[NFBOK-Talk] Do you eat at Applebee's? New Accessibility Features Coming to PrestoPrime EMV System

[Jeannie Massay]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 


New Accessibility Features Coming to PrestoPrime EMV System


E la Carte, Applebee'sR Grill + Bar, National Federation of the Blind, and
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco Announce
Collaboration to Make In-Restaurant Table-top Tablets Accessible to Blind
Guests

Redwood City, Calif. (January 9, 2018): E la Carte
<https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9925&qid=2094787
> , Inc., creators of the PrestoPrimeT EMV SystemT for full-service
restaurants, and Applebee'sR Neighborhood Grill + Bar, announced today a
partnership with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and LightHouse
for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco to produce a
text-to-speech capability for the PrestoPrime EMV System that will be
incorporated into all current and future Presto tablets, including those
used in Applebee's Grill + Bar restaurants nationwide. This enhancement is a
result of collaboration among these organizations and several blind members
of the NFB in California to develop new functionality that enables blind
persons to interact with the Presto System.

The new Presto tablet functionality enables blind persons to independently
order menu items, pay their bills, and perform other functions using the
tablet that is provided for guests to enhance their in-restaurant dining
experience. By performing certain gestures, blind patrons can turn on the
text-to-speech capability of the tablets in order to access the new
functionality. In addition, blind patrons can take advantage of the audio
jack available on newer PrestoPrime EMV tablets to activate the
text-to-speech capability by simply plugging in a pair of headphones. The
audio jack on PrestoPrime EMV tablets can be found and identified by a
Braille tactile label located next to the jack.

E la Carte and Applebee's have been working with the National Federation of
the Blind and Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San
Francisco for the past several months to develop the new functionality,
which has been tested by blind consumers. This continued testing, and the
related feedback, will help E la Carte to fine-tune the technology to
provide a user-friendly experience for blind consumers that is similar to
other mobile and small screen device applications.

"Like many new technologies, the E la Carte system has the potential to
provide the blind with greater independence than ever before, since we will
now be able to access a restaurant's menu choices in the same way that other
customers do," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of
the Blind. "We therefore applaud E la Carte in its efforts to provide to
blind diners the same access to the Presto System that sighted persons
enjoy, while also helping the restaurants who deploy the system comply with
the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws."

"E la Carte is proud to have produced a PrestoPrime EMV user experience for
blind persons," said Rajat Suri, founder and CEO of E la Carte. "The
assistance we received from the National Federation of the Blind and
Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco was
invaluable to the achievement of a user experience that is familiar and
comfortable for blind users."

"We are thrilled with this outcome," said LightHouse CEO Bryan Bashin,
"Thanks to this collaboration, the E la Carte tablet will work for blind
people, not just at Applebee's, but at any restaurant that uses it. We hope
others will follow their lead."

The new accessibility functionality will be included as a standard part of
the Presto System and tablets and is available to all E la Carte customers.

Attorneys at Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP, Disability Rights Advocates, and
TRE Legal Practice helped facilitate this collaboration.

About E la Carte and PrestoPrime EMV System

E la Carte, developers of the PrestoPrime EMV tablet and PrestoPrime EMV
System, leads the table-top dining revolution with its guest-facing,
pay-at-the-table, e-commerce system. Installed in over 1,800 restaurants
across the nation, including Applebee's (a division of DineEquity,
NYSE:DINE) and selected Outback Steakhouse Restaurants (a division of
Bloomin' Brands, Inc., Nasdaq: BLMN), the Presto System enables restaurant
guests to take greater control over their dining experience by allowing them
to order from a full menu, play exciting interactive games, and pay their
bill directly from the table. The PrestoPrime EMV tablet also provides
operational and financial benefits to restaurant operators which drives
increased profitability, and unlocks restaurant data that was previously
inaccessible, enabling smarter decisions around guest satisfaction. E la
Carte's new dual processor, secure PrestoPrime EMV System is software
compatible with the current generation Presto System - more than 90,000 of
which are at work every day in more than 1,800 restaurants across the United
States - and includes twice the memory and four times the flash storage of
the current generation, and a securely partitioned payment module that
enables point-to-point encryption (P2PE) security, EMV, and multiple forms
of payment, including PIN-entry payment, Magstripe, and NFC capability for
contactless payment systems such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

About National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded
in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the
fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of
blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families
with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We
believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to
transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and
initiatives at www.nfb.org
<https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9733&qid=200
5373> 

About LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco

Founded in 1902, San Francisco's LightHouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired promotes the independence, equality and self-reliance of people who
are blind or have low vision. We offer blindness skills training and
relevant services such as access to employment, education, government,
information, recreation, transportation and the environment. We also pursue
the development of new technology, encourage innovation, and amplify the
voices of blind individuals around the world.

 




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