New robotic and hardware systems have the potential to make life easier and better for everyone, including people with disabilities. But too often, disability and accessibility are not brought into the conversation about how to best design, develop, and deploy these products. This can then lead to negative PR, legal action, a loss of revenue, and a product that lacks the universal design that makes it more accessible for everyone.
Incorporating universal design allows for hardware systems that are better, safer, and more usable for anyone who may interact with your product. Changes that benefit someone with a visual impairment also make it easier for someone standing in bright sunlight. Adding captions helps someone who is Deaf and someone trying to use your device in a loud environment. Testing with wheelchair users may identify safety issues that could impact a parent pushing a stroller.
When you prioritize accessibility, everyone wins.
NCAM Is the Right Choice:
Since its inception in 1991, NCAM has spearheaded projects that have influenced technology development and public policy through research into effective practices; development of demonstration models, solutions and standards; and advocacy and outreach. We have always sought to look ahead at where technology is going and to ensure accessibility is made a priority. Over the past 30 years, our work has made its way into In-Flight Entertainment Systems, Home Media Centers, Museum Exhibits, Digital Interactives, and Home Appliances. As a non-profit independent accessibility leader, NCAM continues to work collaboratively and individually with clients across industries. Our portfolio includes EV Chargers, Smart Lockers for packages, customer service robots, health care technology, and more.
Services
Whether you’re looking for a quick design consult, or a multi-year long-term engagement, NCAM is here to support you through your accessibility journey.
Legal and Compliance Evaluations:
NCAM can provide evaluations that map to specific United States legal frameworks, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508, the Architectural Barriers Act, and the Air Carrier Access Act, as well as international standards such as the Accessible Canada Act, the European Accessibility Act, and EN 301 549.
We can provide reports for your internal usage, as well as complete a VPAT® (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) to be submitted as an ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report), a document required by the United States government for products they are purchasing.
However, we know the law isn’t always caught up to new technologies. When there aren’t clear legal standards to follow, NCAM has developed systems for evaluating the usability of hardware, aiming to make it as future-proof as possible. By utilizing our extensive expertise, we can guide you on making your product the best it can be.
Focus Groups and Advisory Councils:
The staff at NCAM are experts at running focus groups and advisory councils, bringing together your staff with external members of the disability community to ensure that all voices are heard and to get direct feedback on your products.
Training:
We offer personalized training, either in-person or remotely, on digital accessibility, customer service, and more. From training for developers at a robotics company on how to integrate accessibility into QA testing, to education for on-site staff on how to properly use the accessibility features of your device, or support for off-site customer service agents who may be called when someone can’t use your device, we can create something for you to ensure all employees have the skills they need.
Marketing and Promotion:
Once your product or accessibility features are ready to deploy, we can guide you on how to best promote your accessibility features and get recognition for your hard work, enabling people with disabilities to easily find your product.
Examples
As robotic systems are deployed into industrial environments, such as warehouses or manufacturing facilities, ensuring the controls and operations of these devices are accessible will increase your workforce pool, providing employees with disabilities a new opportunity to work. Incorporating universal design into your product, especially in environments that may be bright, dark, noisy, or crowded, makes a product that is easier and safer for everyone to interact with.
While the focus on products is often on the public facing system, ensuring the internal controls are accessible to employees is also essential. By ensuring the internal facing system has accessible components, you make certain that not only are employees with disabilities able to use your device, but everyone will have an easier time.
NCAM has the ability to work alongside your team, using our expertise in accessibility testing to provide additional offerings to your clients. We can supplement the QA and Usability testing your team conducts, provide third-party accessibility verification, sit in on design meetings, all providing a valuable add-on service to your clients.
As you’re getting your product and company off the ground, we can work alongside you to ensure accessibility is incorporated from the start. It is always cheaper and easier to build accessibility in from the beginning, and we can be there every step of the way.
During the procurement process, NCAM can be brought in to test and verify that the hardware system you’re looking into for your business will fit the needs. Governments, higher education, museums, airports, hotels, and hospitals often have particular needs to best serve their customers and constituents, and may face additional legal requirements. We have experience in working alongside both purchasers and developers, providing both companies with independent third-party information about the accessibility of the product.
It is paramount that any AI training models you use incorporate people with disabilities. Hardware and its relevant AI systems, from an autonomous vehicle to a small floor cleaning robot, must be trained to identify, detect, and behave appropriately when it encounters someone with a disability or their mobility devices. NCAM can work with you on building out a data and training set that is inclusive of all.
As part of the GBH Educational Foundation, our passion for education and learning runs deep, stretching back over 70 years. GBH, and Public Media as a whole, has produced high-quality, innovative, and accessible education content from the start. Partnering with our colleagues across the Foundation, NCAM has worked at the forefront of accessible education technology for over 30 years. From digital games to interactive whiteboards and 3D printers, however your technology can be used in the classroom, we can help you ensure it is accessible to everyone- students, teachers, parents, and administrators.
While many hardware devices have the option to be controlled through phones, computers, and other interfaces, simply providing these applications are not enough. As leaders in the digital accessibility space NCAM can assess the accessibility of all interface controls, including mobile, web, and desktop applications.
Contact NCAM
NCAM at GBH
One Guest Street
Boston, MA 02135