Research

 Designers and engineers utilize personas and user profiles to give life and substance to user research findings. The pace of development and diffusion of mobile wireless technologies make modeling of consumer profiles ever more critical, especially for people with disabilities, for whom mobile technology can be either empowering or disenfranchising. Fueled by global competition and government policy in the US and elsewhere, inclusive design has become a priority for wireless device...

People with disabilities have benefited from the use of assistive technologies that compensate for, or augment functioning.  Socially assistive robots (SAR) both assist with functioning, and engage users socially, often as service, co- robots and companions.  Trends in networked learning communities suggest that membership and rules of exchange will define function, engagement and experiences.  Future communities will likely be...

Advancements in wireless technology (e.g. cell phones and tablets) have opened new communication opportunities and environments for individuals with severe communication disabilities. The advancement of these technologies poses challenges to ensuring that these individuals enjoy equal access to this increasingly essential technology. However, a paucity of research exists.   These wireless devices offer substantial benefits and opportunities to individuals with disabilities who rely on...

The Wireless RERC's State of Technology (SoT) Project Team filed comments on May 14, 2010 in response to the FCC notice:  Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Seeks Informal Comment Regarding Revisions to the FCC's Part 11 Rules Governing the Emergency Alert System Pending Adoption of the Common Alerting Protocol by the Federal Emergency Management Agency [EB Docket No. 04-296].

Comments emphasized the importance of including information for people with disabilities...

The State of Technology (SoT) Project of the Wireless RERC filed comments on February 18, 2010, in the FCC’s Second Further Notice of Proposed In the Matter of Review of the Emergency Alert System [EB Docket No. 04-296]. The FCC sought comment on revising Part 11 rules governing EAS to allow for periodic testing of EAS on a national scale. Though EAS was created to be a national alerting system, providing the president the capability to reach all US citizens simultaneously, it has never been...

Helena Mitchell and Frank Lucia, WEC co-project directors, visited Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2011 for a series of meetings with FEMA (Office of Disability Integration and Coordination and IPAWS) and the FCC (Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau).

Recently published in the February 2013 issue of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation published by the journal for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), this Emergency Preparedness Checklist for People with Disabilities Information and Education Page was created by Wireless RERC researcher, John Morris and Wireless RERC co-director, Mike Jones.