Accessibility case studies

Featured accessibility case studies

On this page you'll find a library of Hewlett-Packard case studies detailing services, products, and end-to-end solutions that help people with disabilities or age-related limitations.

HP Assistive Technology partners case studies

DURATEQ assists Disney guests with hearing and visual disabilities

Disney engineers wanted to develop an assistive device for guests to use at Disney Parks that was easy to carry, could withstand rain and falls onto concrete, and ran all day without the battery running out. They accomplished this by collaborating with HP and Softeq Development Corporation to build the DURATEQ based on the HP iPAQ PDA.

» See Softeq PDF for more details

ViewPlus combines Braille and print

ViewPlus teamed up with HP to combine HP color inkjet printing technology with advanced paper embossing technology to produce raised color text and graphics, making it possible for people who are sighted and visually impaired, or have learning disabilities, to collaborate on the same document, communicate more effectively and develop better comprehension and learning.

» See ViewPlus PDF for more details

Mobile Speak Pocket

HP iPAQ and Mobile Speak Pocket make technology accessible for visually impaired people. “With Mobile Speak Pocket (MSP), I can browse the Internet, send and receive emails, chat with my friends on MSN messenger, and stream audio and video from my PC to my HP iPAQ . . “ says Tim Johnson, who lost his sight due to Marfans Syndrome, but went on to achieve an accounting degree.

» See Mobile Speak Pocket PDF for more details

One Write Company

Developed by One Write Company, the Cyrano Communicator - based on the HP rx3715 iPAQ Mobile Media Companion - helps persons with speech impairments lead more active lives. The device is especially helpful to people with autism, a group with speech impairments that was not helped by earlier assistive technologies. The HP Developer & Solution Partner Program assisted One Write in developing the Cyrano, and HP is helping introduce the product to the assistive technology market.

» See One Write Company PDF for more details

Freedom Scientific

Florida-based Freedom Scientific is an HP accessibility partner that develops and manufactures tools that help people who are blind or have low vision to work on the same competitive level with people who have average eyesight. Using the HP iPAQ Pocket PC as a model of functionality, the company created the PAC Mate, the world's first wireless Pocket PC handheld computer for people who are blind or have low vision. Other Freedom Scientific products include JAWS® for Windows, the world's best-selling screen-reading software, Braille 'n Speak, a note-taking device with Braille key input and speech or data output, MAGic screen magnification, Connect Outloud web access software and OpenBook, scanning software that "reads" documents aloud.

Keybowl, Inc.

Designed for people with limited or no motion in their fingers or hands, carpal tunnel syndrome or an upper extremity disability, the orbiTouch Keyless Keyboard from Keybowl, Inc., is the first keyboard to use the power of the hand and arm instead of the fingers to allow a person to type.

» Read how the Disability Network uses HP desktop PCs and orbiTouch keyless keyboards

HumanWare

HumanWare, the company created through the merger of VisuAide and Pulse Data, released an integration of Trekker and Maestro. Trekker operates on the HP iPAQ Pocket PC and is the leading standalone GPS orientation solution for the blind. Maestro also uses the HP iPAQ Pocket PC platform, and is the first off-the-shelf accessible mainstream handheld PC for blind and visually impaired people. Both solutions are now available in one integrated package.

See the HumanWare PDF for more details.

Other accessibility case studies

Nonprofit uses HP products to help millions who are blind or with low vision

Lighthouse International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people who are blind or partially sighted overcome the challenges of vision loss. HP helped them select HP products that fit its budget while maintaining performance and reliability. Business benefits include improved client service, better value for donor dollars, dependable network service, and enhanced research capabilities

» Read more about how Lighthouse International uses HP products

HP Volunteers, equipment keep Special Olympics running

Nagano, Japan, played host to the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games. At the heart of it all, HP employee volunteers and equipment helped Nagano extend its warm hospitality to visitors from around the world. HP equipment kept the heart of the games beating, whether staff was checking an athlete's identification, classifying an athlete for a competition, or entering competition scores. HP also contributed its most precious asset to keep the games going - employees who wanted to be volunteers.

» Read more about HP and the Special Olympics

HP Tablet PC makes creative classroom application possible

A class facilitator at the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) now uses voice recognition software on HP's tablet PC to provide real-time dictation to her hearing-impaired students. WWBIC is a non-profit organization and was the recipient of an HP Micro Enterprise Acceleration Program grant in 2004.

» Read the thank you letter HP received for making a tablet PC that can uses this amazing technology to help deaf students.

ClimbingBlind Tibet exposition uses HP technology

Mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer chronicles the ClimbingBlind Himalayan adventure with HP technology. Weihenmayer's mission: Train a group of local students for an expedition in late September 2004 to the summit of Lhakpa Ri -- a spectacular, 23,000-foot (7,000 meter) Himalayan peak just north of Mount Everest. The difference between this Himalayan adventure and others? Weihenmayer and the six Tibetan teens he will lead are blind. By donating three Photosmart digital cameras, an iPAQ Pocket PC, a ruggedized notebook computer and cash to the project, HP is helping to spread this story of courage, strength and hope.

» Read more about ClimbingBlind

Ability House uses HP products to help man paralyzed from gunshot wound

Volunteers with all ranges of disabilities recently united at a Birmingham home site to build an ABILITY House for a Derrick Daniels, a person who has quadriplegia. An ABILITY House is an affordable, accessible home built for a low-income family where one or more members has a disability. Birmingham Habitat for Humanity, ABILITY Magazine, and BellSouth teamed up to build the home and awareness in a five-day blitz. The house includes an HP Pavilion Media Center PC with a 17" flat screen monitor, an HP printer-copier-scanner all-in-one, and an HP Photosmart digital camera. HP products incorporate accessibility features, including special keystrokes which are compatible with assistive technology devices and applications. Experts from BellSouth and HP recommended the most appropriate types of assistive technology included throughout the home.

» Read more about ABILITY House
» Behind the scenes at ABILITY house

Southwest Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Southwest Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SWCDHH) supports programs serving the deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing community in the seven counties surrounding Vancouver, Washington. The recipient of an HP CTC grant in 2003, the SWCDHH Technology Center is now offering technology and specialized computer literacy training for the hearing-impaired community.

» Read more about SWCDHH

HP Assistive Technology Partners Program (HPATP)

HP partners with assistive technology vendors, assisting them with development of their solutions on HP technology.

HP Feature Story

See how HP products are helping people with disabilities.