The Panasonic Group of Companies has Usability Centers throughout the world. In 1990, the scope of the Usability Centers was expanded to include accessibility concerns. In addition, multinational Task Forces empowered to work throughout the Panasonic Group of Companies were established in 1998 to ensure that accessible features and services continue to be developed and implemented worldwide. Synergy between the Usability Centers and Task Forces keeps our Accessibility goals sharply in focus.

The other key to successfully achieving our goals is the strength of our research and development (R&D) capabilities. Having helped lead the way in the development of DVD, SD Memory Cards, DTV and other important technology, the R&D centers of the Panasonic Group of Companies are working to make emerging technologies accessible, and to develop new technologies that aim to further enable and encourage employment, independence, and enhanced entertainment experiences for people with disabilities. Here are a few examples of activity at our labs:

Panasonic AVC American Laboratories are working to make sure that Digital TV will have enhanced captioning display capabilities.

Panasonic Information and Networking Technologies Laboratory is working on advanced applications to enable the remote control and interface of everyday devices and appliances.

Panasonic Speech Technology Laboratory has developed text to speech and speech recognition technology that we hope will evolve into the development of truly universally accessible user interfaces for many types of products.