Accessibility is often seen as the last step in many software projects - a checklist to be crossed off to satisfy regulations. But in reality, accessible design thinking can lead to a fountain of features that benefit disabled and abled users alike.
Curb cuts, the ramps from sidewalk to street, were originally created for wheelchair users, but rapidly became popular among bicyclists, stroller-pushing parents, and more. Inventions like the typewriter, telephone, and remote control were all made for disabled people and rapidly found universal application. Now, design for accessibility can guide us to the next generation of usability for virtual and augmented reality.
In this talk, you'll learn:
- The latest and greatest research happening in universities around the world focused on making extended reality (XR) more accessible
- How making XR accessible to people also makes it accessible to machines, fueling AI-based innovation
- How to leverage design for accessibility to create the next standard features of XR, while also opening your projects to larger audiences and defending yourself against lawsuits
Interview:
What is the focus of your work?
My work is focused on making virtual and augmented reality accessible to people with disabilities. As you might expect, part of that is supporting novel research to understand how these technologies can be more inclusive; but a large part is motivating and educating XR content creators and platform owners on why accessibility matters.
What’s the motivation for your talk?
Many people see accessibility as an expense with little return outside of legal compliance and publicity, but the reality couldn't be farther from the truth. Applications that put accessibility first tend to be some of the most robust, best-designed, and overall over-performing ones out there. I hope to help people realize that with my talk and improve investment into accessibility as part of the MVP.
Who is your talk for?
Any major product decision-makers in the technology space, particularly those utilizing virtual and augmented reality. If you get to set organizational goals and product priorities, this is the talk for you.
What do you want someone to walk away with from your presentation?
Accessibility is always a worthwhile investment. On top of all the other benefits, making things more accessible to people makes them more accessible to machines, too. Laying the groundwork for accessibility means that you're getting your application's data ready to weave into APIs you may not even be considering yet.
What do you think is the next big disruption in software?
I believe that if we design for it, AI can enable a lot of disabled people to cross the gaps and find employment and leadership in modern tech organizations. I believe it will also streamline the XR process, smoothing over the rote technical work and opening up creation to a new wave of artists and thinkers.
Speaker
Dylan Fox
Director of Operations @XR Access, Previously UC Berkeley Researcher & UX Designer, Expert on Accessibility for Emerging Technologies
Dylan Fox is the Director of Operations for XR Access, a research initiative of Cornell Tech. An expert on accessibility for emerging technologies, he advises groups such as Meta, the W3C, and the FCC on how virtual and augmented reality can be more inclusive. He chairs the annual XR Access Symposium and is responsible for many ongoing initiatives to connect disability advocates, technologists, academics, and other key stakeholders to solve difficult problems.
Fox is also a former researcher and Masters graduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked on ways to leverage augmented reality for people with low vision; and has led UX design on entertainment applications used by millions of people. Fox’s work is at the forefront of making virtual and augmented reality accessible for people who have disabilities.
Find Dylan Fox at:
Date
Wednesday Nov 20 / 11:45AM PST ( 50 minutes )
Location
Pacific DEKJ
