A wave of new technology could soon improve the daily lives of many of the 250 million people with visual impairments.
“Years ago, I couldn't do anything financial-related without help,” said Mario Percinic, a blind IT professional and accessibility expert.
“Now I use a screen reader for online banking,” says Percinic, who co-hosts a technology and accessibility podcast called EBU Access Cast.
Apps, including one that recognizes money, are an essential part of Parcinich's daily life, and he believes smartphones are “one piece of technology that people with disabilities can't live without.”
And smartphones are likely to continue to provide new services to people with visual impairments.
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London-based nonprofit Wayfindr, a subsidiary of the Royal Society for Visually Impaired Children (RSBC), has developed a benchmark standard for using mobile devices to help people navigate indoor spaces.
Using these guidelines, Wayfindr is working with transit agencies, shopping malls, and tourist attractions to help implement “turn-by-turn indoor navigation” to ensure independent mobility for visually impaired people.
“It's the same principle as using GPS in your car,” said Tiernan Kenny, Wayfindr's director of communications, public affairs and standards.
wearable wave
Beyond smartphones, new wearable technology has the potential to change the lives of visually impaired people.
Israeli company OrCam launched its second wave of devices to assist visually impaired people late last year.
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OrCam MyEye 2.0 weighs just 22 grams and is a wearable device that clips onto any pair of glasses. Its smart camera captures text information, barcodes, and faces and instantly converts that information into spoken words in the user's ear.
The device supports approximately 20 languages, retails for approximately $4,500, and is currently sold in more than 20 countries. For some of its “tens of thousands of users,” costs are covered or partially covered by insurance companies and veterans organizations, Orcam CEO and co-founder Jiv Aviram said. .
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Aviram said the device can also recognize money, bus numbers and colors. “Everything happens in real time and offline, so users have complete privacy,” he said.
OrCam plans to introduce a “speech-to-text” feature later this year.
“Users will be able to ask the device questions, ask it to find specific information in a newspaper, for example, or just read the headlines,” Aviram said. “You'll be able to point to the menu and ask the device what kind of food is available.”
level playing field
Canadian company eSight launched a visual assistance headset last year.
Jeff Fenton, eSight's director of outreach and communications, explained, “It's designed to be used like a pair of glasses, where the user can choose when to wear the device.”
The device is equipped with a digital camera that captures live footage and displays it in front of the user's eyes.
Retail price is $9,995, but eSight offers payment options and affordable programs to make the device accessible to more people.
“Everything you need is inside the device. You don't need to be connected to the internet to use it,” Fenton said, adding that the device does not collect user data.
“This kind of technology really levels the playing field for blind people,” he said.
CNN Money (London) First Published July 4, 2018: 10:29am ET
