What’s New in Google Accessibility | Episode 9

Accessibility Innovations - Google is releasing SignGemma, an open model for sign language understanding, initially focusing on American Sign Language (ASL) and English, with the potential for community-driven adaptation to other sign languages [1][2] - Android's TalkBack screen reader now integrates Gemini to provide AI-generated descriptions of the entire screen, enabling conversational follow-up questions [4] - Expressive Captions on Android now capture the intensity and nuance of speech, including drawn-out sounds and subtle vocalizations like whispering and yawning [5][6] - The Pixel's Magnifier app introduces live search, allowing blind and low-vision users to type what they're looking for and receive real-time highlights and vibrations when matches are found [6][7] - Project Astra Visual Interpreter, in collaboration with Aira, is being tested to provide real-time descriptions of surroundings for blind and low-vision users, supervised by live Aira agents [8][9][10] Chrome and Chromebook Updates - Chrome now supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for scanned PDFs, enabling screen readers to interact with the text [11][12] - Chromebooks now offer the ability to turn off the touchpad, flash notifications for new alerts, and features like Bounce Keys, Slow Keys, and Mouse Keys to assist users with limited dexterity and/or tremors [12][13] Workspace Enhancements - Google Workspace allows users to embed interactive, screen-reader compatible Google Calendars into websites, featuring improved spacing, responsive layouts, and keyboard shortcut navigation [14]