CREATE is the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences. Our mission is to make technology accessible and to make the world accessible through technology.
The need for greater access
A core mantra of the disability movement is “Nothing about us without us,” yet technical advances often assume a certain set of abilities, limit customizability, and fail to include people with disabilities as creators of technology.
The major challenges of creating accessible technology and of making the world accessible through technology are outpacing even the most talented individual researchers and small teams.
YEAR 6 IMPACT REPORT:
Successes in research, education, translation, and leadership in academic year 2025-2026
Our annual look at the past year and accomplishments, and plans for this year
CREATE Director Jennifer Mankoff introduces this year’s annual report noting what’s so special about CREATE: Our students and faculty, community partners, and friends in industry bring a diverse mixture of lived experience, accessibility and disability knowledge, and technical expertise. Learn more about CREATE’s impact:
- Research: Tools like SlideAudit and OS-CONNECT, developed with disabled leadership, community participation, and research excellence.
- Education: Supporting students—from high school students to Ph.D. candidates—in their work to address accessibility barriers.
- Translation: Open-source tools for BLV family members, science and math students, map users, urban planners, disabled makers, and more.
- Partnerships: Our partnerships with disability communities, industry, and other researchers and increased visibility at local, regional, and national events.
Taking accessibility to the next level
By supporting CREATE, you support education, fund research, and translate those to real-world solutions for the 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who have disabilities.
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AI and Machine Learning Research
AI has enormous potential to support needs and ways of being for people with disabilities. CREATE researchers are thoughtfully exploring AI’s implications for people with disabilities so they are included in the development and use of AI products and so they are protected from AI biases. Active research projects are addressing ableism, communication tools, health and activities of daily living, physical spaces and fabrication, digital accessibility and visualization, and interaction support.
More about AI and Machine Learning Research at CREATE
Cross-campus, interdisciplinary team
A consortium of faculty from the University of Washington’s Allen School, Mechanical Engineering, School of Medicine, and the iSchool.
