IDEAL Group Acquisitions and Technology Transfers
IDEAL Group has transformed into a corporation that prioritizes both its business goals and its commitment to social responsibility and philanthropy. Throughout its evolution from IDEAL at AT&T and AT&T Project Freedom to IDEAL at NCR Corporation, IDEAL Group has emerged as a pioneering leader in the creation of accessibility applications and services.
IDEAL’s applications have reached a remarkable milestone, boasting over 35 million installations in more than 150 countries. All of IDEAL’s products and services are provided to users at no cost. Over the past 12 years, IDEAL’s developments led to acquisitions by Sprint, Yahoo, Amazon, Samsung, Google, a major healthcare provider, and 24 global wireless carriers as follows:
- Developed the first Video Relay Service Technology (Known as VRS today) between 1993-1994[i],[ii]. It was acquired by Sprint 1n 1995.[iii],[iv]
- IDEAL Group developed the first interactive, fully-accessible, self-voicing kiosks for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, in January 2000, that documented “The Disability Rights Movement[v].
- IDEAL Group facilitated Google’s development of the first, standardized. onscreen talking KB for Android in 2011[vi]in support of IDEAL’s Tactile Onscreen Keyboard, Screen Protector®. IDEAL Group Developed the first tele-medicine app called TeleDroid® in 2011 that was acquired by a major healthcare provider.[vii]
- Samsung acquired[viii]IDEAL Near Field Communication (NFC) Tec-Tiles®[ix] in January, 2012. The self-voicing NFC Tags were designed to control mobile devices
- In 2012, IDEAL Group developed Accessibility ID Packs acquired by 24 mobile carriers worldwide, broadening the scope of mobile accessibility.[x]This initiative significantly expanded the mobile offerings available to users, emphasizing the importance of accessibility in the digital age.[xi]
- IDEAL Currency ID[xii],[xiii],[xiv]introduced advanced image recognition technology that was acquired by Yahoo in August, 2013[xv]
- IDEAL eBook Reader introduced advanced multilingual speech technology[xvi]that was acquired by Amazon, on January 24, 2013[xvii]
In addition, IDEAL developed and open sourced many accessibility utilities that were integrated, as standard features, into Google’s Android Operating System. These innovations included the first, fully accessible, self-voicing SMS messaging feature in October, 2010[xviii], virtual assistant in December, 2010[xix], multilingual eBook reader, in November 2012[xx], Magnification app in May 9, 2011[xxi], and a standalone talking eBook reader on Aug 8, 2012[xxii]
IDEAL Group’s Source Code Repositories:
https://ideal-group.org/?p=2451
References:
[i] Vistium® AT&T Project Freedom First Video Relay Service Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRQKWIarEQM
[ii] Reid Huntt (Chairman of the FCC at the time) and Steve Jacobs demonstrating the video system to FCC Commissioners
http://www.ideal-group.org/initiatives/Reid_Huntt.jpg
[iii] 1995 flyer announcing the pilot test: http://www.ideal-group.org/initiatives/sprint.jpg
[iv] 1995 GA-SK Newsletter article about Sprint’s pilot test:
http://www.ideal-group.org/initiatives/ga-sk.jpg
[v] https://ideal-group.org/smithsonian-kiosk/
[vi] IDEAL’s Tactile Onscreen Keyboard, Screen Protector®: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg8uSajkgGg
[vii] TeleDroid® Tele-Medicine Application
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VWiHLLnFfk
Video-2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpq08ictqB0
Med-e-Tel 2016 Electronic Proceedings of The International eHealth, Telemedicine and Health ICT Forum for Educational, Networking and Business
https://www.isfteh.org/files/media/Electronic_Proceedings_of_Med-e-Tel_2016.pdf
[viii] Samsung acquisition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JML_Ah2wDNs
[ix] IDEAL Tec Tiles®: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhOWyLujGxg
[x] https://ideal-group.org/?p=2448
[xi] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120109006634/en/Apps4Android-Expands-Mobile-Offerings-with-the-Launch-of-Five-Free-Accessibility-Sprint-ID-Packs
[xii] IDEAL Currency Identifier® IDEAL Currency Identifier® video 1: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lDpbMfwXnwE
[xiii] IDEAL Currency Identifier® IDEAL Currency Identifier® video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhEhrOg5Q6I
[xiv] IDEAL Currency Identifier® BEP News Release: https://www.bep.gov/services/currency-accessibility/mobile-applications
[xv] Image recognition technology (IDEAL Currency Identifier®) acquired by Yahoo: https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/23/yahoo-acquires-image-recognition-startup-iq-engines/
[xvi] English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9wJr8XfgKE
[xvii] Amazon Acquisition: https://press.aboutamazon.com/2013/1/amazon-com-announces-acquisition-of-ivona-software
[xviii] IDEAL SM Speaker® in October 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPK96TPN4j8.
[xix] IDEAL Ask Eindroid® in December 2010:
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eNPjgu0t2E
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOUSn_NF7w
[xx] Mandarin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53crQVLkX2M November 26, 2012
Polish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMC4g4MYEvU
Swedish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyGbDvsn-1Q
Finnish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C4sJkusM_M
[xxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o9upm-zSUM
[xxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D35p33XLd2M
