In Georgia, Center for People with Disabilities Doubles as Google User-Testing Hub

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google and other companies are using the Champions Place facility in Georgia for people with physical disabilities as a user-research center for incubating accessible products. Google said it has supplied the facility with hardware that provides residents with voice control over their environments, such as the Nest Hub Max, which users can command to operate items like blinds and doors. The company also has provided Liftware eating utensils for people with tremors and limited hand and arm movements, developed by Google parent Alphabet's Verily life-sciences division. Google also is providing certain residents with smart jackets that let wearers control smartphone applications by brushing a sensor woven into the cuff. Some facility residents are testing Project Euphonia, an effort to train voice-recognition technology to understand people with impaired speech.