How can we improve vocal assistive interfaces to include people of all ages and abilities across the fields of banking, navigation and learning?
At a glance
In 2018, the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and Tata Consultancy Services launched a study to better understand vocal interactions with technology and develop a set of accessibility guidelines for designers and technologists.
Three overarching aims evolved:
- Firstly, to expand the means of interaction between the user and vocally accessible technology and stretch traditional accessibility into the realm of inclusivity with partially sighted people as lead users.
- Secondly, to develop guidelines to define a sustainable future for vocally accessible technology and create inclusive, global standards across all platforms.
- Finally, to understand user lived experience of current systems and technologies through co-design with partially sighted people, technologists and visually impaired programmers.
Key details
More information
The challenge
The use of voice assistants, such as Alexa by Amazon, Siri and Google Assistant are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. According to Tech Jury, 97% of mobile users are using AI-powered voice assistants; more than 4 billion devices already work on AI-powered voice assistants and 40% of people use the voice search function at least once every day. Alexa alone is estimated to be used by 200 million devices globally.
As these devices take on more and more key roles in domestic spaces, they are accelerating towards being the main input tool for household appliances such as fridges and televisions. It is predicted that voice interaction will soon be the preferred method of human-computer interaction. However, this technology is still in its infancy, and has been adopted rapidly, vastly outpacing the necessary accompanying research into accessibility. Where significant research exists around Graphical User Interfaces that rely on sight and usability for people with accessibility needs, the equivalent is massively underdeveloped for voice user interfaces.
What We Did
The first round of research enlisted 22 people with visual impairments in order to create an overview of current practice, gaps and the necessary changes and potential developments. Guidelines aimed at helping the designers and developers to design these technologies were specified.
The findings highlighted a clear need for the advancement of knowledge and guidance around multimodal interactions with technology, particularly voice. The second phase of the project was launched in 2021. The aims of the project were twofold. Firstly, to define a set of inclusive vocal standards and guidelines published by the British Standards Institute. These guidelines would be used by designers globally while building new products and services. Secondly, to talk to users and gather their insights and then develop design ideas to push the boundaries for voice user interfaces.
Outcomes
The initial guidelines were tested in collaboration with designers working for Tata Consultancy Services during a one-day workshop in London.
The second phase of research allowed us to engage the British Standards Institute in order to develop a Publicly Available Specification for the accessible design of Voice User interfaces that launched 17 March 2025, PAS 901:2025.
