In this weeks Spotlight CBT features Mr. Gilles Pepin, the CEO of HumanWare. With more than 25 years experience, Mr. Pepin has built a solid worldwide reputation in the field of assistive technology and in the arena of visual impairment.

In 1988, Mr. Pepin founded VisuAide, a successful company specialized in high technology for people who are blind or visually impaired. VisuAide merged with PDI in 2005 to form HumanWare.

For over 25 years, HumanWare's inspirational vision has resulted in a range of highly intuitive and intelligent solutions that empower people who are blind or with low vision by giving them the independence to participate effectively within a sighted world.

For more information, contact HumanWare below:

USA

Toll free: 1-800-722-3393

CANADA

Toll free: 1-888-723-7273

AUSTRALIA/ASIA

Tel: 1300-551-864 or 02-9686-2600

UK/EUROPE

Tel: 44-1933-415-800

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

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with James Teh, prior to his departure from NVAccess, to discuss the following subjects:

* The history of NVDA

* NVDA’s business model

* Keeping up with an ever evolving Windows environment

* NVDA in a corporate environment

* Add-ons for NVDA

* Voices available for NVDA

* The user guide and tutorials for NVDA

* Getting certified as a NVDA expert

* Telephone support for NVDA

* OSARA extension for Reaper

Editor's note: James Teh will still be a Director (of the Board, just not an employee, and thus not an Executive Director.

Join Jessica for an exclusive interview with Glen Dobbs, President and Founder of LoganTech. Learn about their incredible journey from a small, parent-founded company with a singular purpose, to a growing distributor of Assistive Technology providing communication solutions and braille products. Learn how LoganTech is providing a way for everyone to communicate, regardless of ability, and how they are opening up doors to braille literacy through the Braille Coach and 6Dot Braille Label Maker.

If you would like to know more about the products provided by LoganTech, check out their Youtube.

If you would like to know more about Proxtalker, you can connect with Proxtalker on Facebook, or you can follow Proxtalker on Twitter.

If you would like to know more about the 6Dot Braille Label Maker, you can follow 6Dot on Twitter, or connect with 6Dot on Facebook.

We always enjoy listener feedback. If you enjoy this Spotlight Interview, we welcome your comments. Please feel free to send us an email, give us a Tweet, or find us on Facebook.

Join Jessica Rickards for an exciting Spotlight with Ronit Williams, Head of Global Sales and Marketing for Embro, makers of the Walk Pro, WalkX, and the Keller Sight. Ronit explains how this company is developing products for a variety of abilities, from vision impairment to hearing and speech disabilities. A more in-depth discussion is explored about the virtual cane technology that was developed in the Walk products and what sets it apart from other products currently available, and the features available in each product.

The WalkX and Walk Pro are both available for Pre-Order. To contact Embro, or if you have questions about their products, you can contact them.

To follow Embro for the latest updates and developments, you can connect with Embro on Twitter.

If you enjoyed this spotlight interview, don't forget to leave us feedback. We always enjoy hearing from our fans.

Join Jessica Rickards for an exclusive spotlight interview with Idan Meir, co-founder and CEO of Right-Hear, an Israel-based company focused on providing an auditory indoor navigation solution to the blind and visually impaired. Right-Hear is a free iOS app and is also available free on the Google Play Store. Users are able to obtain information about an area through Accessible Spots installed by the individual businesses.

For a full demonstration of how the app works, please watch the Youtube video

Connect with Right-Hear on Facebook

Follow Right-Hear on Twitter

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.

If you are interested in learning more about this organization, feel free to contact them via telephone or email via their website.

If you do a lot of online shopping, Computers for the Blind is also partnered with

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Stephen Ewell, the executive director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation. The CTA Foundation, a public, national foundation affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), was launched in 2012 with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives.

The foundation strategically supports programs that affect these communities and facilitates dialog between industry, consumers, government, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders.

Steve talks about the foundation’s role in featuring accessible products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the foundation’s role in producing the first fully accessible self-driving vehicle, and his trips to CSUN and South by Southwest.

You can follow Stephen Ewell on Twitter here, and you can follow the CTA Foundation on Twitter here.

In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Brad Turner, the vice president of global literacy at Benetech. They discuss:

Benetech

Brad tells us about the organization and its mission.

Bookshare

Brad tells us about how the organization has grown into such a successful digital platform that makes more than a half a million books available for blind and visually impaired individuals.

Born Accessible

Brad talks about Benetech’s mission to ensure that as more and more print material is born in a digital format, it also needs to be born in an accessible format.

The Marrakesh Treaty

Brad updates us on the current status of the Marrakesh Treaty in the US Senate. He also discusses the global benefit of this treaty.

Spotlight Gateway

Brad finally talks about Benetech’s efforts to help with Spotlight Gateway, which is a project designed to help those who have a visually impairment gain access to the power of reading through a combination of the Spotlight Text app, a Bookshare membership, and an iPad. Students who are eligible can receive all of these for free through the Spotlight Gateway program

In this exciting Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Andrew Lahart, the head of accessibility, enablement, and competency at IBM, to talk about:

* Accessible Olli, the first fully accessible self-driving vehicle created by Local Motors, the CTA Foundation, and IBM Research

* MERA, a Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant

* NavCog, an indoor/outdoor navigation system for the blind

* AccProbe, an open-source project for developers to make sure their applications are accessible for people who are using assistive technology

Enjoy listening to Drew’s explanations of IBM’s tremendous accomplishments, and what they are planning for the future.

Follow Drew and IBM Accessibility on Twitter, and bookmark IBM’s accessibility webpage.