App Factory (D1)
The overall purpose of this project is to advance universal design in the wireless community. The objectives of this project are development, deployment, and adoption of software applications (“apps”) to enhance the utility and usability of wireless products and services for wireless customers with and without disabilities.
App Factory output will include apps designed specifically to address barriers to wireless access and use by people with cognitive, physical, sensory, and/or speech disabilities. Wherever practical, these apps will incorporate features useful to all customers, with or without disabilities.
A complementary objective of this project is development of a practical model for consumer participation in the process of app development. This process engages the community of people with disabilities throughout the process of envisioning, designing, testing, refining, and disseminating applications.
2013-14 Call for Proposals Launched
The Wireless RERC is now inviting experienced developers to submit proposals for 2013-14 financial support to develop assistive and/or accessibility apps for mobile platforms (e.g., Android, Blackberry 10, iOS, Windows Phone). Developers may also request partial funding for apps that already enjoy partial support from other sources, or for adaptation of existing apps to additional platforms. Completed apps will be released through the appropriate mainstream marketplace (App Store, Blackberry App World, Google Play, Nokia OVI Store, or Windows Phone Marketplace), or through the RERC’s App Factory. Full details and guidelines for the RFP.
App Factory Apps:
- American Sign Language (ASL) Educational Applications for Young Learners
- Apps4Android's Sprint ID Accessibility Packs
- BrailleTouch
- IDEAL Currency Identifier
- IDEAL Group Reader
App Development Plans Set for 2013
Response to the Call for Proposals in August was enthusiastic, with 38 proposals submitted for review. From these, the App Council and the App Factory staff selected 8 for development and delivery during the 2012-13 grant year:
- AccessNote
- Citra
- IDEAL Group Reader feature to support non-English language users with print disabilities
- IDEAL Group Reader mathwriting recognition feature
- Inpromptu upgrade
- Mobile Device Assistive Listening System
- PicTalker
- Storytelling for language practice
Project Team:
Collaborators/Partners:
- Communication Enhancement RERC, Duke University
- School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech
- IDEAL Group, Inc.
- Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, University of Colorado
- American Federation for the Blind
- School of Interactive of Computing, Georgia Tech
Connect with Us!
2020 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, GA 30309 | 404-367-1348 | wirelessrerc@shepherd.org
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education under grant number H133E110002. The opinions contained in this website are those of the Wireless RERC and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education or NIDRR.