Tools for Success: Tech Convergence and Co-Designed Products Close Gaps for Children Who are Blind

This podcast is about big ideas on how technology is making life better for people with vision loss.

People who are blind or visually impaired know all too well the challenges of living in a sighted world. But today, the capabilities of computer vision and other tech are converging with the needs of people who are blind and low-vision and may help level the playing field for young people with all different sensory abilities. These tools can pave the way for children’s active participation and collaboration in school, in social situations, and eventually, in the workplace, facilitating the important contributions they will make to our world in their adult lives.

Access to educational materials is a consistent challenge for students and adults who are blind, but Greg Stilson, the head of Global Innovation at American Printing House for the Blind (APH), is trying to change that. Together with partner organizations Dot Inc. and Humanware, APH is on the verge of being able to deliver the “Holy Braille” of braille readers, a dynamic tactile device that delivers both Braille and tactile graphics in an instant, poised to fill a much-needed gap in the Braille textbook market. Extensive user testing means the device is as useful for people who are blind as possible. Greg sees a future in which more inclusively designed and accessible video games, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) will help children who are blind learn with greater ease, and better engage with their sighted peers.

Enter Dr. Cecily Morrison, principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. Based on extensive research and co-designing with people who are blind, she and her team developed PeopleLens, smart glasses worn on the forehead that can identify the person whom the user is facing, giving the user a spatial map in their mind of where classmates (as one example) are in space. PeopleLens helps children who are blind overcome social inhibitions and engage with classmates and peers, a skill that will be crucial to their development, and in their lives, as they move into the cooperative workspaces of the future.

 

The Big Takeaways:

• Robin Akselrud, an occupational therapist and assistant professor at Long Island University in Brooklyn, author of MY OT Journey Planner and The My OT Journey Podcast, explains how a baby who is born blind becomes inhibited from their first developmental milestones. She explains the stressors that these children might face upon attending school and describes the kinds of interventions that occupational therapy offers.
• Bryce Weiler, disability consultant, sports enthusiast, and co-founder of the Beautiful Lives Project, emphasizes how important it is for children who are blind or low-vision to have rich sensory experiences — and life experiences — which give them a chance to flourish and socialize with peers. Beautiful Lives Project offers opportunities to do that.
• Greg Stilson, Director of Global Innovation at American Printing House for the Blind, and his team are developing a dynamic tactile device (DTD) that can switch seamlessly between Braille and tactile graphics — the “Holy Braille” of braille devices. The DTD is made possible by developments in pin technology by Dot Inc, and APH. Humanware developed the software for the device. No longer using the piezoelectric effect to move pins has reduced the cost of the device significantly, and APH can funnel federal funds to reduce the price further, making the DTD a potential, viable option for institutions.
• Cecily Morrison, principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge UK, and her team developed PeopleLens, a head-worn pair of smart glasses that lets the wearer know who is in their immediate vicinity. Dr. Morrison and her team tested it in classrooms for school-age children who are blind or visually impaired and found that PeopleLens reduces students’ cognitive load and helps young people overcome social anxiety and inhibitions that Robin Akselrud described at the top of the show. Wearers of PeopleLens learn to develop mental models of where people are in a room, and gain the confidence to engage others, or not, as they choose. Once social skills are built, students no longer have to wear the device but are set up for more successful social interactions at school and in their lives to come.

 

Tweetables:

• If they have a visual impairment, it really impacts them from early on, from that first development milestone. — Robin Akselrud, occupational therapist and assistant professor at Long Island University in Brooklyn, author of MY OT Journey Planner and The My OT Journey Podcast
• For children, just giving them that foundation of making friendships as they’re growing up, and the opportunity to be a part of something, sport can allow them to do that, and it also gives them the chance to do things that their peers are taking part in. —Bryce Weiler, disability consultant, sports enthusiast, and co-founder of the Beautiful Lives Project
• This was what the field regards as the “Holy Braille” right? Having both [Braille and tactile graphics] on the same surface. —Greg Stilson, Director of Global Innovation at American Printing House for the Blind
• With the advancements of virtual reality and augmented reality, … along with the idea of making experiences and video games and things like that more inclusive, it’s going to create a more inclusive way for blind kids to engage with their sighted peers. — Greg Stilson, Director of Global Innovation at American Printing House for the Blind
• We found that “people” was the thing that was most interesting to people. And that doesn’t surprise us. We are people, and we like other people. — Dr. Cecily Morrison, principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge UK
• They can go out and find someone that they want to play with. They can choose not to talk to somebody by turning their head away from them, and the moment that they understand the agency they have in those situations is when we see a significant change in their ability to place people and to engage with them. — Dr. Cecily Morrison, principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge UK
• When we look at the workplaces of today, they’re often very collaborative places. So you can be the best mathematician in the world, but if you struggle to collaborate, you’re not building the AI technologies of tomorrow. By helping kids ensure that they have a strong foundation in these attentional skills, we’re giving them a significant lift. — Dr. Cecily Morrison, principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge UK

 

Contact Us:

Contact us at [e-mail] with your innovative new technology ideas for people with vision loss.

 

Pertinent Links:

• Lighthouse Guild
• Robin Akselrud
• Bryce Weiler
• Greg Stilson
• Dr. Cecily Morrison