Blind Level Tech

Episode Summary
 

What if one pair of glasses could replace the magnifiers, phone tricks, telescopic lenses, and other tools many people with low vision rely on every day?
 

On this episode of Blind Level Tech, Jonathan Price sits down with Corrinalyn Guyette, Strategic Growth and Partnerships at Innovega, and Joseph, Innovega’s Chief Marketing Officer, for an in-depth look at the company’s upcoming vision-enhancement technology. 

Innovega’s smart glasses are not designed to cure blindness or restore vision. Instead, the company says they are designed to enhance a person’s existing functional vision through features including magnification, zoom, brightness and contrast adjustments, color inversion, and a camera-driven display. The team explains why a person’s diagnosis alone may not determine whether the glasses will be useful, and why the better question is whether tools such as magnification, contrast enhancement, or zoom already provide benefit.
  

Corrinalyn and Joseph also share stories from early demonstrations, including users being able to read, recognize family members, watch television, play cards, and interact with their surroundings in new ways. Much of the conversation centers on a word that has repeatedly surfaced during Innovega's testing: hope.
 

The conversation gets into the nuts and bolts as well: Innovega's Founder Series preorder, anticipated early-2027 shipping, phone compatibility, the wired first-generation design, screen mirroring, AI features under development, microphones and speakers, and the company's longer-term work involving smart contact lenses.
  

Jonathan also asks an important accessibility question: how does a company developing promising technology make sure the people who could benefit from it can actually afford it? Innovega discusses HSA/FSA eligibility, potential sponsorship opportunities, work with low-vision clinics, and other possible pathways intended to broaden access.
 

This episode is a detailed look at emerging low-vision technology, what it can potentially do, what it cannot do, and why Innovega believes listening directly to the blind and low-vision community is essential to developing it.
 

Credits 

Host: Jonathan Price
Guests: Corrinalyn Guyette and Joseph — Innovega
Producer: Jonathan Price
Podcast: Blind Level Tech
Organization: Aftersight  

Contact & Resources 

Aftersight
Website: aftersight.org
Email: [email protected] 

Innovega
Website: innovega.io
Email: [email protected] 

Innovega also directs listeners to its website for information about its Founder Series, consultations, webinars, preorder information, and applications for in-person demonstrations.
 

• (00:00) - Welcome to Blind Level Tech & the Search for a New Host

Summary
 

Blind programmer and game developer Liam Erven joins Jonathan Price to explore what accessible technology looks like when inclusion is built into the foundation rather than added at the end.
 

Liam shares how he created Super Liam, the first audio-based side-scrolling platform game designed for blind players, and how a childhood idea eventually became something meaningful to gamers around the world. He explains how audio positioning can replace visual information, why developers must understand their audience, and how thoughtful testing catches barriers sighted development teams may never notice. 

Jonathan and Liam also discuss artificial intelligence, game modification, screen-reader-first design, quality assurance, and what aspiring programmers should learn before asking AI to build an application. The central lesson is simple: technology works best when developers communicate clearly, test with real users, and treat accessibility as a genuine need rather than an optional feature. 

Credits 

Show: Blind Level Tech
Host: Jonathan Price
Guest: Liam Erven
Produced by: Jonathan Price
Organization: Aftersight 

Contact Information 

Learn more about Liam’s accessible games and software at LWorks.net. 

Interested in auditioning to become the next host of Blind Level Tech? Contact Jonathan Price at [email protected]. 

For questions, guest suggestions, or feedback: 

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: aftersight.org

Chapters
 

Episode Description

Artificial intelligence is changing how websites are built, searched, and experienced. But is it actually making the internet more accessible? 

Evan talks with accessibility specialist Ela Gorla from TetraLogical about the benefits and risks of using AI in web accessibility. They discuss AI-generated image descriptions, automatic captions, accessible coding, and why developers must give AI clear instructions instead of assuming it will produce accessible results automatically. 

Ela also explains how poorly trained AI could repeat the accessibility failures already found across the web—and what companies can do to create a more accessible digital future. 

Chapter Markers 

00:00 – Welcome and Introducing Ela Gorla
02:36 – Ela’s Work in Digital Accessibility
03:50 – How Ela Uses AI in Her Work
06:01 – How Generative AI Is Improving Accessibility
08:00 – Using AI Instead of Navigating Websites
09:23 – Why Website Structure Still Matters
10:24 – AI-Generated Websites and Universal Access
11:44 – The Risk of AI Repeating Accessibility Problems
13:53 – What AI Companies Need to Do Differently
16:50 – Giving AI Clear Accessibility Instructions
17:55 – Building Reusable Prompts and AI Skills
19:28 – Connecting With Ela and TetraLogical
20:32 – Contact Aftersight and Closing

Episode Description 

Restaurant menus are supposed to tell you what you can eat. But when the website is inaccessible, the PDF won’t work with a screen reader, or there isn’t a braille menu available, something as simple as ordering dinner can turn into a guessing game. 

On this episode of Blind Level Tech, Evan talks with Avital “Avi” Drel, creator of Meet My Menu, a tool designed to give blind and low-vision diners a more independent way to access restaurant menus. 

Avi explains how conversations with blind users around the country revealed just how inconsistent menu accessibility can be, from inaccessible restaurant websites to screen readers forcing users through an entire menu from beginning to end. Meet My Menu combines accessible menu formatting with an AI voice agent that can answer natural questions about dishes, prices, ingredients, and other information pulled directly from the restaurant menu. 

For users who prefer not to use voice, menus can also be presented in a consistent structure designed to work with screen readers and braille displays, including headings and expandable sections. And restaurants may only be the beginning. Avi talks about expanding the same accessibility concept into conferences, theater programs, events, and other information that can be difficult to access independently. 

Guest 

Avital “Avi” Drel
Creator of Meet My Menu 

Links 

Meet My Menu: meetmymenu.com
Web App: app.meetmymenu.com 

• (00:05) - — Welcome to Blind Level Tech

Getting into music production does not have to begin with an expensive microphone, audio interface, MIDI controller, or professional studio. In this solo episode of Blind Level Tech, Evan Starnes offers a practical introduction to making music and working with audio—especially for blind and low-vision creators.
A phone or computer, paired with decent headphones or earbuds, may be everything you need to begin experimenting. Even built-in microphones can help you explore singing, rapping, or recording an instrument before investing in specialized equipment.
Evan also goes over the pros and cons of several digital audio work stations, including some free options you may already have on your device.
Creators & Guests

Getting into music production does not have to begin with an expensive microphone, audio interface, MIDI controller, or professional studio. In this solo episode of Blind Level Tech, Evan Starnes offers a practical introduction to making music and working with audio—especially for blind and low-vision creators.
Creators & Guests

On this episode of Blind Level Tech, Evan Starnes and Jonathan Price explore vibe coding and its potential for blind and low-vision users. Jonathan shares how AI-assisted coding helped him create an accessible production-management platform that brings Aftersight’s programs, volunteers, publications, audio, and production information into one place.
They also discuss screen-reader testing, overly verbose accessibility, API security, sandboxed development, and why AI-generated code still requires thoughtful human direction.
Creators & Guests

There’s a lot to catch up on in the world of tech.
Evan Starnes and David Ward are back for a Blind Level Tech roundup covering everything from NLS BARD on the Orbit Player and new BrailleSense features to NVDA 2026, rising computer hardware prices, accessible smart glasses, Curb2Car, Waymo, Tesla Robotaxi, and more.
Along the way, they discuss what these changes actually mean for blind and low-vision technology users—and why sometimes the smallest accessibility improvements can make the biggest difference.
Creators & Guests

• (00:00) - - Burrito Level Tech Begins

This week, Evan welcomes Aftersight volunteer and Perkins Brailler repair Ralph for a journey through the machine’s history, design, and maintenance. 
Before the Perkins Brailler, people primarily wrote braille using a slate and stylus or one of several early mechanical braille writers. Many of those machines were large, loud, fragile, and difficult for children to operate. 
The conversation explores why the classic Perkins design has survived with relatively few changes, and how to keep a Perkins Braillerighter running like a rist watch.

After a short staycation break, Evan is back on Blind Level Tech to explore the surprisingly fascinating world of audible pedestrian signals. These are the beeping, chirping, talking, and sometimes very enthusiastic crosswalk buttons that help blind and low vision travelers navigate street crossings.
This episode covers the early history of APS devices, including bells and buzzers from the 1920s and 1930s, the chirp and cuckoo systems used in Japan, and the rise of modern push-button signals with locator tones, spoken street names, countdowns, vibrating buttons, automatic volume adjustment, and Bluetooth programming. Evan also shares his own experiences using and requesting APS installations, while discussing noise concerns, inconsistent programming, orientation and mobility skills, and why these devices are helpful tools rather than a total replacement for good travel judgment.
Creators & Guests

• (00:17) - - Welcome Back and Staycation Recap