Third time every year Global Sight Tech conference, one virtual, free and accessible the event on December 7 and 8 brings together some of the world’s leading experts working on assistive technology, especially AI, for the blind or visually impaired. If you haven’t been following this thread, you probably should, because a lot of the cutting-edge technologies over the years – OCR and NLP for example – were developed from the ground up for the blind and from the very beginning. which is more commonly used. Sign up today!
At this year’s event, we’re having sessions with the creators of several new devices to support the vision, and we’ll talk about technology architecture decisions that balance capability with cost. fees and exploit existing platforms.
We’ll also take a first look at accessibility in VR, which is an area of great interest because if/when VR evolves in the entertainment and business worlds, it’s important for people with disabilities markets have access, just as they do today on smartphones and computers thanks to screen readers like JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA.
Our third big piece of programming is about the AI itself. There’s no shortage of hype about AI’s capabilities, and it’s important to push back against that by discussing some of the serious limitations and shortcomings in how AI works today for people with disabilities, not yet. to humanity in general. At the same time, AI is arguably the best ever core technology for the visually impaired. Understanding AI is crucial to the future of all people with disabilities for all of those reasons. Do not forget Register today!
And before you browse through this amazing agenda: For technologists, designers, and product people working in the technology that supports the global shake-up, we’re hosting a small, in-person event on December 9 with assistive technology seminars, many of which are run by the same celebrities on the agenda. Interested? Contact us.
This is the agenda. To see the times and more, visit Sight Tech Global agenda page.
Dynamic tactile device: “Holy Braille” for education is near
follow on last year’s discussion about the partnership between APH and Humanware to create education-focused tactile displays (see next section), Greg Stilson updates Sight Tech Global on the project’s progress, and APH is working on a developer SDK that builds on tactile displays. Greg Stilson will also lead a breakout session for attendees looking to dive deeper into the Dynamic Tactile Device.
Greg StilsonHead of Global Innovation, APH
Operator: Devin ColdeweyWriter & Photographer, TechCrunch
The DOT Pad: How the Bible and smartphone speaker technology made the breakthrough
For decades, engineers have worked towards braille displays that can display tactile images and multi-line braille. POINT KEYBOARD there may be cracked the code with an innovative approach to creating dynamic fields of braille pins enabled by smart integrations that combine with existing technologies, such as Apple’s VoiceOver. Eric Kim and Ki Sung will also lead a panel discussion for attendees who want to learn more.
Eric Ju Yoon Kim Co-Founder/CEO of DOT
Ki Kwang Sung Co-Founder/CEO of DOT
Operator: Devin Coldewey Writer & Photographer TechCrunch
Virtual Reality and Inclusion: What does non-visual access to metadata mean?
People with disabilities and accessibility advocates are working to ensure that everyone can access the metaverse. This workshop will delve into research on the challenges that current augmented and virtual reality tools pose to people who are blind or have low vision. Panelists will share their experiences using immersive technologies and explore how to use these tools to enhance employment opportunities in hybrid environments and remote workplaces — but only if they are built with inclusion in mind.
Operator Bill Curtis Davidson Co-Director, Employment & Accessibility Technology (PEAT) Partnership
Alexa HuthStrategic Communications Manager, PEAT
Brandon Keith BiggsSoftware Engineer, Smith-Kettlewell Eye Institute and CEO of XR Navigation
Aaron GluckPhD candidate in Human-Centered Computing, Clemson University
Inventing a “screen reader” for VR: Cosmonious High by Owlchemy Laboratories
For virtual reality game developers, there’s every reason to experiment with accessibility in the first place, which is what the Owlchemy Labs team did with high universe2022 release of a fun, first-person game set in an intergalactic high school one reviewer said “has all the charm and boldness of a good Nickelodeon children’s show.” And it reveals some of the earliest approaches to accessibility in VR.
Peter GalbraithAccessibility Engineer II, Owlchemy Labs
Canoe JazminAccessibility Product Manager II, Owlchemy Labs
Operator James RathFilmmakers, Accessibility Advocates, and Gamers
Describe the sound the Pixar way
Synthetic, AI-driven audio descriptions may have a place in some forms of accessible video content, but the artistry of Pixar’s purely human-generated audio descriptions for its products has set an innovative standard that no other AI can achieve and that’s all for the good. Meet the members of the Pixar team behind excellence in audio description.
Eric PearsonHome Entertainment Supervisor, Pixar
Anna CapezzeraDirector, Audio Description Operations, Deluxe
Laura’s postVoice actor
Christina StevensWriting Manager, Deluxe
Operator Tom WlodkowskiVice President, Accessibility, Comcast
See the new AI and AI
Microsoft’s hugely popular See AI is one of those apps that seems to do it all, from reading documents to recognizing people and things. Those services are enabled by Microsoft’s rapidly growing cloud-based AI systems. How is See AI evolving with those capabilities and what is the future of See AI?
Saqib ShaikhCo-founder of See AI, Microsoft
Operator Larry GoldbergAccessibility Sensei & Technology Consulting
Accessibility is AI’s biggest challenge: How Alexa aims to make everyone fairer
Smart home technology, like Alexa, has been one of the biggest benefits of recent years for blind people and people with disabilities in general. Voice technology and AI help empower people in many ways, but there’s one obstacle standing in the way: making it fair. In this section, learn from Amazon how they approach the challenge ahead.
Peter KornDirector of Accessibility, Devices & Services, Amazon
Josh MieleLead Accessibility Researcher, Amazon
Caroline DesrosiersFounder & CEO, Scribely
Shake hands with Seleste
Rapid advancements in telephony, data networking, and hardware miniaturization have always seemed to converge on the concept of a super-useful, affordable, and discreet assistive device. Seleste plans to launch later this year with a pair of tech-enabled glasses that mark an important milestone on that journey.
Shubh MittalFounder, Seleste
Smit PatelCo-founder, Seleste
operator, Jennison AsuncionHead of accessibility technology evangelism, LinkedIn
Shake hands with ARx
Like the Seleste, the ARx is a recently released device designed to take advantage of the technical technology platforms that surround everyday life with a private, low-visibility, head-mounted device. Both Seleste and ARx leaders will discuss what they have learned during the development and testing of their devices.
Charles LeclerqCEO, ARx Vision
operator, Lucy GrecoExpert and consultant on e-access
What’s Next with StellarTrek
Where Seleste and ARx are newcomers to assistive devices, Humanware is a long-standing, respected and respected player. SaoTrek also take strong advantage of technological advancements but also bid farewell to newcomers when it comes to technology architecture and form factors.
Louis-Philippe MasseVice President of Product and Technology Innovation, Humanware
Peter TicicDirector of Strategic Partnerships, Humanware
operator, Sam Proulx, Accessibility to Evangelist, Fable
Problems with AI
Despite the amazing advances of AI over the past decade, the so-called “deep learning” AI technology popularized today has limitations that have not been appreciated and even pose dangers to society. festival. Our speakers are world-renowned AI experts and AI “dissidents” who believe we need an AI that does both. more responsible and able to produce more reasonable results.
David FerrucciFounder & CEO, Elemental Cognition
Gary MarcusFounder and Executive Chairman, Robust AI
operator, Ned Desmond, Founder and Executive Producer, Sight Tech Global
Computer Vision AI getting worse or better?
The ability of assistive technology devices to recognize objects, faces, and scenes is a type of AI called Computer Vision, which calls for the building of vast databases of human-labeled images to train AI algorithms. A new technique called “learn once“Learning is significantly faster because the AI trains images on the internet on its own. No need for human supervision. Is that a good idea?
Danna Gurari, Assoc. Professor, Founding Director, Image & Video Computing group, University of Colorado Boulder
operator, Cecily MorrisonPrincipal Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge
What Waymo Learned at the DOT . Holistic Design Challenge
Waymo has joined the US Department of Transportation Comprehensive design challengeand emerge with many Lessons and accessibility features that will help Waymo’s autonomous rides provide better service to people with disabilities. Waymo’s team is still processing everything they’ve learned.
Lauren SchwendimannTeam Leader & UX Design Manager, Waymo
Colonel JeffreyDirector of Accessibility Technology, Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
operator, Mike MayChief Missionary, Goodmaps
do not forget register for this free, virtual event.
We are grateful to our current sponsors iSenpai, Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Humanware, Microsoft, Ford, Fable, APH and Waymo. If you want to sponsor this event, please contact us. All sponsorship revenue goes to nonprofits Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impairedhas served the Silicon Valley community for 75 years.
