Accessibility Innovations - Google is releasing SignGemma, an open model for sign language understanding, focusing on American Sign Language (ASL) and English, with plans to translate other sign languages into spoken language text [1][2] - Android expands Gemini integration into TalkBack screen reader, providing AI-generated descriptions for images and the entire screen, enabling conversational questions and responses [4] - Expressive Captions on Android now capture the intensity and nuance of speech, including emphasis and sounds like whispering or yawning [5][6] - Pixel's Magnifier app introduces live search, highlighting matches on the screen and vibrating when something is found, aiding blind and low vision users [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, allowing screen readers to interact with them [11][12] - Chromebooks now offer the ability to turn off the touchpad and flash the screen for new notifications [12] - New Chromebook features cater to users with limited dexterity and/or tremors, including Bounce Keys, Slow Keys, and Mouse Keys [13] Workspace Enhancements - Workspace allows users to embed interactive Google Calendars into websites, with screen-reader compatibility, improved spacing, and responsive layout [14]

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]

同时，安卓的实时字幕功能Expressive Captions也进行了更新。该功能利用人工智能技术，不仅能捕捉说话内容，还能识别说话方式。谷歌注意到人们在表 达时有时会拖长声音，因此在"Expressive Captions"中新增了时长功能。通过这一功能，用户能够分辨出体育播音员是在激动地喊"精彩一击"，还是有人拉长 声音说"不——"。此外，实时字幕还将显示新的声音标签，如有人吹口哨或清嗓子时，字幕会相应标注，让用户更全面地感知对话场景。此更新将率先在美 国、英国、加拿大和澳大利亚推出，适用于运行Android 15及更高版本的设备。 【环球网科技综合报道】5月16日消息，据外媒报道，谷歌近日将为Android操作系统和Chrome浏览器推出一系列全新人工智能及辅助功能，旨在进一步提 升用户体验，尤其是为残障人士和有特殊需求的用户提供更多便利。 在安卓系统方面，屏幕阅读器TalkBack迎来重要升级。去年，谷歌已将Gemini人工智能功能引入TalkBack，使盲人或视力低下用户即便在图片缺乏Alt文本的 情况下，也能借助AI生成的描述了解图片内容。此次升级后，用户不仅能获取图片描述，还能针对图片内容提出具 ...