Google Maps now helps visually impaired people cross the street and stay on course
/Using voice directions.
Read MoreGoogle collects face data now. Here's what it means and how to opt out
/The new Face Match technology isn't everywhere yet, but it's always looking. Find out what's happening with your face data and what you can do to stop it.
New voices at patients’ bedsides: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple
/At first it was a novelty: Hospitals began using voice assistants to allow patients to order lunch, check medication regimens, and get on-demand medical advice at home.
How to Find Google's New Built-In Breathing Exercise
/The TechWatch editors have selected this news item because it is analogous to our LiveWell development project BreatheWell Wear. We hope you can try out both BreatheWell Wear and Google's web-based breathing exercise.
Read MoreApple, Microsoft and Google join forces to create a universal standard for braille displays→
/A substantial move for technology accessibility was made today as the non-profit USB Implementer Forum (USB-IF) announced a new standard for braille displays – underpinned by an agreement between major tech companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft. The standard will make it much easier to use braille displays across different devices
Read MorePatents hold clues about Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft plans for healthcare
/A brief look at what hospitals should know about the many hundreds of patents tech giants have filed relative to health IT.
Read MoreVision-Focused Accessibility Efforts Made by Apple, Amazon, and Others Highlighted in New Report
/A new article published last night by The Wall Street Journal takes a look into how accessibility-focused technology has the "potential to fundamentally change the mobility, employment and lifestyle of the blind and vision-impaired."
Read MoreAlibaba challenges Google, Amazon with new Echo-like device
/The competition in digital speaker-assistants is getting more intense, as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. unfurled an Amazon Echo-like device and fellow Chinese internet giants Tencent and Baidu prepare to develop their own.
Read More21st Century Medicine: Where Big Tech Is Placing Bets In Healthcare
/Tech has already had a major impact on the healthcare industry in areas such as medical record systems, connected medical devices, telemedicine software, and a growing number of digital therapeutics startups that help patients manage chronic conditions at home. And over the last few years, the largest tech companies in the world have begun to bolster both internal development of healthcare products as well as their private market activity in the health sector.
Read MoreVerily announces the Study Watch, a research focused smartwatch Study Watch
/Verily recently announced the launch of a new smartwatch called the Study Watch that will be focused on use in medical research studies.
Read MoreMobile technology trends to watch out for in 2017
/Like it or hate it, 2016 was a turbulent year that provided a clear message: Our phones enable fantastic and fast communication. Here are 10 predictions about mobile technology trends in 2017, counting down to the most significant change to look out for.
Read MoreThe Subtle Ways Your Digital Assistant Might Manipulate You
/TODAY WE GOOGLE for information, but in the future, we might not need to. Instead we may rely on our butler, namely the intelligent, voice-activated digital assistant on our smart phones, smart watches, or devices like Amazon’s Echo and Alphabet’s Home. Rather than searching the web, we’ll be able to ask our digital assistant how to remove the stain from our shirt. It’ll perform other perfunctory tasks, like adding groceries to our shopping list, checking the weather, sending a text, or ordering an Uber.
Read MoreGoogle moves into hardware production with smartphone and other devices
/SAN FRANCISCO — Software giant Google is beginning an aggressive foray into hardware production with the launch Tuesday of a smartphone and other devices that will bring the company into direct competition with other leading tech firms, including its longtime partner Samsung.
Read MoreHow tech companies are making their apps more accessible to the disabled
/Last football season, Yahoo's Darren Burton did something he'd never done before: He commissioned a fantasy football league. That may not sound like a particularly impressive feat to you, but for Burton, navigating lists of players, stats, and scores is a unique challenge, because he is blind.
Read MoreGoogle Home Is Cool, But Catching Up to Amazon Echo Won’t Be Easy
/Google Home makes one heck of a first impression: An adorable little Bluetooth speaker, with a hyper-advanced personal assistant that promises to do things Amazon’s Echo can’t even dream of. You can even choose the color.
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