Access Hound
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Services
Strategic Leadership in Accessibility
Our Fractional Accessibility Leadership service helps you streamline workflows, reduce backlogs, and drive strategic initiatives with guidance from seasoned accessibility leaders.Innovative Audio Description Software
We created the world’s first software suite dedicated to static Audio Description, along with the first GenAI toolkit designed to support AD writers, both of which have become essential infrastructure transforming production and review processes.Audio Description Training & Workshops
We’ve trained more than 1,000 professionals in writing impactful, accurate Audio Description. From half-day intensives to week-long workshops and hackathon-style events, our training creates enduring organizational impacts.Audio Description Production / Review
Our production and review services ensure Audio Description is seamlessly integrated into your media products, helping you to reach wider audiences and to support authentic inclusion for people who are DeafBlind, or blind, or who have low-vision.Web & Mobile Accessibility Remediation
As web accessibility laws and WCAG standards grow more complex, our experts audit, remediate, and future-proof your websites and mobile apps so that everyone can access your content with confidence and in the ways that they want. -
Tools
Audio Description Production
- The Access Hound Software Suite Access Hound software powers AD production and review processes worldwide — including use by 200+ U.S. National Park Service sites across 49 states, as well as at public attractions in Canada, and the United Kingdom — backed by more than $1 million in federal and corporate investments, including by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, and Google.
AI Tools
- Access Hound's Guidedogs The 'Dogs give AD writers immediate coaching, support, and guidance as powered by a tailor-made GenAI algorithm based on the latest scholarly research; no technical setup (i.e., prompt engineering, or downloads) required.
- Journalism Watchdogs Trained in Journalism scholarship, these 'Dogs provide GenAI-powered feedback for nonfiction writing that helps to sharpen your focus, tighten prose, and write with clarity.
For Your Specific Needs
- We Make Customized Solutions Seeking a GenAI technical solution built just for you and your organization? We design custom media-making tools tailored to your unique goals, objectives, and challenges.
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About
In the News (Hot Off the Presses!)
Our thought-leadership columns — written about accessibility, inclusive design, and barriers people face getting access to information in this rapidly changing technological age — are provided for free, allowing you to read and share insights from the leading-edge of accessibility research.Who leads the Access Hound team?
Our core leadership team has collaborated for more than 20 years, bringing diverse, grounded, and high-level expertise to your organizational needs, based on the hundreds of accessibility-related projects that we have completed.Dr. Brett Oppegaard, Co-Founder
Brett, who holds a Ph.D. in Technical Communication & Rhetoric and has decades of accessibility and media-production experience, blends a scholarly background in accessibility and interaction design (UX / UI) with extensive professional media-production skills.Joe Oppegaard, Co-Founder
Joe, with decades of CTO experience, is a seasoned project manager, interface designer, and programmer, with award-winning experiences building innovative accessibility tools that bridge inclusion needs with emerging technologies.Stewart McCullough, Co-Founder
Stewart, with decades of CEO experience, brings the big-picture vision, ethical commitment, and logistical skills that guide Access Hound. He ensures your services and products get done on deadline, meeting (or exceeding) expectations. Contact Us -
Guidedogs
Describe Now
No matter your experience level, you can upload an image (or paste a description text) into our system, choose your 'Dogs, and get instant feedback. Just press, "Release the Hounds!"
Our Dogs
The Access Hound Guidedogs are AI-powered writing coaches designed to help you to create stronger Audio Description. Just like other coaches, they don’t replace writers. They support them with high-quality, constructive, and detailed feedback.
API
Our custom-built API lets you send images, at scale, and receive immediate feedback from the 'Dogs. This API is perfect for addressing inertia around backlogs in large digital collections and also in improving enterprise workflows.