[Nfbf-l] GE Works with Kentucky School for the Blind to Design Braille Kit for Electric Range
Alan Dicey
adicey at bellsouth.net
Sun Mar 22 15:20:45 UTC 2015
Dear Friends,
I thought some would find this useful.
It is refreshing to see a large corporation working with the Blind to design
accessible household appliances.
GE Works with Kentucky School for the Blind to Design Braille Kit for
Electric Range
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - March 19, 2015 - The simplicity of GE's ArtistryT Series
of appliances-an affordable suite of appliances targeted to first-time
homebuyers and Millennials-lends itself to a unique market segment: the
visually impaired.
Working with students from the Kentucky School for the Blind, GE engineers
and designers in Louisville, Kentucky developed an accessory kit of braille
overlays for the new Artistry electric range controls that helps the
visually impaired use its cooktop and oven functions.
According to an American Foundation for the Blind article, stoves are the
least accessible class of appliances.
Many ranges today have smooth, push buttons on a back control panel. The
ADA-compliant Artistry range offers front-control knobs that are within
reach, and a straightforward design that lends itself to a braille accessory
kit for the blind or visually impaired.
"Both my parents taught special education," says Lee Lagomarcino, a GE
product manager who initially championed the project and observed Kentucky
School for the Blind students interacting with ranges. "As we developed the
Artistry electric range, we knew its simplicity made it more universally
appealing and ideal for a braille application."
High, low and off heat settings were added to the braille overlay on GE's
ArtistryT range controls to help the visually impaired use the cooktop
functions.
Student input leads to product concept
Students from the Kentucky School for the Blind helped the GE team determine
what was needed - a high, medium and low heat setting for the cooktop, and a
low, 350 degree and broil option for the oven.
With those readily accessible features to serve as a baseline, the oven can
be adjusted to a recipe as needed.
A focus group of students at the school came up with ways to make ranges
more user friendly - using puffy paint and brightly contrasting colors to
showcase their ideas. GE took those ideas and turned them into the
custom-designed Braille kit.
Students also tested the initial designs for ease of use.
Kentucky School for the Blind Program Coordinator Paula Penrod said, "Many
times, manufacturers will introduce a new product, then seek comments from
consumers with disabilities. Consumers who are blind and visually impaired
have unique needs when using appliances. By working with GE during the
production stage, our students were able to demonstrate the type of Braille
modifications that would be most helpful.
We appreciate GE for seeking our students' input on the front end of GE's
Artistry range project."
As a thank you to the Kentucky School for the Blind and its students for
their help, GE donated a full suite of Artistry kitchen appliances to the
school's campus on Frankfurt Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky.
Pricing and availability
The GE Artistry electric ranges and Braille kits are available in black and
white and can be purchased nationwide where GE appliances are sold. For help
locating a dealer, go to
www.GEAppliances.com and use the Dealer Locator tool
or call the GE Answer Center at 1-800-626-2000. The estimated retail price
of the Artistry electric range is $599, and the braille kit is
$15.75.* (Retailers - Pub number 4-A034 fits the black Artistry range model
ABS45DFBS , and pub number 4-A024 fits the white Artistry range model
ABS45DFWS.)
In addition to the braille kits for ranges, GE offers a standard braille kit
for common buttons on its microwave ovens. The kit (pub number 4-A212) can
be ordered where GE appliances are sold.
As a group, stoves are the least accessible class of appliances we
evaluated. The vast majority have flat, inaccessible oven controls. -
American Foundation for the Blind
http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=2&SectionID=4&TopicID=380&DocumentID=4218* Retailers set their own prices.
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