News
A Podcast for Those with Vision Loss
September 30, 2020
Lighthouse Guild, the organization dedicated to providing services for people who are visually impaired, is launching a new podcast series. “On Tech & Vision with Dr. Cal Roberts” provides information and insights about technological innovations that help people who are blind or visually impaired.
Hosted by Lighthouse Guild President and CEO Calvin W. Roberts, MD, the podcast will also discuss what technology developers and entrepreneurs need to know to meet the needs of people with vision loss. “We are now seeing incredible innovations in areas like spatial orientation and artificial intelligence that can help people with vision loss live even more productive and independent lives,” says Roberts.
Roberts will interview experts in vision technology with a focus on options that can help restore lost vision, enhance existing vision, and improve function. Topics for the first three episodes of the series include:
Episode 1: Seeing with Your Ears – Translating the Audio World to Visual – how using audio can connect people with vision loss to the world around them. Roberts speaks with Dr. Yonaton Wexler about the OrCam MyEye device, which uses audio technology for this purpose. They also discuss whether the brain can recreate a picture using sound alone and what challenges developers face when using sound as a substitute sense for sight.
Episode 2: A Tech Revolution in Your Hand – how touch and sound together can create spatial awareness through the use of smart canes. Roberts speaks to entrepreneur Kürşat Ceylan, who developed the WeWALK, a white cane enabled with smart technologies, for people who are blind.
Episode 3: A “Remapped Reality” – Using Virtual Reality to Remap the Visual Field – how virtual reality (VR) is used to remap sight for people with vision loss. Roberts visits with Dr. Frank Werblin to discuss how combining a smartphone and VR headset can help people see better. Werblin shares how his device, IrisVision, remaps vision and leads to renewed social connections for people with vision impairment.
“On Tech & Vision, with Dr. Cal Roberts” is available online at Lighthouseguild.org and for downloading on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Tunein.com.
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