AI for Accessibility
A Microsoft grant program that harnesses the power of AI to amplify human capability for the more than one billion people around the world with a disability.
Technology
Get access to our cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) platform to create and test new AI applications for people with disabilities.
Knowledge
Consult with our engineers to accelerate the development of your ideas and extend the impact of your solution.
Partnership
We will ensure organizations maximize the accessibility of their offerings and create empowering experiences for people with disabilities.
A world of opportunities
There are many ways to cultivate intelligent experiences for people with disabilities. AI for Accessibility will focus on three areas:
Employment
According to the US Office of Disability Employment Policy, the unemployment rate is twice as high for people with disabilities. AI can help people develop professional skills and influence workplace culture and inclusive hiring.
Daily life
AI is capable of hearing, seeing, and reasoning with increasing accuracy. By making software and devices smarter, and keeping them affordable, people gain independence to perform daily tasks and personalize tools for their unique needs.
Communication and connection
Equal access to information and opportunity requires communication. Technology can create possibilities for all people, regardless of how they listen, speak, or write.
Experience AI in action
Check out some of the ways AI is being used to empower people with disabilities.
Seeing AI
A free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the low vision community, this research project harnesses the power of AI to describe people, text, and objects.
Helpicto
Equadex partnered with Microsoft to develop a pictogram app for children who are nonverbal. Helpicto uses speech-to-text to generate sentences and leverages language understanding to categorize keywords.
Microsoft Translator
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is using custom speech models and Microsoft Translator to improve accuracy of real-time captions for students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
