VIP by COOL BLIND TECH

In this very special VIP, Joel Ramos, Hugo Gallegos, and Rachel Feinberg tell us all about their exciting experiences at this year’s Assistive Technology Conference, hosted by California State University Northridge.

Cool Picks

Orbit Reader 20

Rachel is hoping that the Orbit Reader from the American Printing House for the blind is available soon. With its small footprint and large capabilities, this is a device you will want to have soon as well.

KNFB Reader for Windows 10

Hugo grabbed the KNFB Reader while it was on sale during the CSUN convention. Although it is no longer on sale it is a great low cost solution for scanning printed text on your Windows 10 computers.

ChromeVox Screen Reader

Joel is heading off to the nearest Best Buy to start looking at ChromeBooks so he can use the new ChromeVox screen reader. The new capabilities and options available now will ChromeVox will make you want to buy one as well.

This week the team has way too many conventions to choose from and they all have great assistive technology to talk about. Join Joel, Jessica and Cool Blind Tech's newest team member Rachel as they discuss the happenings in A.T. Whether this cool Tech shows up in Barcelona, Spain or San Diego, California you can guarantee that the team has an opinion and plenty of techie details.

Accessibility Makes Itself Known At This Year’s Game Developers Conference

San Francisco, California is hosting this year's GDC 2017 and accessibility is a major topic of discussion. Yes, you did read that correctly, make sure to listen and find out how.

Can VR Help the Visually Impaired See Better?

Barcelona Spain, is hosting the Mobile World Congress this week and Samsung is showcasing a VR app called Relumino which can help the visually impaired more efficiently read books and watch tv. Can this replace current assistive devices for less? Make sure to hit play and find out.

Real Time Graphics on a Braille Display

San Diego California, is hosting the annual CSUN convention this week as well and Orbit Research along with the APH is presenting the Orbit Graphiti. The team talks about all the things it can do and who will get their hands on one first.

Cool Picks of the Week

Jessica shows us a cool skill that is available on both the Alexa line of products and the Google Home Assistant. The "Dr. Doggy" skill is a must have for owners of seeing eye dogs or those who care greatly for man's best friend.

Rachel highlights the benefits of using the Yelp app on her iPhone before heading out for a day of fun. Check out how you can plan your next outing as well.

Joel has found a new way to have fun on his iPhone with the new Reverb app. Listen in to find out how you can now bring along a well known virtual assistant with you on both android and iOS devices.

Don’t worry about how much it costs! Just go out and buy it! Tune in to this jam packed VIP where James Oates steps out of his comfort zone to take on the job as host with fellow hosts Joel Ramos and Nelson Régo.

Using a Haptic Device, Blind People Can See Microscope Images:

A team at Purdue University in Indiana has developed a haptic device that lets blind people feel images generated by a microscope. It has always been a huge undertaking to help the blind understand microscopic images. Sometimes, a sighted person just must describe it, which is problematic sense each description differs, and the blind person can’t always understand the description. Also, tactile images can be created and labelled in braille, but this is labor intensive and requires a sighted individual with the knowledge, time, and skill to do it.

This new device is a haptic feedback joystick that plugs into a computer that also has a microscope connected to it. It has been tested on red and white blood cells. The blind person navigates the cell with the joystick, and receives a pushback when encountering a cell wall, and different vibrations when hovering over different textured objects.

So far, tests have indicated that a blind person can identify the difference between a white and red blood cell more accurately using this device than by means of other methods.

Handheld Scanner Converts Text to 36Cell Refreshable Braille: Cost, About $100:

Six women, all undergraduate engineering students at MIT, won last year’s MakeMIT Hackathon by creating a device that can easily change the world for people who are blind.

They call themselves Team-Tactile, and they did something that should have been done a long time ago.

They created a device that is the size of a candy bar. It has a camera on the back, it runs OCR software, and it has 36cells of refreshable braille on the front. You just move the device, for now called Tactile, over printed text, and it is immediately displayed in braille on the front. Think about what an improvement this is over current methods of taking pictures, waiting for OCR software to convert to text, and then having to have a very expensive braille device connected to whatever you used to take the picture and convert to text.

The team only had 15 hours to create this device during the hackathon competition, and it only costs around one hundred dollars.

The problem in the braille display market is that no one has been motivated to create anything new and affordable. We are still using technology that is decades old, and the cost for these devices are in the thousands of dollars. It is about time that new options come to those who desperately need it. Only 10% of blind people can read braille, 70% of blind people are unemployed, and 80% of blind people who are employed can read braille. You do the math. Having easy access to braille material directly correlates to a more educated and productive blind community.

Orca 3.24 Screen Reader and Magnifier Has Entered Development: Public Preview is Available for Download:

Orca, the popular screen reader, and magnifier for Linux, has entered development in anticipation of the public launch of version 3.24 on March 23rd.

Version 3.23.4 is available now for testing, if you would like to get a head start on the new release. You can download it here.

Join Jessica Rickards, James Oates, and Nelson Rego for this exciting VIP. It's all about the future with these incredible stories. Here's a look at what you can expect in this fun, yet educational episode.

* 3D Printing Can Help Blind Students Learn About Sex

* Amazon launches monthly subscription program to help children learn about math and science

* High Tech Glove Helps You Feel in VR"

Cool Picks:

* Instant Pot Six-In-One (or Seven-In-One) Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Reference Article

*

What is your deepest darkest secret? Listen in as we open the doors to the VIP room with one of your favourite host Joel Ramos, as he opens up to his fellow hosts Jessica Rickards and newcomer Gabriel Vega, CEO of Commtech.

VizLens helps the blind operate appliances with digital screens and unlabeled buttons

Think about the number of electronic appliances you encounter on a daily basis – using a microwave, adjusting the thermostat in your home, or buying a snack from the office vending machine. Now, imagine trying to operate any of these if you were blind. Impossible? Anhong Guo, Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII), is turning this into a reality with the development of an interactive screen reader called VizLens.

Windows 10 build 15025 brings braille support for Narrator

Microsoft is excited to announce braille support for Narrator. This experience is currently in beta. So try it out and give feedback! In order to use braille with Narrator, you will need to do the following:

* • Ensure Narrator is running. Then go to Settings > Ease of Access (WIN + U) and under the Narrator settings, activate the “Download Braille” button. You will be prompted to install braille support.

• Under Settings > Ease of Access, activate the “Enable braille” button and add a braille display. Note that USB and serial connections for the display are supported.

• Under Settings > Ease of Access, choose the language and braille table you want to use.

Note detailed documentation about braille display key mappings will be made available in the Narrator User Guide closer to when the Windows 10 Creators Update is released.

NOTE:

There are coexistence issues with braille support and third party screen readers. Until the documentation is available, we recommend that braille be enabled for Narrator only on PCs that do not also have a third-party screen reader configured to use a braille display.

New mono audio option in Ease of Access settings

Visually impaired users use a screen reader application to read the PC screen content and information to them, and frequently use headphones or earbuds to hear the computer when in meetings or having conversations with others. When doing so, they generally use only one earbud to hear the PC in one ear so the other ear is free to hear conversations and sounds around them. That can cause them to not hear sounds that may be directed to the other earbud. In order to change the sound to be mono mode and so all audio is directed to both ears, they used to need a physical earphone adapter.

You can now switch your audio to mono straight from the new Audio section under Settings > Ease of Access > Other options.

A new startup, Innovision, has recognized to problem that exists for those who are blind

Although voice feedback is convenient, and it opens many opportunities, it doesn’t promote literacy. Blind people need access to braille material, and current pricing on braille displays keeps most people from being able to access the printed word, especially in developing countries.

Innovision has created the BrailleMe, which is a simple braille display that plugs directly into your phone or computer. It also has Bluetooth capabilities.

Cool Picks:

MediGuard provides you with easy to understa...

Join Jessica Rickards and James Oates for another exciting VIP as they discuss accessible voting in the United States. Here's a look at what you can expect:

* Accessible Voting in Texas

* Accessible voting in Brevard County Florida Instructional Video for Florida Poll Werkers S-Automark Voting Machine

Cool Picks:

* Braigo Companion by Braigo Labs, LLC

* ETI Eloquence for Windows

Please feel free to leave feedback about your own accessible voting experiences, or how you've handled voting, whether you're from the U.S. or other another country.

This week's episode of VIP has plenty of surprises and interesting information. Join hosts Joel Ramos, James Oates and Jessica Rickards as they discuss the happenings in the world of accessible technology. This week's first surprise has nothing to do with tech but will leave plenty of the guys heartbroken. You've been warned!

This week's topics include the following:

The future of care for the elderly is here with the latest robot prototype from IBM and Rice University. Listen to find out how IBM Mera can impact the elderly who wish to live a more independent life.

The battle to see which company can get its virtual assistant on the most devices continues. This week Vizio and LG both announce that they will now work with the Google Home Assistant. The team take a quick poll to see which one they use the most.

Were you one of the many who didn't upgrade your MacBook Pro last October when Apple announced its latest computers? Check out the latest rumors to see what Apple plans to release later this year. Is it too late or not?

Not a week goes by that we don't bring you "Cool Picks" that we use on a daily basis:

The UberEats app comes in handy when you just got to have that burger. Make sure to listen to catch Jessica's favorite orders on the app. It's available for both Android and iOS.

Planning on upgrading to a new phone or simply want to make sure you don't lose all those important contacts on your smart phone? Then you definitely want to check out James' recommendation of the "My Contacts Backup" app for iOS.

If you find that you are the forgetful type or know someone that leaves something behind everywhere you go. Then you are going to enjoy Joel's suggestion of the "Don't Leave It" app for iOS

What do Windows, Cars and Underwear have in common? They're all topics on this week's episode of VIP. Join Joel Ramos, Nelson Rego and guest host Hugo Gallegos as they discuss the latest in accessible technology. Don't worry, all three hosts are fully clothed for this week's recording.

Topics discussed this week include the following:

Windows 10 Build 15002 and its accessibility features.

Olli, the World's Most Accessible Self-Driving Vehicle.

New technology from the UK that may help save the sight of many around the world called Arclight.

As always, the team has some great "Cool Picks" to share as well:

Virtual assistants are everywhere now and Microsoft's very own Cortana is still a great option to use for reminders, information and good old fashioned fun.

FreshBooks is Small Business Accounting Software That Makes Billing Painless.

Struggling with swapping SIM cards between two phones? The Digits Program from T-Mobile may be something you'll want to take a look at on this week's show to help you.

The New Year traditionally is about setting new goals and resolutions for improving ourselves throughout the coming year. But, at Cool Blind Tech we're all about highlighting new technology and products that improve the lives of those with disabilities no matter the time of year. This week, join Nelson Rego and Joel Ramos as they showcase some of the hottest accessible technology presented at the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show that took place in Las Vegas Nevada.

Game changers this year included an innovative refreshable Braille tablet from Blitab Technologies called the BLITAB Tablet. The way this tablet presents Braille is incredible and you got to hear it to believe. Many products discussed on this week's show also received prestigious awards in the category of accessible technology and products. Some of these include the PCEye Mini which is an eye tracking device that allows individuals with mobility impairments to use a computer. The ReSound Enzo was also a recipient of an award for its Smart Hearing Aid for individuals with severe hearing loss. Nominees also included the Dring Smart Cane which packs a ton of technology into a mobility cane for individuals with physical disabilities who are prone to falling.

This week's "Cool Picks" Include the following :

Algoriddim continues to provide incredible accessibility with their line of DJ products. The new DJay Pro for the IPhone is no exception. The video found on the page for the app highlights some great features but, sadly no descriptive video...

Tired of flight simulators? Try out the SYMA Sky Thunder RC D63 Drone Runner

The CBT Team are back with their Cool Picks of 2016. Featuring James, Jessica, Joel, Leo, Alex and Nelson with a introduction to our newest team member, Jessica Silva from Cisco Academy for the Vision Impaired.

Cool Picks:

Sonos

Echo Dot (2nd Generation

Google Home speaker.

Fire Tablet.

Apple iPhone SE

Google Pixel

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd gen).