What if signs could talk? That's what Right hear wants to do! In this episode, I talk to the CEO of Right Hear, Idan Meir, to discuss their technology and how it could enhance the experience of people who are blind and visually impaired. Idan also shares a glimpse into what they're planning next. Right Hear Website: https://www.right-hear.com/ Right Hear on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.righthear&hl=en_US Right Hear on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/righthear-blind-assistant/id1061791840

Can you imagine not being able to see anything, and listening to music to find your way and learn what's around you? Or would you rather AI give you descriptions? How about making it easier to get audio descriptions? On this CoA Epic Ally episode, Patrick Burton tells us all about Ben Vision products, the BEN app, Speakaboo and ViddyScribe, what's unique about the way Ben Vision is developing navigating solutions and some things to look forward to in tech and accessibility. Benvision https://ben.vision/ ViddyScribe https://www.viddyscribe.com/ Speakaboo: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/speakaboo-blind-ai-assistance/id6480101099 Here is a link to a video that's been processed by ViddyScribe: https://youtu.be/f_v3mti0sY4 This is a short edited video Patrick Burton (founder of Benvision and ViddyScribe) took on a date night with his wife. This is the original before processing, in case you would like to compare: https://youtu.be/zHtTZqyhzT4 Video Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:08 – Patrick and Ben Vision 03:13 – Speakaboo 09:52 – BEN App 13:50 – The BEN App Experience 18:57 – Programing Waypoints and Regions 20:15 – Dynamic Environments 22:15 – Creating Custom Waypoint 23:19 – ViddyScribe 29:25 – Free Apps 30:30 – Why is AT so expensive? 35:40 – Vision for tech and accessibility? 38:02 – Final Words 38:48 – My Thoughts on Ben Vision

Can someone blind or visually impaired play video games? What kinds of accessibility features are there, and what's not accessible and frustrating in the gaming world? In this episode of the COA Epic Ally Podcast, Jessie from Illegally Sighted shares his insights, lived experience, and recommendations as a visually impaired gamer. Find out how the gaming world is becoming more accessible and share in the comments if there's any particular game that you're really into or excited about. Jesse from Illegally Sighted https://www.youtube.com/@IllegallySighted Use code CoA15 for $15 off on your first order on Innosearch.ai https://www.innosearch.ai/ Video Chapters 00:00 – Intro 02:07 – Meet Jessie from Illegally Sighted 05:11 – What makes a game accessible? 07:56 – Accessibility advice for game developers 11:32 – Accessibility/usability issues in gaming 14:49 – Accessibility features that’s available 19:45 – Forza Motor Sports and accessibility 23:05 – Console vs PC Gaming 29:46 – Finding accessible games, mods and extensions 31:08 – VR, AR, Mixed Reality Headsets 4135 – More on the inaccessibility of VR headsets 44:50 – Has accessibility improved in gaming? 51:42 – Game Recommendations 56:10 – Jessie’s favorite color and favorite drink! 57:04 – Final thoughts about gaming and accessibility

Envision offers a free app, and for purchase, the Envision Glasses for the blind and visually impaired that helps with text recognition, facial recognition, product recognition and a lot more. On this Episode of the CoA Epic Ally podcast, I interviewed CTO, Karthik Mahadevan, from Envision to tell us all about their apps and glasses, and some of the things that he's excited about assistive technology and AI. Envision https://www.letsenvision.com/ Video Chapters 00:00 – Intro 01:15 –CTO and Co-Founder Karthik Kannan 01:57 - Envision App and Updates 07:37 – AI on the Envision 14:26 – The Envision Glasses 17:15 – Battery and Charging 19:01 – Connecting Phone Audio 19:24 – Google Glass 24:15 – Envision AI and Data Privacy 28:35 – Community Input into Development 30:57 – Envision vs Other Smart Glasses 36:31 – How Envision Started 42:05 – From Paid Subscription to Free 45:21 – Envision Glasses – Price and Availability 46:52 – Why is AT so expensive? 50:10 – What’s exciting in AT and AI? 51:41 – Envision Demo 52:19 – Final Thoughts about Envision Ap 52:59 – Final Thoughts about Envision Glasses

The EvhoVision smart glasses is a wearable that looks like a pair of regular glasses, but features multiple accessibility tools and AI made especially for the blind or visually impaired. In this Epic Ally interview with Agiga CEO, Xiaoran, and CTO, Huasong, I was excited to hear about the features setting EchoVision apart--a button for scene description, OCR and full document reading capabilities, asking AI follow up questions, and more. Also find out about their pre-order offer, availability, future subscriptions, and my thoughts on the EvchoVision. EchoVision Glasses https://echovision.agiga.ai/ Agiga Homepage https://agiga.ai/ Video Chapters: 00:00 Echo Vision Smart Glasses 00:35 What makes the Echo Vision promising 02:34 Interview with Agiga Introduction 02:54 - Introducing Echo Vision 04:11 Description of the Echo Vision 05:45 - AI (Magic) Button 06:04 AI Follow Up Questions 06:15 Can it read documents? 07:04 Scene description versus OCR 08:06 App Integrations, WI-Fi and Phone, Connectivity 10:52 Past Conversations with AI 12:21 Phone Audio Connectivity 12:52 Camera Quality, Battery, and Charging 14:14 What types of lenses are available? 15:20 Clip on sunglasses… yes or no? 15:57 Echo Vision versus Meta Glasses 20:14 How Echo Vision began and Agiga’s mission 24:52 Echo Vision Availability, Pricing, and Pre-Order 26:37 Echo Vision Subscription? 30:11 Assistive Technology Pricing versus Echo Vision Pricing 35:42 Echo Vision’s Future 36:40 Voice Memo “AI Memory” Capabilities 38:53 Audio Recordings versus Voice Memo AI 40:43 Carrie’s Thoughts on the Echo Vision

OOrion is an iOS app that can help you find and identify text and objects- even personal objects that you scan! Plus, they're working on making spaces and indoor navigation more accessible. In this episode, we meet Stephenie, cofounder of the OOrion app, developed for the blind and visually impaired to be able to search for objects and texts in their environment and locate tagged spaces by businesses. Follow the Epic A11y Podcast for more AT interviews and deep dives into interesting accessibility developments! OOrion https://www.oorion.fr/en App Download: https://apps.apple.com/ag/app/oorion/id1567957213 Video Chapters 00:00 – Epic Ally Intro 01:19 – Meet Stephenie from OOrion 02:30 – Idea Behind OOrion 04:25 – Search for Object 07:44 – Other OOrion Features 08:55 – Customized Object Library 10:28 – Will It Be Available on Android? 12:17 – OOrions Busines Model 18:13 – How Tagging Locations Work 22:04 – Can Users Tag Their Own Locations? 26:31 – OOrion’s Development Process 30:41 – What Are Your Goals? 33:51 – What Sets OOrion Apart? 38:50 – What’s Exciting in Tech? 43:15 – Last Words from OOrion 44:55 – My Thoughts on OOrion

As a blind or visually impaired person, what's your online shopping experience like? On this Epic A11y Podcast, I interview Brain, Co-founder of Innosearch.ai.--a whole separate shopping platform designed to be optimized for screen reader users. On Innosearch.ai you can shop for products from several retailers and have AI help you find what you're looking for. Find out all about it and share your thoughts! Innosearch.ai Website https://www.innosearch.ai/ Video Chapters 00:00 – Epic Ally Intro 01:14 – Meet Brian, Innosearch.ai Co-founder 02:41 – How does it work? 04:19 – Pricing and Availability Updates 05:05 – Customer Service Options 05:29 – Returns 06:08 – Limitations 07:21 – Story Behind Innosearch.ai 09:30 – About the AI on Innosearch 10:39 – Can the AI do image descriptions? 11:42 – What if the AI is wrong? 13:09 – Why a separate platform? 14:54 – Available Retailers 15:26 – Price Comparisons 16:32 – Can AI find the best deal? 17:00 – Can you purchase through the AI? 17:33 – How do you make money and do things cost more? 19:47 – Development Process 20:23 – Goals for Innosearch.ai 21:19 – Why is AT so expensive? 22:56 – What’s exciting? 23:47 – Interview Wrap Up and Deal 25:03 – What do I think?

Biped is working on a new mobility device for the blind and visually impaired called NOA. This stands for Navigation, obstacle detection, and AI. You wear it around your shoulders - it has a quality camera module on one side and a high performance AI computer. In this episode, I interview Maël Fabien, one of the cofounders of Biped to do a deep dive into the device. http:.biped.ai Video Chapters 00:00 – Epic Ally Intro 01:24 – Meet Meal 01:44 – What is Biped? 02:20 – Description of Biped 03:48 – Can you wear it with a backpack? 04:20 – Does it work with an app or is it a sand alone? 06:29 – Is it available now? 07:29 – What’s the onboarding like? 09:32 – Is it compatible with Bluetooth devices? 11:53 – Unboxing Experience 13:34 – Batteries and Charger 15:39 – Controls 19:08 – Obstacle Detection 23:33 – Connection 27:16 – AI Follow Up Questions 28:00 – More About Audio 29:49 – Other Sensors 32:27 – More on Obstacle Detection 38:54 – Form Factor 43:01 – Using NOA with a White Cane 44:08 – Origin Story of Biped and NOA 47:14 – How does Navigation work? 51:43 – Availability and Price 54:02 – Why is AT so expensive? 57:00 – Price for Subscription 57:16 – Vision for Future of Biped 59:27 – What’s Exciting? 1:01:17 – My Thoughts