Business By Steve Ewell CT R E P O RTS T he CTA Foundation will host activities at CES 2020 highlighting the technologies that enable us to lead healthy and independent lives regardless of age or ability. As we look to this market opportunity, veteran CES attendees talked about the importance of accessibility at CES including: Paul Amadeus Lane, bureau chief, ABC News Radio KMET-AM, and host of the Tech Zone. 60 Mike May, executive director of Access Explorer, CTA Foundation Trustee. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 Rasha Said, founder of Sensible Innovations, a CES Innovation Award winner and Smart Cities Marketplace exhibitor. Why is it important to have accessibility featured at CES? ● Lane: The importance of having accessibility featured at CES cannot be overstated. It helps to educate the tech world on the importance of adopting accessibility features in their products. It also helps companies that have assistive tech to see how they fit in the consumer tech industry while staying true to their core market. There is no bigger stage than CES to showcase accessibility. One thing I would like to see from my colleagues in the media is to make sure that they stop by and see some of this amazing technology that helps the senior and the disabled community to be independent and live fuller lives. The social aspect of accessibility tech is something that needs to be preached from the mountain tops. ● May: Most products are not fully usable by a blind consumer, so it is important that we highlight those products that are accessible in order for manufacturers to take note of this important customer segment. I T I S I N N O VAT I O N Robyn Beck/Getty Images Why Accessibility Matters at CEShttps://www.cta.tech/CTA-Foundation