ABSTRACT"Universal design" is the process of creating products that are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations; whereas "accessibility" primarily refers to design for people with disabilities. While the focus of accessibility is disabilities, research and development in accessibility brings benefits to everyone, particularly users with situational limitations, including device limitations and environmental limitations. Awareness and understanding of the benefits of web accessibility to users without disabilities is growing in some areas with the rapid increase of web-enabled devices such as mobile phones, tablets, televisions, and more; with the increasing focus on the growing number of older web users; and with wider web reach in areas with high incidence of low literacy, low bandwidth, older technology, etc. Although there is significant overlap between designing for accessibility and designing for situational limitations, addressing one set of needs does not necessarily provide sufficient solutions for other needs. Keeping accessibility focused on disabilities encourages research and development on meeting the specific needs of people with disabilities. This communications paper explains the importance of "accessibility" continuing to focus on people with disabilities, while further integrating accessibility with web design, development, and research in other areas, including those covered under universal design and design for all. It also describes how the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) are working to address accessibility and related user needs throughout the technologies of the Web, and invites all interested parties to participate in research and development to further integrate accessibility for people with disabilities in ways that benefit all.

This article describes work of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It highlights recent developments, issues, and trends which can affect the progress of Web accessibility.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have an unprecedented impact on our daily lives. In particular, "smart environments" will change how we interact with our surrounding and with each other, including at home, in public spaces, and at the work place.This provides an opportunity to ensure equal access for people with disabilities. For example, operating doors, windows, and physical objects through voice makes such environments more accessible to people with physical disabilities and inclusive to many more.Yet there are still many challenges to address, without which the Internet of Things (IoT) threatens to be more of a disabler than an enabler. In particular, the current lack of interoperability makes it hard for assistive technologies to easily tap into IoT systems.Web standards could extend the open web platform to resolve many of these issues, much as it did on the traditional internet. This Web of Things (WoT) provides a robust application layer for innovation to thrive on the underlying Internet of Things (IoT). This paper outlines the relevance of IoT for people with disabilities and the specific challenges it currently poses. It then discusses how the Web of Things (WoT) could help address these challenges, and highlights research questions that still need to be tackled. CCS Concepts

This article describes work of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It highlights recent developments, issues, and trends which can affect the progress of Web accessibility.