News

On December 15, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) amended its rules to allow phone companies to replace support for TTY with support for real-time text (RTT). This caps a 15 year effort led by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access at the Trace Center and Gallaudet University. Adoption of RTT will make communication […]

Current and former students, staff, clients, colleagues, and friends gathered on July 8, 2016 at the UW Discovery Building and via teleconference to celebrate 45 years of work focused on technology and disability. David Kelso was recognized for his 43 years as the Trace Center’s technical director. Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden reviewed many of the […]

As of August 2016, the Trace Center is now a part of the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland in College Park. Trace Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden explained: “The Trace Center and the iSchool are a natural fit, with both deeply interested in human-computer interface, with interaction, including a special interest in […]

The Automated Personalization Computing Project (APCP), funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Education, will be the first large-scale deployment of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII). The GPII combines cloud computing, web, and platform services to make computers and online information and services available for people facing barriers to accessibility. […]

The European Commission awarded 7 million euros to a consortium of 25 members and collaborators in Europe, Canada, and the US to begin building and testing tools to facilitate creation and marketing of new access solutions in the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII). The Prosperity4all project complements the Trace Center’s current research and development projects. […]

A state of the science conference on the Cloud, Accessibility and the Future was held at the University of Wisconsin – Madison on September 21 and 22, 2013. The purpose of the conference was to gain a better understanding of current and emerging issues around digital inclusion and strategies for effectively addressing inclusion in our […]

Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden, Director of the Trace Center and Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) as well as Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Engineering, was named an HFES 2012 Fellow at the Opening Plenary Session of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, held in […]

The Trace Research & Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison received a prestigious award at the 13th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP 2012) from the Austrian Computer Society. The award, known as the Roland Wagner European Award for Computers Helping People with Special Needs, was presented to Dr. Gregg […]

Despite the rapid increase in access to and use of the Internet, barriers still exist for a wide variety of users: people with disabilities, people who are aging, and people who have literacy and digital-literacy challenges. Researchers in the US and abroad are working together to remove these barriers with a concept that is set […]

After getting a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from UW-Madison in 1968, Engelke began building and selling computers to campus researchers – until he recognized that deaf people could not use the telephone. Working in his basement in 1977, Engelke figured out how to build a miniature TTY (teletypewriter) inside the plastic housing […]

The Trace Center is one of the leaders in a new coalition that was awarded a $13 million, four-year grant by the European Commission. Titled CLOUD4All, the project launched in Madrid on November 1, 2011, and will be carried out by a coalition of 30 partners, including Microsoft, Mozilla, Phillips, eleven universities and research organizations, […]

On July 21, 2011, the FCC released the Report on Emergency Calling for Persons With Disabilities: Survey Review and Analysis. This report is the result of a national survey conducted by the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC). during April and May 2011. Trace Center staff provided support for data compilation and graphing of the results, […]

The Trace Center presented the 2011 Harry J. Murphy Catalyst Award to Klaus Miesenberger on March 15, 2011 at the opening session of CSUN’s 26th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, in San Diego, California. Dr. Miesenberger is professor of Human-Computer Interaction for People with Disabilities at the University of Linz, Austria. Professor […]

A new resource has been published on the Trace website to provide guidance for consumers and others concerned with making mass market cell phones more usable by people with disabilities and elders. Essentials for Cross-Disability Accessible Cell Phones suggests a minimum set of capabilities that mainstream phones could and should have, given today’s technology, to […]

Since 2004, the Experience Lab has been conducted as part of the UW-Madison’s pre-engineering Introduction to Engineering Design course. This one-hour lab provides an opportunity for each student to personally experience the impact that simple design changes can have on accessibility of everyday technology and other products. A poster session about the lab, developed by […]