This video shows the Sony employees having a training session called “Dialog in the dark”. Sony has been working to improve the accessibility of products with a tagline “A future where everyone can share KANDO (emotion) through the power of creativity and technology.”

Yuriko Ogawa, Senior manager of Sony Corporation, says “Dialog in the Dark was planned in the hope that all the Xperia staff would be able to view accessibility as a personal issue.”

”Dialog in the Dark” is a social entertainment activity that allows participants to feel the importance of interpersonal relationships and conversation, and explore the richness of the five senses through the experiences of a complete lack of light.

Shinsuke Shimura, CEO of Dialog in the Dark Japan, says “Sony’s challenge of making the accessibility of all products and services as even as possible is extremely moving for us.”

Guided by a visually impaired person with total blindness, the Sony employees experienced a uniquely designed workshop in complete darkness.

“Gucci” Taniguchi, attender, tells the participants “Now you’ll be using your sense of touch, hearing, and your ears a lot.” He playbacks a short sentence with Xperia’s TalkBack function at a very fast speed. Participants cannot hear what it says, but it’s easy to understand for the attender. They also try to connect a charging cable to the Xperia smartphone’s port in the darkness.

After finishing the experiences in the darkness, they try another accessibility function on Xperia’s camera. It helps the user by making a sound when the camera is completely vertical or horizontal, making it easier for visually impaired people to take photos.

In the closing session, they have a short discussion. A participant says that she noticed you want to feel reassured about what you’ve done.

In an interview after the session, Masahiro Taniguchi, attender, says “Enhancing feedback is important in creating products that are easy for everyone to use, and that can be used with peace of mind.” Another participant says “Everyone has different perspectives on product creation, different things that they’re good at, and that they struggle with, and I think that our work should reflect that.”

Xperia staff thinking about accessibility. This is Sony’s first step toward an inclusive future.

Keisuke Tomita, Marketing Communication Lead in Sony Corporation, says “We had the idea that we would ask people from various departments to participate, and find out what kind of things were possible with their different points of view and their respective relationships to the Xperia line. I believe that this idea will lead to increased accessibility.”

Hiromi Sekido, Product Planner in Sony Corporation, says “A lot of people realised many new things through this training, and I think they will incorporate this awareness of accessibility in future product development to make things that are easy for everyone to use.”

Yukio Kataoka, Senior General Manager in Sony Corporation, says “Xperia is the Sony product that is closest to our customers. By having each employee consider what sorts of pain points there are for actual users, how the product will be used, and experiencing it in actual situations, this awareness can be used in the initial product design. I want everyone to think together about what kinds of approaches we can use for such people with the Xperia line.”

This video closes with the tagline “A future where everyone can share KANDO (emotion) through the power of creativity and technology.”