When innovative technology meets great design, our lives can become more convenient. Samsung Newsroom spoke with inspiring people who use Samsung products and features to unlock new possibilities and enhance their lives.

Exploring the World Together

It is only natural for parents to want to share special moments together with their children, especially as they grow curious about the world and find joy in discovering new things. For parents with visual impairments, exploring the world with children requires a different approach.

“This is an apple, and this is a puppy.”

Children often point at objects they don’t know as they grow up and learn about their surroundings. With Bixby Vision for accessibility, parents with visual impairments can find out what their children are curious about as the device narrates for them. Even if parents aren’t able to see what’s in front of them, they can experience the world with their children through sound.

[Bixby Vision for Accessibility]

With an easy setup and simple interface, Bixby Vision vocally describes what it sees, helping people make sense of the world around them. Bixby Vision supports scene describer,¹ object identifier,² text reader and color detector.

* On smartphones and tablets: Settings → Accessibility → Spoken assistance → Bixby Vision for accessibility
** Service availability and content providers may vary by country, device, OS and One UI version.

Enjoying the World Together

Everyone is different — even members of the same family. For CODA³ families, hearing children converse with their parents who are deaf through sign language. As children grow up, parents want to learn more about what their children are experiencing and enjoying.

“Mom, look at that. Isn’t it funny?”

With Sign Language Zoom, it’s easier for CODA parents to better understand what their children are watching through a bigger sign language screen. Now, the entire family can enjoy their time in front of the TV and share even more laughter and joy together.

[Sign Language Zoom]

Sign Language Zoom automatically recognizes and enlarges the sign language area, enabling users who are deaf to see more detailed mouth and facial expressions. You can specify a sign language area and adjust the magnification by up to 200%. Users who are deaf or hard of hearing can also use this function to zoom in on a specific area of the screen, such as scores for sporting events or quiz programs.

* On TVs: Home → Menu → Settings → All settings → General & Privacy → Accessibility → Sign Language Zoom Settings
** Available on all Samsung Smart TVs released in 2021 or later.

Sharing With the World

Each and every one of us is different, with our physical abilities changing over time. Given the diverse range of experiences being lived by others around the world, it is important that everyone feels empowered to do what they want, meet who they want and live the life they want.

“I want to inspire people through social media.”

People with physical disabilities can seamlessly take, edit and share selfies on social media using the Assistant menu on Samsung smartphones or tablets. With the Assistant menu, everyone can use their personal devices to communicate and meet new friends.

[Assistant menu]

The Assistant menu lets you easily control your phone by simply tapping a shortcut icon to access hardware buttons, apps, features and other settings.

* On smartphones and tablets: Settings → Accessibility → Interaction and dexterity → Assistant menu

Staying in Tune With the World

For people who are deaf and hard of hearing, navigating the world can take a different shape. With this in mind, it’s important for them to receive everyday notifications in new ways.

“Light can become a language of its own.”

Light can help those who are deaf and hard of hearing receive the information they need in their day-to-day life. SmartThings uses lighting to notify users when someone’s at the door, when meals are ready or when the laundry is done. Light has become a way to communicate through SmartThings.

[SmartThings]

Sync your devices and appliances via the SmartThings app to control and get notifications about your air conditioner, washing machine, fridge and more.^* Then, connect partner products such as door sensors, lights and thermostats to automate and simplify your own day-to-day routine^** — like setting your smart light to dim or change colors once the laundry is done.

* To set notifications

• On smartphone and tablets: SmartThings app → Menu → Notifications → More (⋮) → Notification settings
• On TVs released in 2021 or later: SmartThings app → Settings → Notifications

TV notifications are limited to minimize any interruptions to the viewing experience.

** To set SmartThings routines

• SmartThings app → Automations → Add (+) Create routine
  

Possibilities Never Before Imagined

Samsung believes these stories can foster a world where all people benefit from the convenience enabled by technology.

Users with disabilities have utilized Samsung’s features in creative ways to enhance their lives — despite the fact that some functions were not originally designed as accessibility features. To this end, Samsung has provided new ways for users to interact with its products and services and has taken inspiration from real-life cases to develop stories with guidance from the Samsung Accessibility Committee⁴ and Samsung Family Supporters.⁵

Samsung hopes to continue creating accessible designs that unlock new possibilities so everyone will be empowered to lead meaningful, independent lives.

From the UX Team of the Corporate Design Center, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

* This article consists of stories based on interviews with people with disabilities and guidance from Samsung Family Supporters, an organization made up of Samsung employees and family members with disabilities.
** Illustrations by KIMUSTUDIO, an organization working with talented designers with developmental disabilities who create artistic pieces that challenge long-held stereotypes that have previously created prejudices in art.

¹ Scene describer mode currently supports English (US), French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish (Spain).
² Object identifier mode supports 54 languages, which are the same languages supported in the translation feature.
³ CODA is an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults, referring to children raised by at least one guardian who is deaf.
⁴ The Samsung Accessibility Committee works closely together with designers and developers to continuously improve the accessibility experience for all Samsung users.
⁵ Together with Samsung Family Supporters, consisting of Samsung employees and family members with disabilities, Samsung assesses the needs of users across the spectrum to create ease of use for all.

Following the first installment in our series on accessibility in Samsung TVs, Samsung Newsroom looked at the company’s exclusive accessibility features for those who are hard of hearing and the deaf.

Sign Language Zoom

Sign language is a language for the deaf that involves conveying the meaning of spoken language using hand gestures and movements. However, as the same gesture can convey different meanings depending on mouth shape and facial expression, all of these factors must be taken into consideration in order to understand the exact meaning.

Samsung TVs utilize the company’s proprietary AI algorithm to automatically recognize sign language and magnify the person performing it by 200%. Users can also manually choose an area onscreen to magnify and alter the magnification ratio to get a closer look at details such as the questions on a quiz program or the scoreboard at a sports event.

Separate Closed Caption

Broadcasters already provide closed captions for programs to help the deaf consume their content. However, on occasions when the TV program itself also displays captions, the two sets of words often overlap with one another, obscuring the subtitles for the deaf.

In this situation, the Separate Closed Caption feature is a great help. This feature allows the closed captions for the deaf to be viewed in a separate area from the captions on the TV program. Users can additionally change the background and text colors for the closed captions in order to further raise visibility.

Multi-output Audio

When watching TV with friends or family, those who are hard of hearing may need the volume to be turned up louder than the other viewers. To ensure everyone can enjoy the content at the appropriate volume level for them, Samsung offers the Multi-output Audio feature on its TVs.

With the Multi-output Audio feature, those who are hard of hearing can utilize a Bluetooth device to listen to the audio at their desired volume without affecting the viewing experiences of the other viewers. Bluetooth devices can be connected directly to the TV, then the user can set their own volume levels through the Bluetooth device.

In pursuit of its ‘Screens for All’ vision, Samsung will continue to work and innovate to ensure that Samsung TVs provide an enjoyable viewing experience for all.