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NEWS
Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th Street, S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D. C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
December 19, 2012 Michael Snyder at (202) 418-0997

E-mail: Michael.Snyder@fcc.gov
FCC CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI HONORS INNOVATORS IN ACCESSIBILITY
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY IN CEREMONY TODAY
Demonstrations of Technologies to Be Displayed Through December 31 in the Commission’s
Technology Experience Center (TEC)
Washington, D.C. – At a ceremony today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski celebrated the
innovative achievements of technologists whose work in communication-related areas benefits
people with disabilities, bestowing the second Awards for Advancement in Accessibility
(Chairman's AAA).
The Chairman’s AAA, a project of the FCC’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative (A&I
Initiative), based on a recommendation of the FCC’s 2010 National Broadband Plan, recognizes
outstanding private and public sector ventures in accessibility and innovation. The A&I Initiative
seeks to facilitate dialogue among industry, assistive technology companies, app developers,
government representatives, and consumers to allow stakeholders to share best practices and
solutions for accessible communications technologies.
The Chairman today thanked the winners, saying: “The work you have done and will continue to
do to advance accessibility efforts mean that many more individuals can now vote, operate their
radios, enjoy cultural experiences, catch the bus, and benefit from video description – things that
they may not have been able to do before. Your efforts mean that people with disabilities can
enjoy the wonder of our nation’s emerging communications technologies, and ultimately lead
better lives.”
Seven winners and two honorable mentions were recognized, chosen in six different categories:
Consumer Empowerment Information; Mobile Applications; Civic Participation Solutions;
Education: College or University; Video Programming; and Geo-Location Solutions.

Winners of 2012 Chairman’s AAA are:
·

Consumer Empowerment Information -- Project StAR: Accessible Radio 2012/The

Narrator

: This AM/FM/HD radio follows the principle of universal design by providing
simple, tactile controls that talk so that people who are blind or visually impaired can control

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the user interfaces on their radio.

Neely Oplinger

of

Metropolitan Washington Ear

,

Mike
Dahnert

of

Best Buy

and

Al Shuldiner

of

Ibiquity

accepted the award.
·

Mobile Applications -- WGBH National Center for Accessible Media: "Media Access
Mobile"

: This mobile technology enhances the user experience for multimedia presentations
at cultural institutions, museums, exhibits, or other venues by providing synchronized text for
people who are deaf or hard of hearing and synchronized audio description for people who
are blind or visually impaired.

Larry Goldberg

from the

WGBH National Center for
Accessible Media

accepted the award.
·

Civic Participation Solutions -- Prime III: A Universally Designed Voting Machine

:
This system allows people with visual, hearing, reading, or dexterity disabilities to privately
and independently vote using the same voting machine as everyone else.

Andrea Johnson

from the

Clemson University Human-Centered Computing Lab

accepted the award.
·

Education: College or University -- Project: Possibility SS12: Code for a Cause

: This
event educates computer science students about accessibility, making these students better
equipped to develop accessible technology solutions for people with disabilities. Accepting
the award:

Sean Goggin

from

Project

accepted the award.
·

Video Programming -- Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), and Society of Motion Picture and
Television Engineers (SMPTE)

:

AMI’s Described Video Guide

builds awareness about
video description while providing an accessible, aggregate daily list of described video
programming to enable individuals who are blind or visually impaired to plan their TV
viewing.

Robert Pearson

and

David Errington

accepted the award for

AMI

.

SMPTE’s
2052 suite of Standards and Recommended Practices for “SMPTE Timed Text”
(SMPTE-TT)

enable television content delivered over Internet protocol to retain closed
captions for the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Robert Seidel

accepted the award for

SMPTE

.
·

Geo-Location Services -- Tiramisu Transit

: This app, which intelligently crowd-sources
information on bus schedules, timing, and space availability, was written to be compliant
with accessibility guidelines of various platforms and is intended to benefit people with and
without disabilities.

Aaron Steinfeld

of

Tiramisu Transit

accepted the award.

Honorable mentions are:
·

Civic Participation -- Google+ Hangouts

: This program allows people who are deaf and
hard of hearing and who communicate in sign language to participate in multi-user video
chat while controlling whose screen they want to view.

Adrienne Biddings

from

Google

accepted the award.
·

Mobile Applications -- Virtual Braille Keyboard

: Developed by a team at Stanford
University, this technology innovation allows people who are blind or visually impaired to
use the Braille code for input on the touchscreen of a tablet or other mobile device,
allowing greater access to the world of apps for such individuals.

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Many of the winning projects will be displayed in the FCC’s Technology Experience Center
(http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/technology-experience-center) along with other cutting-edge
technologies that provide access to persons with disabilities, through Dec. 31, 2012.
For more information about the FCC, visit FCC.gov.

--FCC--

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