NEW YORK, May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of the
25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
AT&T* and New York University's
ABILITY Lab are working with the Rehabilitation Engineering and
Assistive Technology Society of North
America (RESNA) to find ways technology can enhance the
lives of people with physical, social, emotional, and cognitive
disabilities. To do this, they're challenging technology developers
to take part in the first ever Connect Ability tech
innovation challenge.
Developers across the country are invited to design software,
wearables and other technology solutions as part of this virtual
challenge aimed at enhancing the lives of people with
disabilities. $100,000 in
prizes will be awarded to winning developer teams on July 26th.
AT&T and RESNA will host a series of informational sessions
and workshops to give developers and members of the disability
community a way to become more familiar with the challenge, build
teams and begin creating solutions.
A session will take place today in Cambridge, Massachusetts in association with
maker workshop and community space Danger!Awesome with help from
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) Assistive
Technology Club. Additional sessions are scheduled during
June at the NYU ABILITY Lab in New York
City; the American Underground in Durham with support from students and faculty
from Duke University; the Center for
Accessible Technology in Berkeley,
California; the RESNA 2015 annual conference in Denver, Colorado, and in collaboration with
disability employment services nonprofit LaunchAbility in
Dallas, Texas. Earlier this month,
the University of Wisconsin-Stout
hosted a successful "developer day" to raise awareness about the
challenge.
The Connect Ability Challenge is encouraging developers
to actively engage the disability community. A group of
volunteers, called "Exemplars", have agreed to talk with developers
about problems they face and provide feedback and insight on their
various projects.
Some of the Exemplars include:
- Xian Horn, a teacher, speaker and writer who has
cerebral palsy, which impacts her mobility.
- Gus Chalkias, an assistive technology specialist, career
counselor and college student who is blind.
- Paul Kotler, a student, blogger, lecturer and advocate
who has autism. Kotler communicates using computer-assisted
technology and struggles with anxiety and impulse control.
- Jason DaSilva, a filmmaker who has Multiple
Sclerosis. DaSilva uses a powered wheelchair and has limited upper-
and lower-limb use.
Through a series of collaboration sessions, Developers will be
able to speak with these and additional volunteer Exemplars
confidentially, in virtual and in-person meetings. This will
give developers insight and feedback on their designs before the
June 24th submission
deadline.
"The ADA was landmark legislation that helped people with
disabilities participate more fully in our society. Now, advances
in technology can remove barriers in ways we never before
imagined," said Charlene Lake,
AT&T senior vice president of public affairs and chief
sustainability officer. "AT&T is excited to partner
with RESNA and these organizations to attract innovators from
across the country. We look forward to seeing them harness
their creativity and skills to create innovative and life-changing
solutions."
"Our membership of engineers and assistive technology
professionals bring a deep bench of expertise and resources to this
exciting project," said Michael
Brogioli, Executive Director of RESNA. "AT&T's
engagement of people with disabilities at every stage of this
project is commendable and essential to help bring beneficial ideas
from concept to reality."
"Since the enactment of the ADA 25 years ago, mobile technology
has evolved at an astonishing rate. By bringing technologists
and people with disabilities together, the AT&T and
NYU Connect Ability Challenge
has all the right ingredients for innovation," said Carl R. Augusto, president and CEO of the
American Foundation for the Blind. "We are looking forward to
the exciting solutions that will come out of this challenge."
"We are very proud to partner with AT&T on this exciting
initiative that will help leverage technology to enhance the lives
of people with disabilities," said Paul
Schwartz, Assistive Technology Services Manager for the
Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. "Through
our Voc Rehab Institute, we work hard to help people with
disabilities overcome the barriers they face every day. We
are excited to participate in this challenge and see how
technological solutions can help improve the lives of those with
disabilities."
"The enthusiasm for the Connect Ability Challenge is
infectious, and it is inspiring students, entrepreneurs, designers
and engineers to learn more about accessibility and assistive
technology," said William Li, PhD
student in computer science and a graduate instructor at
MIT.
"Duke University students and
faculty are looking forward to competing with the region's best and
brightest students, developers and people with disabilities in an
effort to build winning solutions that can further enhance people's
lives," said Kevin Caves, a rehab
engineer at Duke University.
"We are excited to be a part of the Connect Ability Challenge."
"AT&T has a corporate culture of social responsibility and
engagement that flows down to the individual level," stated
Kathryn Parsons, CEO of
LaunchAbility. "Every single person I meet from the
organization represents the company with energy and smart-thinking
that they apply to their work with passion and success. The Connect
Ability Challenge embodies this philosophy to create technology
that serves everyone – regardless and inclusive of challenges and
disAbilities. At LaunchAbility we say that we acknowledge
disAbilities, but emphasize possibilities, and are proud to work
with AT&T to serve the global community."
ChallengePost is powering the challenge. A panel of
experts from the engineering, technology and disability community
has agreed to judge the submissions, which are due at 5 PM on June 24.
Connect Ability Challenge winners will be announced
July 26th, on the
25th Anniversary of the ADA. For more information or to
register, visit http://connectability.challengepost.com/.
Follow the latest news on Twitter using the hashtag
#ConnectAbility.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) helps millions of people and businesses
around the globe stay connected through leading wireless,
high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. We're helping
people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications,
entertainment services and amazing innovations like connected cars
and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S.
wireless network offers customers the nation's strongest LTE signal
and the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best
global wireless coverage.* We're improving how our customers stay
entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse® TV and
High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are serving
their customers better with AT&T's mobility and highly secure
cloud solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is
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