by Swatha Nandhakumar
The ACB Advocacy team has been hard at work during the unseasonably warm fall in the D.C. area. From items that many blind and low-vision individuals would love to get their hands on to items that you would not think of as blind-friendly, we have done it all. Here are just a few of the things that were on our docket over the past couple of months.
Claire and I both participate in the Federal Communications Commission Disability Advisory Committee, or the DAC for short. This committee focuses on issues in communications technology. Everything from smartphones to Zoom and Teams, to broadcast television, to anything that is or can become relevant to the disability and accessibility community falls under the jurisdiction of the DAC. Things that DAC has worked on in the past include audio description, closed captioning, and recently, accessibility of video games. Claire and I both worked on accessibility of video games for blind, deaf-blind, and low vision players along with colleagues from the American Foundation for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, and the Helen Keller National Center. The group also included representatives from technology companies like Apple and Amazon, who develop video games or gaming platforms.
In this working group, we were tasked with creating a set of guidelines or best practices for video game developers in making the communications aspects of their games accessible to blind, deaf-blind, and low vision players. Because this is the FCC, we could only focus on the parts of the game that relate to communication in both one player and multi-player video games. This includes things like real-time text and voice chats between players in the game itself. Along with outlining ways to make the communications interface more accessible, like adding support for external refreshable braille displays, adding settings to increase color contrast and enlarge the text on screen, adding screen reader and screen magnification compatibility, we also recommended that the FCC keep an eye on the video game accessibility space for further developments and issues that need addressing.
The current term of the FCC DAC concluded in October, and the new term begins in 2025. ACB looks forward to once again representing the blind and low-vision community on the DAC for the upcoming iteration.
During the summer of 2024, Scott and Claire had the opportunity to ride in an autonomous vehicle (AV) through the streets of Washington, D.C. The AV was operated by Waymo, and the ride was part of the company’s test-drive project in the District. Then, in November, ACB was approached by Waymo to testify at the D.C. District Council hearing on allowing for more testing and a future deployment of AVs in the area.
Bringing AVs to more cities and towns across the country would be a gamechanger in transportation access for people who are blind or have low vision. Access to AVs will help fill the gap for folks who cannot drive or access reliable public transit, and as those of us with guide dogs understand all too well, a vehicle without a human driver cannot deny rides due to the presence of the guide dog. These things can only be realized, however, if vehicle technology is accessible. We must be able to hail the car, get in and out of the car, and control the internal temperature and ambience of the vehicle independently. The vehicles must also be able to interact with the outside environment, including pedestrians and other vehicles, safely. Claire went to the hearing and testified on behalf of ACB.
Finally, the advocacy team met with individuals from the U.S. Department of State to advise on a project that the Department was engaging in to make the online passport renewal process accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Work on this project is ongoing, but the next steps include testing the app with local ACB members and staff to evaluate its accessibility and our ability to independently and privately renew our passports. Collaboration is ongoing, and hopefully will result in a more accessible online passport renewal process for blind and low vision travelers.
We will continue our advocacy work in 2025 and look forward to seeing many of our members for the D.C. Leadership Conference and Legislative Seminar from March 14th to the 18th in Arlington, VA. Learn more by reading Claire’s article on the DCLC.