COOL BLIND TECH

YOUR SOURCE FOR THE BEST ASSISTIVE TECH NEWS, REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS FROM TOP BLIND AND LOW VISION EXPERTS. AN ENTERTAINING AND TRUSTWORTHY DISCUSSION ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

AFB

This New AI technology could help visually impaired people navigate independently

Founder Maithreya Chakravarthula, Kaleem Khan and his team have developed an AI-powered mobile app to help people with visual impairments.

Thanks to Sahai Tech’s AI and machine vision technology, people who are visually impaired are now a step closer to living independently through a specially designed app using Artificial Intelligence. The mobile app has been hailed by many for its ability to identify objects and obstacles while providing navigation details like distance information, obstacle detection and identification. It also features a voice instructional guide to help users navigate around them to reach desired objects. read more

AFB Launches First Accessible Digital Archive of the Helen Keller Collection

More than 160,000 artifacts can now be viewed in a groundbreaking, fully accessible online archive thanks to support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Express

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) announced the launch of the Helen Keller Archive, the world’s first fully accessible digital archive collection, comprising more than 160,000 artifacts, dedicated to the life of Helen Keller.

The Helen Keller Archive is the largest repository of historical content about Helen Keller, whose iconic name is known in every corner of the globe for her groundbreaking work as an author, political activist, and humanitarian who played a critical role in changing public perceptions about people with disabilities. read more

Protect Your Rights and the ADA Before It’s Too Late!

As early as Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, which will require individuals with disabilities to jump through additional obstacles to enforce their right to access under the ADA. This bill will remove the consequences for businesses with architectural barriers that violate the ADA until an individual with a disability is denied access and provides a specific legal notice describing the denial of access and nature of the barrier. The individual with a disability must then wait up to six months for the business to make “substantial progress” in removing the barrier. Additionally, advocates fear that the legislation may be expanded to include the ADA’s applicability to the internet. This bill would set a dangerous precedent of making the rights of people with disabilities more difficult to enforce than other civil rights. read more

Spotlight with Kirk Adams: President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Kirk Adams, the president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind to discuss the mission of the AFB and the most pressing issues that blind people face in the 21st century.

Helpful Resources

AFB Website

AFB’s Career Connect Page

AFB’s Access World Publication

AFB Press

AFB’s Family Connect Page

AFB’s Vision Aware Page

AFB’s Publication, “College Bound”

Learning Ally

Cogswell Macy Act

The American Council of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind read more

The American Foundation for the Blind’s CareerConnect Program Helps Job Seekers Who are Blind.

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. read more

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