Google Assistant makes voice features more accessible for people with disabilities

Google announced a new collaboration with Tobii Dynavox, a Swedish technology maker that brings Google Assistant to Dynavox’s devices and mobile apps. This partnership enables easy access to Google Assistant and all its functionalities, such as smart home control and enjoying entertainment for people with disabilities.

Google Assistant is now integrated into Tobii Dynavox’s communication software Snap Core First, which supports people with disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, and ALS with a means to communicate.

The company has worked with Dynavox to integrate Google Assistant into the latter’s Snap Core First software. Snap Core is a symbol-based application that enables the communicatively impaired to communicate using simple, icon-like pictures similar to PECS. But it isn’t only for communication—this new functionality also allows Dynavox users to control their smart home setup and more using Google’s venerable digital assistant, stated in Google’s blog post.

“I love using my Google Nest Mini to control my home environment, access all kinds of information, and to play my music. The integration into Snap Core First makes it so easy for me, and it is the best home assistant I have ever used,” said Becky Tyler, an avid gamer and YouTuber with cerebral palsy.

According to Praveen Chandran, product manager, Google Assistant has always been designed with accessibility in mind and to help everyone be more independent at home. You can find the series of how-to videos with visual and audible directions created for the accessibility community to get the most out of Google Assistant.

Source: Google and Disability Insider