IBM Press Release
Published August 2004
IBM wins Best New Ability Research Award
The IBM Accessibility Center was honored with the Best New Ability Research Award for IBM ViaScribe™ speech-to-text technology and Web adaptation technology from the New Freedom Foundation. The nonprofit World Ability Federation aims to inspire the creation of new abilities and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities through educational programs, public awareness campaigns, research grants and scholarships.
Web adaptation technology enables thousands of current pilot users to change the way content on a Web page is presented to them, allowing them to specify anything from larger fonts to more space between words. The technology can also speak Web content aloud.
IBM, in partnership with eight universities, is testing its ViaScribe speech-to-text technology which uses speech recognition software to provide real-time captioning of classroom lectures. ViaScribe provides the benefit of dual modality—both seeing and hearing the lecture.
Program Director of Infrastructure and Accessibility Simon Cooper accepted the award for the Accessibility Center at a ceremony in Chicago on Friday, July 30. Winning the Best New Ability Research Award emphasizes IBM's leadership in accessibility and the interest in IBM Research technologies that have real-world applicability.