Digital accessibility platform AudioEye has debuted a new community-based initiative to being people with disabilities into the product development and quality assurance process.
AudioEye offers a web accessibility platform leveraging automation to find potential issues from billions of data points, as well as automatic fixes and continual monitoring for compliance.
“The field of digital accessibility continues to advance at a rapid rate, and now more than ever, it’s crucial to ensure that the products we are developing work for the community that we are here to serve,” said Dominic Varacalli, COO of AudioEye.
“We’re proud to announce the launch of the AudioEye A11iance, which will provide income opportunities to people with disabilities and allow them to make key contributions to our product roadmap so that we can continue to deliver top experiences to our clients.”
The new initiative ensures human feedback from those who rely on assistive technology is part of the loop, helping people with disabilities to navigate the web more naturally – whether for employment, education, ecommerce or entertainment.
“I had an amazing moderated experience and felt welcomed and listened to. I know my feedback is valuable to the team,” said Justin, an AudioEye A11iance member who uses NVDA screen reading technology. “I hope to work further on any projects such as this one, as I enjoy making web experiences inclusive and accessible to all. AudioEye is accessibility through a different mindset.”
The company framed the move as part of its mission to create equal access for all.
“2020 was a year that forced massive adoption of online behaviours in a hurry,” said Varacalli. “Now is the time to have critical conversations surrounding the role of technology in making the web accessible and enhancing the digital experience for people with disabilities. 97% of the internet is still not accessible, and creating an understanding between ourselves and the key members of the disabled community will allow us all to cut that number down at a much faster pace.”
