One of the biggest and most important obstacles that blind people face is meaningful employment. The American Foundation for the Blind recognizes this problem, and has established a CareerConnect page on their website that helps blind people overcome some of the difficulties that they encounter when seeking employment.
Some of the tools that the AFB offers are: Explore Jobs for Individuals Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, Connect with Successfully Employed Mentors with Vision Loss, Develop a Resume or Personal Data Sheet, Prepare for a Job Interview, Disclose a Visual Impairment to a Potential Employer, and Improve Employment Outcomes by Utilizing Career-Related Lesson Plans.
Search Results for: the blind
The Sunu Band Helps the Blind Navigate with Sonar and Haptic Feedback.
The Sunu band is a smart watch that is specifically designed to help the blind navigate around people and objects. It sends out ultrasonic waves up to 13FT away, and then provides haptic feedback to make blind people aware of objects and people. The range and feedback are fully customizable by way of an app. The Sunu Band can be paired to your phone by Bluetooth. It also detects openings such as doorways and threshold’s, but it doesn’t seem to be able to detect drop offs.
You can purchase the Sunu Band here for $299.
Talking Laundry Module Makes GE Washers and Dryers Accessible for the Blind.
The Talking Laundry Module is a box that plugs into existing and many new General Electric washers and dryers. The device mounts on the side of the washer or dryer by way of magnets that are on the back of the box. One module can work with both the washer and dryer. When adjusting the dials on your washer and dryer, the device will give spoken feedback that lets you know which cycle you are on. Once you press start on the washer or dryer, the module will let you know how much time remains in the cycle. The module has a volume nob to control the level of the spoken feedback, and it has a button that you can press anytime to find out how much time is remaining in the washer or dryer’s cycle.
GE developed this device in cooperation with the Kentucky School for the Blind and the American Printing House for the Blind. You can purchase it here for $99.
CBT Live! Megastore for the Blind and Low Vision
Teen Wins Youth Innovation Award with App That Assists the Blind
High school student Anmol Tukrel has already begun to leave his mark on the global scientific community. The seventeen-year-old from Markham, Ontario was presented with the 2017 Weston Youth Innovation Award by the Ontario Science Centre for his creative application of science and technology towards solving a real world problem. Tukrel created the iDentifi app that assists the visually impaired in identifying objects using a smartphone. The app makes use of the phone’s camera and the app’s artificial intelligence to provide audio identification of objects, brands, colour, facial expressions, handwriting and text.
Canadian National Institute for the Blind Conducts Survey on Accessible Entertainment Use by People with Vision Loss
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) is conducting a survey on entertainment among those who are living with vision loss. The object of this survey is to colle¢t information about media use (how individuals watch television and movies, what types of services they use, and if video description is a preference) among individuals who are living with varying degrees of vision loss. The aim of this survey is to see if accessible entertainment options have any impact on why individuals choose to watch using certain mediums (I.E. a streaming service with audio description).
Spotlight On Computers for the Blind: Nobody Should Go Without Access To Technology
Join Jessica Rickards for an exclusive spotlight with David Jeppson, executive director of Computers for the blind, a Texas-based organization providing computers to blind and visually impaired individuals across the United States regardless of circumstance. computers for the blind accepts refurbished windows computers and is run by volunteers. This organization is open to volunteer opportunities across the country; from those who wish to give time in their local Texas refurbishment center, to tech support professionals who can provide remote assistance, to those who can contribute financially.
IBM’s Buddy for the Blind Solution Helps the Blind Swim.
If you are visually impaired, you know what a challenge it can be to swim freely without any assistance. First point, the wall is not your friend. If your swimming at top speed, and you can’t see that you are approaching the wall, it isn’t going to turnout well for you. Also, it can be a challenge to stay in your swimming lane and out of the way of other swimmers.
IBM took on this challenge by developing a system of Bluetooth beacons and haptic devices to help the blind swimmers. Sense Bluetooth doesn’t work under water, they placed Bluetooth beacons on a steel wire that runs 4 to 5 feet above the water along the center of the lane. The swimmers ware a device on their heads beneath their swimming caps that vibrate more intensely as they stay centered. So far, the tests have yielded very positive results, and the blinds swimmers feel a sense of freedom that they haven’t felt before.
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VPS Could Transform How the Blind Make Their Way Through the World
Google announces it’s working on a service to offer detailed indoor location positioning using its Tango 3D sensing computer vision tech called “visual positioning service” — or VPS.
Blindpad Project Provides a New Navigational Aid for the Blind
Researchers at the EPFL in Switzerland have developed a new device to aid the visually impaired with mobility and the understanding of visual concepts such as maps and geometric shapes. The Blindpad as it is known, uses a system of tiny coils and magnets to raise pins on the device and help a visually impaired person create a mental map of where they are going. The device is 12 cm by 15 cm and is meant to be used as a navigational aid along with a white cane.
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