Why Get Involved?
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When the consumer is at the center of design and development, the end result is a better consumer experience and a more successful product or service. ICAAT helps bridge the space between the expertise found among industry professionals and the expertise found in the lived experiences of a consumer community made up of people with hearing loss and Deaf individuals, by creating a place for cooperative engagement.
Benefits of Consumer-Centric, Cooperative Design and Development
- Creates a clear market focus on the consumer
- Facilitates design and development that is consumer-driven and better suited to addressing consumer need
- Forms a partnership that builds trust and strengthens relationships
- Communicates that consumer opinion matters
- Improves the knowledge of industry professionals and creates a better understanding of the end user
- Generates valuable, relevant, and new ideas and competitive insights based on unique, real-world perspectives
These benefits are far greater than the risk of competitors learning something about a company's plans indirectly, which can be reduced through nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements
What ICAAT provides:
- Opportunities for consumers and industry to engage with one another
- Insights for consumers into new and existing technology products and services
- Insights for industry into the unique needs of people with hearing loss and Deaf individuals
- Cost-effective, efficient ways for industry to recruit for and consumers to participate in research and testing activities
- Different levels and types of collaboration at various stages of design and development
- Sustained engagement between consumers and industry
When the designer, and the maker, and the user are all in the same place talking to each other you get designs that work.
Why Get Involved? The Business Case
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Cooperative, Consumer-Centric
Design and Development
When the consumer is at the center of design and development, the end result is a better consumer experience and a more successful product or service. ICAAT helps bridge the space between the expertise found among industry professionals and the expertise found in the lived experiences of a consumer community made up of individuals with hearing loss and those who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Benefits
- Creates a clear market focus on the consumer
- Facilitates design and development that is consumer-driven and better suited to addressing consumer need
- Forms a partnership that builds trust and strengthens relationships
- Communicates that consumer opinion matters
- Improves the knowledge of industry professionals and creates a better understanding of the end user
- Generates relevant, new ideas and valuable, competitive insights based on unique, real-world perspectives - “crowd-sourced creativity and innovation”
Competitors may learn something about your plans indirectly; this can be reduced through nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements
What ICAAT provides
- Different levels and types of collaborative opportunities at various stages of design and development
- A cross-section of a consumer community made up of individuals with hearing loss and those who are Deaf or hard of hearing
- Sustained engagement with this consumer community
- Cost-effective, efficient access to this consumer community for all industry professionals and company teams, from design to development to marketing
Hearing Challenges on the Move
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I like taking the train sometimes, especially when heading to Philadelphia, where driving can get you stuck in traffic for a really... long... time. The 30th Street Train Station in Philadelphia is where I get on and off the Amtrak train, and then use the local trains to get where I’m going.
The Station has towering cathedral ceilings, and it’s noisy and wildly reverberant, like a huge echo chamber. Fortunately, there’s a visual display of the trains’ arrival and departure times hanging high at the center of the ceiling.
Not surprisingly, the audio PA system is completely pointless for me. It’s mostly due to the echoes created by that big space, which are so extreme that none of the announcements are understandable. Even hearing people don’t seem to understand them all the time; I’ve asked more than once and can often be met with a shrug of the shoulders. It’s good that they also have a visual display, but I have to be hyper-vigilant about watching it.
I want to hear the announcements in the train station without all the noise and reverberation so that I can more easily understand important information for my commute.
I'm interested in Co-Design Connect opportunities. How do I participate?
You must join ICAAT's Tech Forum to participate in Co-Design Connect. There is no cost to join the Tech Forum community.
- For consumers: You can register for an account here.
- For industry: Individuals at a company can register for an account here. The Hearing Loss Association of America will review industry account requests. ICAAT expects that vetted company representatives participating in Co-Design Connect will conduct themselves with the highest ethical standards and use the best practices we've provided here when engaging with consumers with hearing loss or Deaf consumers.
How can I get involved?
Anyone interested in our mission to ensure that technology meets the needs of people who have hearing loss or are Deaf should consider joining ICAAT. Whether you are a consumer with hearing loss, a Deaf consumer, a consumer advocate or ally, or an industry professional designing and developing hearing assistive technology or mainstream consumer electronics, you are welcome here!
Consumers can get involved by:
- Joining the Tech Forum, where you can discuss topics of interest to you, find related resources, and learn about technology-related events.
- Participating in Co-Design Connect, where you can collaborate with technology developers on product testing, product reviews, and product literature reviews.
Industry can get involved by:
- Recruiting through Co-Design Connect to find participants for product testing and reviews, designing and refining assistive technology and moving forward to market.
- Joining the Tech Forum, where you can participate in discussion groups to inform and assist you in identifying market opportunities, share relevant resources, and post information about upcoming live or online industry events.
What is ICAAT?
ICAAT stands for the Industry-Consumer Alliance for Accessible Technology. ICAAT’s goal is to bring together technology developers with consumers who have hearing loss to create and inspire more accessible, innovative, and responsive technologies. ICAAT is a first-of-its-kind online community of consumers with hearing loss and industry. You can sign up for free and join ICAAT’s Tech Forum to access and participate in discussions about a wide range of technology topics and issues, explore and share resources, and find out about technology-related events.
