From indoor mapping systems to smart braille devices that make images ‘touchable’, the latest life-changing technology for giving independence to people who are blind or vision impaired were on show at TechFest recently.
Hosted by the Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) in Adelaide, it brought manufacturers, medical professionals and end users/wearers and attendees together with the chance to try more than 90 assistive technology products.
RSB executive director Damian Papps said the technology helps people who are blind, vision impaired, or have a print disability, like dyslexia or English as a second language, gain independence.
“AT is a powerful enabler, giving people with vision impairment or print disability the independence to manage their medication or financial affairs,” he said. “In the past few years, assistive wearable technology, phones and apps has made life more accessible for people with low vision.”
Some of the products on display included the Commonwealth Bank’s new Smart Eftpos terminal, BindiMaps, a mobile app that locates users precisely in indoor spaces to assist with navigation, and DotPad, which represents images as tactile graphics when connected to a device.
Another piece of new technology was the eSight 4, an ‘all-in-one’ device for people with visual impairment. With the support of the RSB, Ethan Pridham, (pictured) a nine-year-old from Munno Para who has oculocutaneous albinism, recently travelled to Legoland in Melbourne to try out the new eSight 4 device for himself.
Clinically proven to enhance sight through a combination of camera and lens technology designed to stimulate the brain, the eSight 4 allowed Ethan to see in much finer detail than he usually could, by magnifying and improving the contrast of the Lego bricks and figurines.