboot is partnering with Byte Back, an organization specializing in computer training and career preparation. The DC Housing Authority contributed significantly to the renovation. Together these organizations will provide affordable computers and free training to low income individuals. Project Reboot relies on donated computers and the CTA Foundation is proud to support this effort. Any area companies replacing their computers are encouraged to donate the older ones for refurbishment. Learn how at ProjectReboot.org.