News

The National Council on Disability released “Over the Horizon: Potential Impact of Emerging Trends in Information and Communication Technology on Disability Policy and Practice,”  a policy paper exploring key trends in information and communication technology, highlighting the potential opportunities and problems these trends present for people with disabilities, and suggesting strategies to maximize opportunities and […]

The National Council on Disability released a policy paper on “The Need for Federal Legislation and Regulation Prohibiting Telecommunications and Information Services Discrimination.”  This paper, drafted by Karen Peltz Strauss, incorporates many recommendations provided by the Telecommunication Access RERC to the FCC. Her new book on this topic is A New Civil Right: Telecommunications Equality […]

The FCC held a Summit to focus on E9-1-1 calling and access for persons with hearing and speech disabilities on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006. Judy Harkins, co-director of the RERC on Telecommunications Access, presented as one of the expert panelists.

The Trace Center has released new versions of two components of its open-source software suite on the Universal Remote Console (URC) framework, part of the Center’s continuing R&D on URC technology. The URC Software Development Kit (SDK 3.2) has several new features, including the ability to use non-Java targets, and also includes new tutorial sections. […]

Trace Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden presented the closing keynote at the IDEAS Conference in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 14, 2006. This is the Federal government’s annual conference on Section 508, presented by the GSA. The presentation overviewed emerging information and communication technologies and how key technology trends will impact accessibility.

The U.S. Access Board has formed an Advisory Committee to review and suggest changes to the accessibility standards for electronic and information technologies purchased by the Federal government (pursuant to Section 508) and also the guidelines for accessibility of telecommunications (mandated by Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act). Trace Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden was selected […]

Trace Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden will chair a panel that will be discussing usability and accessibility standards to ensure the successful utilization of advanced technology by all members of society. This panel is a special program at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society on Oct. 17, 2006, in San Francisco. […]

The Trace Center has released version 3.1 of its open-source Universal Remote Console Simulation Environment. This Web-based simulation platform for applications based on the family of Universal Remote Console (URC) standards runs a set of graphical simulations of URC clients and targets from your Web browser (as Java applets) or operating system (as Java applications). […]

The RERC on Telecommunications Access has now published the report on Research and Policy Recommendations from the State of the Science Conference on Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication. The report includes 60 recommendations for research, information and training, and public policy.

The Trace Center has released version 3.0 of its open-source Software Development Kit for developers and manufacturers of Universal Remote Consoles (URCs) and Target devices. The URC Software Development Kit (SDK) is the first public Java code library based on the family of ANSI standards on URC. The code is based on JDK 1.5 or […]

A Universal Remote Console (URC) draft standard has been submitted to ISO/IEC JTC1 SC35 for final committee draft voting. If this vote is successful, the draft standard will then be passed on to JTC1 for final voting and publication as an ISO/IEC International Standard. The URC standard will allow users to operate compliant devices with […]

The Trace Center’s Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) analyzes web content to detect any bright and rapid flashes, especially red flash, and some spatial patterns that might trigger seizures. The beta release of PEAT is available as a free download.

A Last Call Working Draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) has been released by the W3C for broad community review and comment. WCAG 2.0 addresses accessibility of web content for people with disabilities. It will apply to a wider range of web technologies than WCAG 1.0, and is intended to be […]

Extensive information from the recent State of the Science Conference on Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication is now available online. Links to webcasts, speaker slides, and summaries or transcripts from the conference are included. A resource containing over 30 reports from organizations and government agencies on this topic is also available.

The 2006 Harry J. Murphy Catalyst Award was presented to Sheryl Burgstahler at the CSUN Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference on March 21, 2006. This biennial award is presented by the Trace Center to honor those who bring people together and facilitate the efforts of others in the field of technology and disability. The […]