A visit to Google’s Accessibility Discovery Centre

Last week, I visited Google!

I was very lucky to be invited on a tour of Google’s UK Accessibility Discovery Centre (ADC) at their London HQ. I was invited alongside a few other finalists from the 2023 Shaw Trust Disability Power 100.

A group of ten disabled people from the Disability Power 100 pose inside Google’s London ADC. They are smiling at the camera and signing “I love you” in American Sign Language.

The Accessibility Discovery Centre (ADC) is a space where Google's engineers, researchers, product teams, partners and disabled staff members come together to test assistive technologies and build new kinds of innovative, assistive tech. Right now, the London ADC is one of only a few Accessibility Discovery Centres in the world (although several more are now in the process being built…).

In the late morning, we were greeted by Christopher Patnoe, Google’s Head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, EMEA. After some tasty snacks and initial introductions, he took us on a tour of the Centre.

We had some great chats as a group about accessibility — how it's not so much an end goal, as a continuous practice.

We talked about assistive tech, and how contrary to popular belief, it needn't be high-tech or expensive — it can actually be simple and low-cost, like providing drinking straws for example (the ADC hadn't realised drinking straws would be necessary until a young man with cerebral palsy visited the centre and asked for a straw). Christopher was keen to emphasise that in the early days of the ADC, although their intentions were in the right place, they didn’t always get everything “right”. We discussed how, when it comes accessibility, people are often too afraid to even start, in case they make mistakes. But in reality, we need to get started, in order to make those mistakes, and learn as we go.

My favourite corner of the ADC was the Arcade. In the Arcade, we got to try out video games controlled by eye-tracking software or a chin joystick, and Christopher pointed out that the games aren't just fun — they actually allow kids to build fine motor skills which can then be applied to using other computer software (for eg. to do their homework!). 

Before my trip to the ADC, I liked to think that I had some understanding of assistive tech. I knew, for instance, that it was quickly and ever-evolving. What I don't think I realised was quite how much exists already — so much of it for free, and on our phones! For example, I didn't know that live captioning had improved so much in the last few years. One of the ADC’s top priorities is now to make sure that the people who most need assistive tech know where to find it. 

I had a wonderful day at the ADC chatting to inspiring disabled people and sharing experiences. The tour has left me excited about the potential of assistive tech to improve the lives of disabled people — and everyone else.

A big thank you to Google for the tour, and especially to Christopher and Hans for hosting us!