Technology Access Program receives $4.625 million federal research grant to advance accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people

Christian Vogler, Director of the Technology Access Program and Professor in the School of Science, Technology, Accessibility. Mathematics, and Public Health (STAMP), and Abraham Glasser, Assistant Professor in STAMP, have received a grant of $4.625 million from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, NIDILRR grant number 90REGE0027. The funding spans five years.

Under this grant, Drs. Vogler and Glasser are co-directors for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (DHH-RERC), which addresses critical needs in immersive technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for deaf and hard of hearing people through research and development of novel technologies, advanced training and educational techniques, and dissemination strategies.

The long-term goal of the DHH-RERC is to investigate and develop solutions for immersive technologies and AI, directly tackling important use cases that are not being addressed adequately by mainstream technology companies. This goal is directly supported by four research and development projects:

• accessible augmented and virtual reality in education and workplace training,
• next-generation assistive listening technologies for museums and the performing arts,
• AI-based voice synthesis tailored toward the needs of DHH people, and
• key performance indicators for AI-based sign language technologies.

The DHH-RERC, under Gallaudet University's lead, involves multidisciplinary collaborations among researchers at Boston University, the University of Washington, the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Hearing Loss Association of America, and AppTek LLC.

According to Drs. Vogler and Glasser, the "RERC is staying true to 'nothing about us without us.'" Not only is every RERC activity directly informed by the lived experience of deaf and hard of hearing community members, but every project and supporting activity in the DHH-RERC also consists of deaf or hard of hearing leadership and decision-making members. Dr. Vogler states that he is "especially looking forward to the training and mentoring of the next generation of deaf and hard of hearing researchers under this RERC."