On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark speaks with Steven Ewell, Executive Director, Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation, and Matt Ater, Vice President, Vispero, about the accessible tech innovations at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). ACB attended CES as a guest of the CTA Foundation as part of the organization’s tenth year inviting accessibility leaders to CES. Tune in to hear about how consumer companies, both big and small, are making their products more accessible and useable for everyone.
Clark Rachfal:
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the ACB Advocacy Update. I am your host, Clark Rachfal, the Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs for the American Council of the Blind. Thank you to everyone who is listening via the ACB Media network, and of course everyone listening, downloading, streaming, rating and reviewing, and always referring to a friend via your favorite podcast player. If you'd like to learn more about ACB, please visit us online at www.acb.org. And if there's an advocacy issue that's important to you, or that you have some questions about, including this podcast, please feel free to email us at
[email protected]. Well, hello, everyone. Happy new year. I know we're a few weeks in, but this is my first appearance on the Advocacy Update here in 2022, and it's been one heck of a start to the year. This podcast, we're gonna focus on a, a pretty big deal in the world of technology, and certainly in the world of accessible technology, as well. And that is the Consumer Electronic Show, which was held live and in-person the first week of January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and joining us to discuss CES is the Executive Director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation, Steve Ewell. Steve, good afternoon!
Steve Ewell:
Thanks, Clark. Excited to be here with you.
Clark Rachfal:
That's great. And then, no stranger to ACB and our members, Vice President of Vispero as well as a member of the ACB Advisory Board and the board for the CTA Foundation, Matt Ater.
Matt Ater:
Hello Clark. And hello, Steve. Good to see you both.
Clark Rachfal:
Good to see you as well. So Steve, what is your role at the Consumer Technology Association Foundation?
Steve Ewell:
Yeah. Thanks, Clark, and thanks for inviting me and really thanks for coming out to CES with us this year. So my role, I head up the Consumer Technology Association Foundation, which is a charitable foundation affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association, the group that runs CES. They're a trade association that represents technology companies kind of across the industry here in the U.S. And we set up this foundation, actually this year will be our 10th anniversary since launching that foundation, as a way to give back on behalf of the industry. And specifically we're focused in on how could technology be used to help both older adults and people with disabilities. So we provide a number of different programs, whether it's convenings at activities like CES, whether it is pushing the innovation for the technologies that can assist the populations that we serve, or whether it's funding with some of the grants and programs that we work with. So we're always excited to work with partners like ACB and have you participate at activities like CES.
Clark Rachfal:
Thanks, Steve. And Matt, I mentioned your day job several boards that you serve on with ACB, as well as the CTA foundation. Are there any other lofty titles that, that I've missed or that you'd like to highlight?
Matt Ater:
No. I mean, my focus within Vispero is managing our software engineering side as well as corporate business development. And that's a pretty broad term on the corporate business development, but it's engaging with organizations like American Council of the Blind, like CTA Foundation, and other opportunities where we can help the blindness community get access to our technology. And so the focus being on the software side is, you know, very familiar with most of your members, such as JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion.
Clark Rachfal:
That's great. Yeah, Vispero being kind of the umbrella company over those assistive technology software programs. I was formerly a ZoomText user, then a ZoomText level two with speech user, and now a JAWS user. So I'm sure many of our members are familiar with the, the product lines, both hardware and software, offered by Vispero.
Matt Ater:
Yeah. And I think that, you know, the brands being Freedom Scientific, Enhanced Vision, and Optelec are very known to the community. And then of course the consultative arm TPGI which is TPG Interactive, focused on accessibility in a broader term.
Clark Rachfal:
That's great. So Steve, tell us a little bit more about the Consumer Electronic Show. I know for me, this being my first year in attendance, it's something that I've read about for years. You know, Christmas comes a week earlier, but really for the tech community, it's almost like Christmas, Hanukkah, every birthday is all rolled into one. So what is the Consumer Electronic Show?
Steve Ewell:
Yeah. Thanks Clark. And yeah, you picked an interesting one for your first show, but really excited to have had you there. So CES is, we like to say it's the global stage for innovation. It is the world's largest, most influential tech event. And it's an opportunity, it's essentially, it's a trade show. It's an opportunity to bring together technology companies from across the industry. And this is their opportunity to get a lot of business done at the beginning of the year, whether it's the companies meeting with retailers to get their products on store shelves or carried in their inventory to be sold online, whether it's companies getting together and meeting to form new partnerships, you know, essentially this is a really great opportunity to bring together people from all over the industry, highlight, you know, what's new, what's exciting, what's coming in the industry, and then ultimately lead to the business that can get done throughout the activity. You know, this year, as you mentioned, was certainly a little bit of a different year as we adjusted things to make it a safe and healthy show to be able to do in-person. We had about 2,300 exhibitors from across the show exhibiting in-person. We also had some additional exhibitors that had digital-only content this year, and about 800 of those were start-ups from all over the world, so companies come from all over the world to participate at CES, and we ended up with, we're still auditing the numbers, but we expect somewhere just a little bit more than 45,000 attendees participating in-person at the show this year. Once again, about 30% of those were international attendees. And, you know, it's just a great opportunity to get people together, have these conversations. And then it's also, you know, an exciting opportunity for us to really highlight, as the CTA Foundation and with our partner organizations, the importance of issues like accessibility for the industry around the world. So it's really just a great opportunity to kick off the year celebrating those fun tech stories but also get a lot of work done at the same time.
Clark Rachfal:
And Matt, how many times have you attended CES?
Matt Ater:
So I've been with the company about eight years, and I think I've been going to CES for seven of those years, not including last year, which was virtual. So that was, well, I guess that includes last year, which was virtual. I'll highlight something that Steve said, which I think a lot of folks don't recognize the importance, which is the tech companies getting together to collaborate and meet new business partners, or meet existing business partners. And I, and I can think of one that, that most of our customers would recognize is, you know, the company who makes our voices. So, you know, if you're using JAWS or ZoomText or Fusion, you use a voice, either Eloquence or Vocalizer and Cerence makes those voices and they don't do it just for us, they make the voices for cars and for other technologies. And they're at a show like this. And we sat down and met with them because of lots of the different technology needs, both in our software and our hardware. And that's not, that's more of a B2B meeting, a business-to-business meeting, but there's a lot of value in us seeing what their business is doing so that we can hopefully integrate new technologies that they're bringing to market. And so, even though, you know, you and I walking around the show floor are interested in new technologies for personal or for business use, there's also that B2B side that Steve highlighted that I think is really critical for a trade show like this.
Clark Rachfal:
And Matt, Steve mentioned for 10 years, the CTA Foundation has been inviting accessibility leaders to take part in the Consumer Electronic Show. This was the first year that ACB was represented. And I was lucky to draw the long straw to, to be ACB's representative at the Consumer Electronic Show. I certainly appreciated the, the approach that CTA took with requiring vaccinations and masks and having rapid tests available and encouraging their use throughout the conference. Because there is a level of engagement and interaction that you only get in-person, right? I think anyone who's an accessibility advocate has, has tried cold calling and emailing a lot of companies, and you are one of thousands, if not millions, of people to be doing so, but to be able to be in-person and build those connections and those relationships and get hands-on with the technology and do in-person demonstrations of what works and what might not work for users of different skills and abilities is very important, not only from an advocacy perspective, but also an educational perspective. Matt, I'm curious as a, a member of ACB's Advisory Board, as well as the CTA Foundation, what are your thoughts on the need for accessibility leaders to be present at CES?
Matt Ater:
Well, I think it's critical to, as you mentioned, build those relationships with the different companies. It also helps those companies recognize the importance of accessibility and needs of people with disabilities in a broader sense than just beyond blindness. But if you look at the work that CTA has done to ensure that CES is a good experience for people with disabilities, I want to commend them, because I don't, I've never seen anything like it at a show before. The ability when you are registering at the beginning, just to check a box to say, "I may need assistance," and what type of assistance I may need, and then to get contacted ahead of time to, in the case of being blind, having someone walk around with you and read stuff to you and guide you through the exhibits. And, and, you know, if we think about exhibits at an assistive technology show that, you know, some may know, like ACB's own convention or at a conference like CSUN, or something else like it, those are a lot smaller than CES and are contained in one building, and you go to CES, and without that level of assistance provided by people to guide you through the experience, it would be really challenging. And, and part of it is that there's so much volume to, you can't stop at every booth and say, "What is this?" and "What's going on here?" You need to read and kind of focus on several things you heard. Steve said there was like, I think he said 2,200- 2,300 in-person vendors, well, in a normal year, correct me if I'm wrong, Steve, it could be like 4,500, and that's a lot of walking. And you need good shoes for this, but you also need a plan. And I think this year is probably not, if I had had this year as my first year, it would've really kind of made it easier to guide yourself through the experience because it is such it, you know, half the show size is a big difference. Both from a footprint perspective and number of vendors.
Steve Ewell:
Well, and Matt, I just want to jump in, you know, one, thank you for the recognition. That is one of our, our goals is to make the show as accessible as possible. But I think that's something to highlight as well, is, I think, one of the important pieces that I look at with CES is we're not assistive technology show. I want assistive technology to be there, that's why we love having, you know, Vispero and APH and Good Maps and others along that line on the show for and participating in the show. But the vast majority of the people at CES are not there to necessarily talk about accessibility, but that means it's a great opportunity for us. It's an opportunity for us to get in front of the developers, the engineers, and the business leaders who maybe aren't thinking about accessibility quite as much as the rest of us are, and highlight why this is so important of an issue, why this is an opportunity for them. And that's part, it goes back to why we bring the accessibility leaders to the show, is we've seen that, you know, whether it's a start-up where, you know, one of the accessibility leaders meets with, you know, the person who designed the, the product there at their booth and suggests just a few tweaks and all of a sudden that product has a whole new market that they can reach based on, you know, one little conversation on a show for, at CES, but also looking at the big companies, you know, Samsung had an entire accessibility section of their booth, and, you know, it's kind of hard to describe Samsung's booth sometimes, I feel like they could take up an entire show floor on their own, along with some of the other big companies that show up at CES, but, you know, to get those companies focused on this issue and having that conversation in a audience that quite frankly is not, you know, we're not preaching to the choir, we're reaching kind of the, the people who, you know, can still learn quite a bit about accessibility and why this is so important. So that's why, you know, it is so critical for us to have that representation at the show floor, and also encourage those kinds of partnerships, those B2B meetings that Matt was talking about between what you'd call traditional assistive technology and maybe traditional general consumer technology will lead to better products for all of us. So we're excited to see those meetings happening and, you know, leading to better results for all of us.
Clark Rachfal:
And Steve, if you don't mind, I guess give a snapshot or an overview of the types of companies and, you know, the industry sectors that are present at CES and who are members of the Consumer Technology Association.
Steve Ewell:
Yeah. So alright, I'll fill up the whole rest of this call.
Matt Ater:
There's a long list. I'll say that it's a little overwhelming, right?
Steve Ewell:
Essentially, if you're talking about consumer technologies, they are represented within CTA and at CES. So everything from, you know, certainly, you know, the TVs and the phones and tablets and other devices along those lines, you know, 3D printing, you know, smart home technologies, health and wellness technologies, sports and fitness technology, transportation was probably one of the really big areas that we saw this year at the show. We saw more work in things like IOT and sensors. Robotics was another big area this year. You know, FinTech is a growing area for us, especially along the lines of blockchain and those types of technologies, AI-based technologies, audio tech is kind of going back to the roots of CES, and some of the big area us for of growth this year, the new areas that we added to the show were food tech, looking at both the production of food, as well as some of the newer food technologies. We've had companies like Impossible Meats at the show for a couple years now, but continuing to grow that area. Growth in the space tech area was a new one for us as well. We had Sierra Space demonstrate their space plane. So it really is, pretty much you name a technology area and it's going to have some representation at CES which is part of why, I think, as Matt said it's good to have a plan going into the show because, you know, you really can't just walk the show floor and see everything. It's really a matter of picking who are the companies and what are the areas that you're interested in finding and targeting those areas, as well as, you know, spending some time walking through specific marketplace areas to come across that company that maybe you hadn't heard of before, but could have an interesting product that could could be a future partnership for you.
Matt Ater:
Steve, you left out drone technology this year. Was there less drones this year than previous years?
Steve Ewell:
No, there were actually were drones as well. In fact, I know I've heard a bunch of people talking about, there was an air purifying drone that could fly around and purify the air that a bunch of people were talking about. No, I'm sure I skipped a whole lot of it.
Matt Ater:
I was just teasing you, because I just, there was one year where there was probably, I don't know, 40, 50 different drone companies all in one sector and they could fly their drones. I don't know if they were supposed to, but they, I mean, little smaller ones, they could fly them right around inside the space because it's, it's not like it's a ceiling in your house. It's, you know, big, huge rooms.
Steve Ewell:
So I will say just from a safety perspective, they all were in netted areas. So we didn't have drones just randomly flying off into the audiences, but, yes, we do, you know, that's part of the, the experience of going to a CES is the opportunity to, you know, see some of these products firsthand, in many cases, get hands-on with these products and be able to really experience them, you know, as much as we do have a digital component to the show and it's an opportunity to reach people who can't come to the show for one reason or other, but you know, nothing, nothing really beats the opportunity to see some of these technologies firsthand.
Clark Rachfal:
And just as a firs- time attendee, to kind o, put a bow on this, the exhibitors and participants at CES are everything from the large multinational conglomerate technology companies that everyone knows and is probably interacting with at this very moment, whether it's a Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Samsung, LG, Honda, GM, and I could just go on and on and on, down to companies in new and emerging markets, ones that we've probably heard of that are growing rapidly as they fill the needs in the market. But then Steve, there's also the Eureka Park, where there are companies with new ideas and ideas of prototypes that may or may not have even been invented yet.
Steve Ewell:
Yeah, Eureka Parks, always one of the fun and exciting areas of the show, because it is, you see just, you know, some ideas that are just really out there. There are these kinds of companies that, you know, "Why didn't I think of that?" after you see it, or, "Wow, this is really gonna be the, the next big thing." And it, it's amazing to see some of the things that are brought together. We had 800 startups from all over the world. You know, one thing I will highlight, the CTA Foundation runs a contest every year where we give away five booths to start-ups based on having technology that can either benefit older adults or people with disabilities. And this year, you know, those five were essentially the first five booths you ran into when you walked into the Eureka Park hall. And it was a chance to, to look at, you know, we had a company like Cosmos Robotics who had a, a caregiving robot design, more for like senior living communities. We had Personal AI, which was founded by one of the founders of Aira, with their memory assistance AI-based product. We had a company that unfortunately wasn't able to be on the show for, but participated digitally that came out of Gallaudet University called GoVoBo working on captioning for deaf attendees, as well as, you know, other kind of aging related solutions like Parasuite and Caregiver Smart Solutions. So a number of great products along those lines. We also get a lot of countries that essentially are, they're almost competing at this point to highlight the start-ups that are coming out of their countries, you know, countries like, you know, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Korea, really all over the world, bringing together some of the innovations from their countries to highlight at the show. And this is a space that gets a lot of attention, both from the investor community, as well as the media, as they're looking at some of the, the new technologies. I know a lot of people keep raising out of the UK, there was a company that brought a robot called Ameca, which has very lifelike facial features and interacts through an AI solution, and, I'll tell you, that uncanny valley was it, it was really kind of impressive to see how this robot was interacting with people as they came up and, and interviewed her on the show floor. So that was one of the, the things that really got a lot of attention that at CES out of Eureka Park, but there's really, like I said, there were 800 different stories there showcasing a wide variety of different technologies. And it's always one of the spaces that I get energized from seeing, because chances are, you know, these are all small start-ups that are there. So the person you're talking to at the booth is probably, you know, a founder of the company or designer of the product. So it's really a great opportunity to engage with them at the early stage of their company and really highlight why, you know, the accessibility and the, you know, age-friendly and other issues along those lines are so important for their products.
Clark Rachfal:
And Steve, you alluded to this technology earlier with some of your comments, but when I arrived at CES, one of the first items on the agenda was the accessibility round table, where the accessibility leaders, along with some of the CTA Foundation grant recipients, along with more established companies, like Adobe Laboratories and Verizon Communications, took part. At this round table, I was seated next to an individual who attended Eureka Park several years ago. And through a conversation with one of our blind colleagues, Mike May, made some enhancements to his keyless lock that you could unlock using your fingerprint. And now he has a model of that lock that is available with, you know, audible feedback, as well as vibration to let you know if you've unlocked the lock, a great solution for folks who <laugh> have trouble, either finding or always misplacing or remembering where they put their keys, but certainly also individuals with mobility or dexterity issues that, it might be difficult to handle a small flat object, like a key. This individual was back there this year, had a successful stint on Shark Tank, and is now licensing their technology to some other lock manufacturers.
Steve Ewell:
Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, it's Benjilock, and yeah, after the deal with Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank, he's now licensing it to Hampton, and they were showcasing the technology, whether in padlocks or in front door locks and others at CES. In fact, they were one of our innovation award winners for accessibility this year and really a great story. But, you know, I do want, that accessibility roundtable is the way we kickoff CES each year. It's right before the show opens, and it's an opportunity to get together leaders from the disability community, along with members of the industry, whether they're start-ups, whether they're large companies, and just get together. Talk about, you know, what are some of the trends that we're seeing in the industry? What are some of the things that we'll see at CES this year? We had a chance to talk about things like, you know, over-the-counter hearing aids with the rules coming out for that, some of the work-from-home type technologies, as well as a number of other issues that the, the group raised. And, quite frankly, one of my main and goals out of this is just to develop stronger relationships, because I really believe, you know, when we get together, when we bring people together to have these kinds of conversations, form these types of relationships, it's going to lead to greater opportunities, better designed products that can work for, for more people. So, yeah, that's always one of my highlights of the week is to be able to get people together, have a nice conversation. We usually wrap it up with just a couple drinks to get together and cap off the networking and then send people off to the opening keynote. So it really is a highlight of my week. And I was glad we were able to have you participate again this year, Clark.
Clark Rachfal:
And Matt, with your eight years experience now with CES, have you seen, kind of either an evolution of how accessibility is perceived or the types of companies that are involved with the, the accessibility roundtable?
Matt Ater:
So we've seen additional companies as, as Steve had mentioned and you had mentioned also, but I think the, just the collaboration experience that, that Steve has mentioned, and I had mentioned before, and you even brought up, you know, sitting next to somebody at that round table, I think, you know, it could be the next company, you know, that you met this year, that's showing up at that roundtable next year, and that's the, the value of CES and the value of the disabled community, and, specifically in this case, the blindness community participating. And one thing I, I think that's maybe lost is you don't have to be with a company to attend CES. You could be going on your own, or your company may allow you to go, this is a value of having all types of people attend to go through the exhibits and get that support. So, you know, my mention of, of checking off a box during the registration about being blind and needing assistance, any person can do that. And I think it's important to highlight that because that's the importance of not just Clark and I and others who are blind going through, but everybody doing it, who has an opportunity to go to Vegas and experience this can share their experiences, because the only way it can change from an accessibility point-of-view is to tell our story, to explain our needs. And I, one area that I'm sure is, is in your heart, Clark, would be the fitness area. And I spent a lot of time in the fitness area this year, and it's not just a rower, or it's not just a climber, it's not just a piece of exercise equipment, it's, it's all connected equipment these days. And, and being able to sit down and talk to those folks, and whether it's a fitness expert who's showing off the technology, or sometimes them grabbing the CEO of the company or the CTO or the technologist who made this technology, that was a big part of it. And I, in fact, I have a story. My wife bought something back in September, and it was a piece of fitness gear that I'd never seen before. And it's, it's basically a boxing set-up. And the idea is that there's lights on the screen and you're boxing and hitting the lights as those lights move around the screen. Totally not that accessible for me, but the concept, then I'm walking around the show floor and found it, it was there. And I got to talk to people about, well, wouldn't it be nice if you not only lit 'em up, could you tell me where on the clock? Cause it's basically a clock-face shaped device. So if I can hit, if you say 12 o'clock and I go and hit 12 o'clock, could it ding and let me know I hit 12 o'clock. That was, you know, an example of something that, you know, I've seen at home and knew I've not been able to participate using this technology. But being able to talk to the CEO of that company and CTO was a big part of what I gain from, from participating.
Steve Ewell:
That's a great story, Matt, and I do just want to jump in with one clarification. CES actually is not open to the general public.
Matt Ater:
Oh good correction, sorry about that.
Steve Ewell:
Anyone with a company or related to the industry. So media, others, are able to come and participate, but it is, you know, it's a business show. So we do lock it down as much as, you know, 45,000 people or, in a normal year, 160,000 people doesn't sound like it's very locked down. It is, it is industry only.
Matt Ater:
Sorry about that. Thank you, Steve.
Steve Ewell:
It is an opportunity for a lot of people to get engaged and I do encourage, you know, that's one of the things I want to make sure of is we have not just, I mean, certainly I love having the advocacy community like Clark and others attend, but it's also, I wanna make sure the people with disabilities who are employed in the industry have an opportunity to participate and attend. And, you know, we do make sure that those accessibility, whether it's the, the guides or other solutions are available to attendees across the show, regardless of whether they're part of our accessibility leaders tour or if they're just attending as part of their, their company or others. So that is a really important part for us.
Clark Rachfal:
And thank you for that clarification, Steve. Matt, thank you for highlighting the accessible fitness and exercise vendors with ACB's focus on accessible health and wellness, as well as our Get Up and Get Moving campaign, accessible healthcare providers, fitness providers, wearable sensor companies, anyone providing health data or biometrics, those were companies in particular that my sighted guide and I, you know, made a beeline for. So I did enjoy the conversations with many of those companies, like you were saying, some are pretty well established and others are new to the space and being able to have that conversation with them, starting the conversation with, you know, tell me about your product. How does the consumer interact with it? How would I interact with it? Have you seen an accessible smartphone before? What would it take to include this sort of technology in your product so that more individuals could take advantage of this technology? And, I'd have to say everyone, even if they had never heard of accessibility before, was very open to having a conversation and learning and wanting to make sure that we were speaking to the right people. But there were also individuals who, you know, on their smart, connected devices had already included closed captioning, not only for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, but certainly for parents or family members who want to get in a workout at home, but not wake the rest of the family while they're doing it, right? Kind of that digital curb cut, if you will. So that's an area that we at ACB will certainly be following up with and trying to continue to build those relationships as we go forward with our Get Up and Get Moving campaign. Another area that I'd like to focus, Steve, is that it's one thing for companies to hear about accessibility from CTA Foundation or the accessibility leaders, but, in my mind, it's another thing altogether when the initial keynote of the Consumer Electronic Show, which was Samsung, highlights accessibility in their new product launches. I was totally blown away by that. Samsung debuted the, the Freestyle, which is basically a small portable projector, as well as smart speaker, no larger than the Bluetooth wireless speakers that are, you know, pretty much ubiquitous nowadays. And, just right in their keynote presentation, they highlighted that this, this freestyle projector and speaker has the same accessible user interface as their other TVs and video products. This speaker has the ability to pass through audio description and closed captioning. And it wasn't a, a disclaimer that we are required or mandated to do this. It's, we wanna make sure that everyone knows that our products are, you know, universally designed and inclusive for everyone.
Steve Ewell:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that once again goes to showcase the, the fact that we are seeing more of these companies, whether they're the start-ups or whether they're the large global brands like Samsung, are really taking this issue seriously, they're taking it to heart. You know, I know that was one of the things that they were very excited to share. And I know we as a group had a chance to spend, I think we spent close to an hour or so, just touring their booth and meeting with various people showing off different technologies there. And whether it is, you know, making their TVs adjustable to people with color blindness so it can really customize the colors and make things easier to see if you do have color blindness or, yeah, the adding all of that into their compact Freestyle product, you know, their various other smart home technologies and, and it's really exciting to see because that's something that, when we see the big global brands building that in, that causes the other members of the industry to pay attention as well. So yeah, I, I think that's a good sign for where we're going and more opportunities for us in the future.
Clark Rachfal:
And, and certainly there are, you know, requirements for accessible communications devices and video playback devices, but not included in those regulations, for example, Samsung is not required to have an avatar signing American Sign Language on screen as someone scrolls through the menu options, right? Like that's innovation that's going above and beyond. You know, they're not required to have a screen reader providing speech output in their refrigerator to navigate the menus of the devices, that's going above and beyond. So that's, that's really exciting innovation to see that's becoming available in mainstream products. And Matt, I guess back to Eureka Park and the startup companies. I know there was one company that both you and I experienced separately, from either France or Switzerland,
Matt Ater:
Switzerland. Yep.
Clark Rachfal:
Switzerland, yes. A company, Biped?
Matt Ater:
Right. Yep. And it's interesting. You know, this is, this is the part that, that I always get excited about. Not necessarily because every time the piece of technology is perfect, but just the fact that people are out there innovating to try to solve problems. And they're trying to solve problems that they've heard from somebody in the community, and we can't, sometimes we may not see it as a problem, but someone out there has, you know, decided it was a problem. And, in this case, it was, you know, detection of objects when navigating and I found it very interesting. And I think the value again, of, of trying this stuff out and talking to the vendor is to be able to say, well, you know, maybe what you're doing with it is great, but maybe your ability to share it back with the person using it may not be the tones that I would expect cause they're using tones to simulate what type of objects you may be encountering and, you know, in a really loud environment, like a convention hall or a conference area or out on the street, do those sounds work for you. And that's the, the value in us sitting down and talking to them and, and making sure that they're exploring with the blindness community, would this device potentially work for you? So I thought that was kind of fun to, that's one example of a device years ago, it would've been Aira, years, you know, ago it could have been something like an OrCam, who does participate at CES through their parent company. And so there's such a broad look at technologies that can show up in Eureka Park. And I'm trying to remember the name of the, the keyboard people used on their iPhone. Was it Flick Type, Flip Type? I'm trying to remember what it was. A company like that would be in Eureka Park and showing off their cool technology. And I, I think it's, it's great. You've, you'd seen something else, I think it was a braille keyboard if I remember correctly in, in the Korea section.
Clark Rachfal:
Yes, from a company, More Dreams, in the Korean section of Eureka Park had the prototype for a small handheld Bluetooth braille keyboard, so that somebody who is a proficient braille typer, instead of using the touch screen on their smartphone, could leave their smartphone in their pocket. If they had an earbud or headphones on, they could then use this, basically like the size of a deck of cards, maybe a little bit bigger, handheld braille keyboard to navigate the screen of their smartphone, select items. And again, instead of typing with the touch screen, use the six braille keys to type more efficiently. So it is pretty cool technology.
Matt Ater:
And, and, for those who are out there using braille displays or using other devices like it, it'd probably be similar to a, I think it's an Orbit Braille Writer, if I remember correctly, or Orbit Writer. And it's basically like Clark said, small hand, you know, handheld, you could slide this in a pocket, pull it out and be able to, you know, answer a call, for example, without having to pull the phone out or type a text message without leaving your phone in the pocket or something like that.
Clark Rachfal:
And certainly more discreet than using a speech-to-text or dictation all the time as well. Matt, the company Biped from Switzerland, you know, it, and this is just one of my own hangups. It's like, how many things am I gonna have to wear or carry as a blind person, as a disabled person. But, at the same time, what cool technology this is, right? We're using multiple cameras, LIDAR and infrared sensors, to be able to detect objects. And then I had a great conversation with them. You know, a lot of new smartphones have a lot of those same capabilities built in. What would it take to have this available in an application form? You know, we mentioned Aira before, Aira has the, you know, formally had the Horizon glasses that people could wear, or you could use your own smartphone video camera and microphone. So how can we make the, the form factor of a product like this more, more enticing, more accessible, and more usable for the widest audience? But then also talking with a lot of the virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence companies that were present at CES, maybe this is just the way the market's headed. You know, I have no problem wearing a smart watch, Bluetooth wireless headphones and having a smartphone, how long before I have a, a headset or, you know, smart glasses and things like that?
Matt Ater:
And it's, it's, you know, one of the, one of the companies we had seen years ago at this show also, and very popular in the blindness community, is Aftershokz. And I did see their booth this year and I, I was surprised I did not know about the name change. They're no longer called Aftershokz, but just called Shokz. And I thought it was cool to, you know, it, I always find it very cool to be able to go see them and see what's coming, you know, new in their technology. But that's obviously a Bluetooth headphones that a lot of blind consumers use today.
Clark Rachfal:
Yes. So, Steve, as we talk about these new and emerging technologies, what are some of the things that either got you excited at CES or that you're excited for maybe emerging technologies down the road?
Steve Ewell:
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, one of the things that gets me excited is hearing some of the technologies that you and Matt were just talking about and seeing how they've grown over the years. You know, the Aftershokz, now Shokz, to see them come up from a new company to having a much larger footprint at the show and, highlighting their technologies, some of the other products, you know, I'm thinking back of some of our previous accessibility winners for Eureka Park, like, you know, WHILL with their automated power wheelchair were right there in Central Hall with some of the, the big giant companies, showcasing some of their latest solutions for wheelchair users. Others, like, you know, we've had, you know, WeWALK with their Smart Cane and, and Aira and others have come through that program. So I'm very excited to see where there's continuing development in this space. One of the spaces I'm excited for is the smart home technologies and things that can really help people stay independent at home. In fact, we ran a pitch competition this year. It was more focused around smart home from an aging perspective, but a number of the different products that we were able to showcase there, whether it was automated control of, you know, windows and doors or assistance with delivery solutions, you know, other kinds of, you know, water purification type solutions, really kind of exciting ways that can really revolutionize the way that we, you know, live at home independently, regardless of age or ability. These are technologies that I think we'll see across the, the general population. So some really interesting products in that space. And I do think the wearable space is gonna continue to innovate. You know, you mentioned the idea of, you know, wearing smart glasses and, you know, I know there's work already going into, how do you make XR accessible, you know, whether it's augmented reality, virtual reality, or the combination of the two, that is a place that we're seeing the industry go and why we need to ensure that it's developed in an accessible way, because, you know, that may be a future form factor that we'll be getting a lot of information from as we're moving about and, you know, interacting with our devices through that form factor as well. So, you know, I'm, I'm always excited to see, you know, what are those new interesting ideas, you know. One other item I'll just call attention to, not really accessibility related, beyond the fact that some of the team members that were involved with it had worked with us a number of years ago on a project called Accessible Olli to design an accessible self-driving bus. They partnered with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to create, they have a number of college teams that were creating accessible Indy racing cars, and essentially they had earlier, I guess, back in the fall at, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, they had their first race. Really, it was kind of each car racing around the track on its own. At CES this year was the first time they had the cars racing each other at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, you know, passing each other at very high speeds as as these racing cars do. And, and, you know, that's, none of us are picking up an Indy racing car anytime soon, but the technologies that are going into that, you know, if you can help cars pass each other at, you know, 150 miles per hour, that's gonna be really critical technology that can go into the consumer cars that I'm really excited for, those autonomous vehicles that are gonna help, you know, all of us, you know, get around town whether it is, you know, a self-driving public transit or individual products. So I, I think that's gonna be a really important technology, especially for the blindness community, but really across the broad general population.
Matt Ater:
I do want to comment on this, this Indy driving experience. I actually got to sit in a simulator and it was a simulator that I got to drive and wreck within seconds <laugh>. And I, in fact, actually, as soon as I pressed the gas, I wrecked the car. But I did get to, with assistance, drive the entire track. And, when I say with assistance, meaning that I, I was gonna wreck every time I moved the steering wheel cuz I was going, you know, like Steve said, 150 miles an hour, but the chair, you know, moved with it. It's almost like a Disney ride experience in a way, but it was, you know, screens wrapped around you. If you had enough vision, you'd be able to see the car flashing through with the stands on either side and the motion of it, and you're using the pedals and the gas and the brake and gear shift and all of that, that experience. And it was a totally great experience. And it's, actually, I think it's on our YouTube channel and Freedom Scientific's YouTube channel. Cause I thought it was kind of fun to be able to show that off.
Clark Rachfal:
And, in that same vein, you know, these are experimental technologies, right? These are technologies that are pushing the envelope. Well, are they pushing the envelope, because this technology was debuted a few years ago at CES in Indianapolis Raceway, but those Ollie shuttles are going through pilot programs with the National Park Service, providing visitors shuttles at Wright Brothers Memorial and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, as well as Yellowstone National Park in Montana or Wyoming, whichever part of the park you're in. So, not only are these, these technologies groundbreaking and innovative, just a few years later, they're, they're becoming mainstream, and that's really exciting to see. Matt, why don't you take off your, your Vispero hat, your ACB Advisory Board and CTA Foundation board hat, and then, what are just some other, some other cool technologies that, that spoke to you at this year's CES?
Matt Ater:
Well, Steve, Steve was talking about smart home technology ,and for years I've, I've, that's one of my favorite kind of experiences to do in, you know, you mentioned, you know, locks that could be used by smart homes and, and blinds or whatever they may be and refrigerators and washers and dryers that can as soon as they're done fold the laundry for you, all the kinds of cool things you see in gadgets. But this year, I thought being around the health technology that kind of mixed with smart home technology was really cool to me. And one of the ones that, that I saw that I thought was just neat was, you know, there's this on the mix of aging challenges as well as disability challenges as well as caregiver challenges, you know, I thought something as cool as like, you know, you've seen the concept of having the pills shipped to you once a month and, and they're already in, I think one of the brands was back in the day, I don't know if it still exists, I think it does, is PillPack, and, but they had a device at one of the booths that I thought was just fascinating. It was basically the size of a Keurig machine and your pod of your monthly pills, you would pop the pod into this, the top of the unit, and then, you know, once a day or twice a day or whatever number of times a day you had to take your pills, it would issue the pills and send out an alarm and, and track whether or not you took those pills and then provide signals back to either caregivers, family members, doctors, whatever, or a monitoring service to make sure you're doing this kind of stuff. And that's an interesting, the, the growth in, I don't know if the right word is virtual health, but the growth around healthcare that's kind of a mix of, of smart home technology and some virtual support is a growing segment. And I thought technology like that really has a place, and I, I just loved seeing the companies out there and got to talk to a CEO of a company. Again, that's something that both you and, and Steve highlighted the value in, in talking to people within companies. So I thought the, the health section and, and I hadn't spent as much time in the health section before because our own booth was never in the health section. And this time at the assistive technology or accessibility related stuff was more in the health and wellness section, which was nice to be there because you got to see stuff that you may have not seen before because of the segment. And then, as mentioned, the fitness area I thought was a fascinating area and, and an area that I've always wanted to do, and never felt comfortable but loved the, the fitness side of it was rock climbing. And I know rock climbing is totally capable, but either a fear of heights or a comfort zone of, of doing it, you know, I got to see and, and use not a rock climbing wall, but the fitness side of rock climbing in a machine. And I don't know, Clark, if you saw this, this one piece of equipment, but found that kind of stuff just fun and fascinating to be able to do and say, "Boy, I'd love to have that thing in my house."
Clark Rachfal:
And in that same vein, Matt, the other companies in the connected fitness space that I spent some time with and hoped to build relationships with are Hydrow - H Y D R O W - a connected rowing machine, as well as Echelon, the maker of smart and connected bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines, devices that our members are familiar with, but ones that need, need some more work to be totally independently usable by our community. Also in the, the connected health space, there was a start-up in, relatively new to CES, a company, Labrador Systems, that was making accessible robots, whether that's for carrying trays with food or placing a, you know, a bulky, heavy laundry basket on it, again for this kind of elder care, independent living, aging in place. You know, why, why burden yourself with carrying something big and bulky if it makes you unstable, or you don't have the dexterity and mobility to carry a table service for eight for Thanksgiving dinner, you could use one of these robots with an adjustable height and arms that can slide trays onto them themselves to assist you around the house. And then, of course, another CES keynote, a company, Abbott Labs, you know, having the opportunity to speak in-person with individuals from Abbott Diabetes Care about the accessibility of the FreeStyle Libre, continuous glucose monitor, and hear the exciting announcement of Abbott's Lingo, kinda connected health tracking diagnostic equipment. Again, it's the, the only problem we have is that this is one podcast, and there are so many companies. There was one more company that I'd like to highlight, Steve, and that was Living Freely. The company kind of focused on that connected health and notifying caregivers of the activity and the metrics of a user. But not only is this for folks to work with their parents or grandparents, this is technology that's mainstream technology, in fact, it's been included in Apple Health and other health tracking systems, because it is such vital technology.
Steve Ewell:
Yeah. Thanks for giving them a shout-out and yeah, their app is called Buddy, yeah, by Live Freely and really an interesting technology. I know they're working with Apple, working with Fitbit, and others along those lines. So yeah, that's one of the, the great things about CES. Obviously I'm a little bit biased here, but just an opportunity to really see and learn some of these new technologies really connect with the companies that are developing these solutions and then, you know, engage with them around the new opportunities. I love that you mentioned Labrador. They were one of the companies I was thinking about as well. And being able to really showcase those kinds of technologies that can help people, you know, live independently at home. You know, actually one of the other ones that jumped out to me was a company called Moen with their essentially kitchen and bath fixtures. They've added more and more features now where you can, you know, tell your device through your voice, so if you want exactly, you know, one cup of water at whatever temperature, and it will pour you, you know, that exact amount of water at the exact right temperature. You can also do it through hand gestures as well, so if you can't speak to it, or don't want to speak to it, you can do it via hand gestures. Also, some of their shower products, you know, being able to get up in the morning and say, you know, turn my shower to exactly, I don't know, 98 degrees or whatever a good temperature is for a shower, and it would warm up your shower to exactly that temperature and then kind of pause it there, and when you're ready, you just hit a button and it starts your shower and reduce risks of scalding or, or other issues along those lines. So I think there's some really interesting types of technologies. And, you know, now I just have to, you know, save up and get all these new things. That'll be the, the next challenge for me.
Clark Rachfal:
Despite popular belief, they don't give you one of everything when you visit CES.
Steve Ewell:
No, sadly enough. No, they, they bring all that stuff back home, but, you know, luckily we'll see a lot of it out on the shelves here very soon.
Clark Rachfal:
And Steve, as we move forward here, certainly at ACB, we look forward to working with the CTA Foundation, as well as the rest of the accessibility leaders. Is there anything else that you would like to highlight upcoming here in 2022?
Steve Ewell:
Yeah. Well, one, Clark, I just really want to thank you for your participation at CES, as well as for having Matt and I here for this podcast. It's always great to have these conversations and, and just look at what we've found throughout CES. Yeah, CTA Foundation, we keep going even after CES, we'll have a number of other activities throughout the year just highlighting some of the technologies and we'll be working on some of our grant programs as well, as we support non-profit organizations around the country that are using technology to help either older adults or people with disabilities. And we've supported a number of organizations in the blindness and low vision space, and I fully expect that we will continue to do that this year and beyond. So really look forward to continuing to work with ACB and, and finding more opportunities to work together.
Clark Rachfal:
Thanks, Steve. And Matt, I know you're on the accessible and assistive technology conference circuit. Is there anything you'd like to highlight for upcoming for Vispero?
Matt Ater:
Well, you'll find us at Assistive Technology Industry Association, ATIA, in Orlando later this month. You'll also find us at CSUN with lots of presentations as well as exhibits. And then, and I would make sure that everybody who's listening tune in on Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern. We participate in the Community Calls with ACB and do different technology segments on there. And then also on Clubhouse a couple times a week under the JAWS software F/T Blind Club. So we'd love to have participation from all the members of ACB. Check us out on those different platforms.
Clark Rachfal:
Well, Steve and Matt, thank you so much for your time here today, and thank you to everyone who's tuned in for this kind of look back at the 2022 CES and conversation about not only assistive technology, but how accessibility is going mainstream in consumer technology. If there's accessible technology that, you know, you find most useful, or that you'd like to share with others, you know, please drop us a line, whether it's on social email, excuse me, social media, emailing
[email protected], or drop in a comment wherever you found this podcast. So we look forward to joining you again, and again, my name's Clark Rachfal, and this is the ACB Advocacy Update. And as we always say, keep advocating.
