"People with disabilities become an inspiration." Google opens a new center in Warsaw

We enter and see a special table. We invite you to this space to solve problems related to accessibility together with people with disabilities and representatives of organizations - Olga Sztuba from Google Polska describes in an interview with RMF FM reporter Michał Dobrołowicz.

The science goes both ways here. People with disabilities become an inspiration for engineers and experts in modern technologies. I have a grandmother with a visual impairment and I observe how three changes to simple settings in the browser make the life of a person with such a problem better and easier - adds Piotr Rudnicki, one of the leaders of the new center.

People with disabilities interviewed by our reporter point out that they are waiting for improvements in using mobile phones and computers without having to touch the equipment.

We would like to make it easier to control the devices with our eyes or facial expressions, admits Mrs. Bogumiła, who uses a wheelchair and wears a hearing aid.

The full name of the new center in Warsaw is Accessibility Discovery Center. There you can test solutions supporting vision, hearing, motor skills, communication and cognitive functions. This includes: tools using AI or computer control using head movements and facial expressions.

Guided Frame with technology from Google DeepMind on Pixel devices uses voice prompts, audio signals and vibrations to help position the camera when taking a photo. After taking a photo, a person using TalkBack can receive a description of what is in the frame generated using Gemini models and then ask additional questions about the photo.

Another technology useful for people with disabilities is Live Caption for Calls. It allows you to use subtitles during phone calls. Another solution, Look to Speak, allows you to visually select words and phrases displayed on the screen, which the device then reads aloud.