Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


IBM Researching Mobile Device Accessibility with Universities

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/15/10

IBM will be working with two universities to explore the creation of an open, common user interface platform for mobile devices. The software developed by IBM, the National Institute of Design of India in Bangalore, and the University of Tokyo's RCAST, the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, will be made available as open source.

The new research partnership is part of the company's Collaborative Research Initiatives program. One of the goals of the most recent effort is to figure out how illiterate or elderly populations can use their mobile devices to exploit the information and services available to Internet users.

"Through this collaborative research initiative, we will uncover real information accessibility requirements and issues that the elderly and people in developing economies are facing today," said Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow and chief technology officer of IBM's accessibility research. "By focusing on mobile devices, which have a tremendous potential to empower them, we believe the findings will help us offer affordable services to a large population who are still deprived of access to key information sources."

"By bringing IBM's deep knowledge in mobile Web and [our] interface design and ethnological expertise, this initiative is aimed to develop inclusive technologies and help the underprivileged improve their lives," added Jignesh Khakhar of India's National Institute of Design.

IBM researchers in Tokyo and the human information engineering research team, led by Tohru Ifukube of the U Tokyo Research Center will focus their efforts on Japan's elderly population to investigate and determine real-life requirements of elderly people when using mobile devices.

"New technologies and various new services will continue to emerge, and mobile devices will become a window of opportunity for us to engage with information anytime anyplace," said Ifukube. "With IBM's expertise in accessibility technologies and mobile Web technologies, coupled with our expertise in five-senses communication and interface design expertise of [the National Institute of Design of India], we are looking forward to developing inclusive technologies for [the] elderly population to help improve quality of life."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract colored blocks

    OpenAI Drops Sora Short-Form AI Video Platform

    OpenAI is reportedly dropping Sora, its generative AI model that creates short video clips from text prompts, images, or existing video inputs. The move upends the company's December partnership with The Walt Disney Company.

  • digital lock on a virtual background

    Encryptionless Extortion on the Rise as Ransomware Groups Shift Tactics

    Ransomware attacks continued to climb in 2025 as attackers increasingly timed operations around year-end staffing gaps and shifted away from traditional file encryption, according to new research from NordStellar.

  • glowing brain above stacked coins

    The Higher Ed Playbook for AI Affordability

    Fulfilling the promise of AI in higher education does not require massive budgets or radical reinvention. By leveraging existing infrastructure, embracing edge and localized AI, collaborating across institutions, and embedding AI thoughtfully across the enterprise, universities can move from experimentation to impact.

  • A man stands at the threshold of a wide open door, looking outward into a glowing, abstract digital landscape filled with light and network‑like patterns

    Shadow AI Isn't a Threat: It's a Signal

    Unofficial AI use on campus reveals more about institutional gaps than misbehavior.