Amazon Alexa revolutionises accessibility
The Barrier
Amazon’s voice-activated virtual assistant Alexa has proven to enhance life at home for people with blindness or low vision. In fact, 60 percent of Guide Dogs Clients prefer to access information through Alexa over other channels, with half of Clients accessing information more frequently because of this audio-only tech.
But Clients in the blindness community couldn’t all get the hardware for themselves, while some didn’t know it existed and how it could make their lives easier.
The Solution
Amazon Alexa teamed with Guide Dogs to launch a pilot Alexa program for the blindness and low vision community, getting more ‘Dots’ into their homes and teaching the community how the technology could streamline their lives, while raising awareness about the importance of accessibility technology.
“Every partnership also helps us to learn more about the needs of different communities and further enhance what Alexa has to offer,” said Country Manager of Amazon Alexa, Kate Burleigh.
How we did it
Guide Dogs is now underway with its Alexa install program, gifting Clients an Echo Dot, along with home installation and education, with the option for participants to self-fund additional smart home devices such as a robo-vacuum. We have also launched a Guide Dogs for Alexa skill within the software, which provides voice access to new information about Guide Dogs services, a calendar of upcoming accessible events and, for Clients seeking further support, ability to request a call back.
Since discovering Alexa during the pilot program, Guide Dogs Client Abby has enjoyed using her voice to access the Guide Dogs newsletter, play rain sounds as part of her bedtime routine and complete a guided HIIT workout everyday via the seven-minute workout skill.
And for Guide Dogs Client Gavan, Alexa is a tool of convenience – whether using it to turn on his coffee machine from bed, listen to the news in the shower or to talk to his Ring doorbell. For Gavan, it’s as simple as listening for the audible chime from his Echo Dot, then saying “Alexa, talk to front door” to communicate with his visitors.
Alongside Amazon, we are continuing to invest in the platform and are now working on new capabilities to further improve the customer experience for our Clients.
Join us in the search for a boundless world
We’ve heard from the low vision and blindness community what barriers they’d like to see removed in the world around us. Now we’re working with values-driven brands who can help create the solution.
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