Technology advances ever onward, and one of the latest devices to be born from the imagination of the engineers at HIMS is the E-bot. The E-bot is a portable CCTV camera designed to be connected via HDMI to a television or monitor - so far so normal. What sets the E-bot apart is that it can also wirelessly connect to an iPad, using the iPad's screen as its monitor! In another twist, the most advanced version of the E-bot, the E-bot Pro, is fully motorized and allows...

"Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.?" Helen Keller, The Story of My Life One of the main areas in which people who are blind or have a visual impairment suffer, particularly if they have lost their vision at a later age, is the loss of their ability to read. Suddenly being unable to read mail,...

An interesting movement in the AT field over recent years has been the homogenization of different types of technology into one device. This has been seen with CCTV's that contain OCR technology, Read-Aloud devices that combine email capabilities, Smart Phones that can be used for numerous different tasks related to the low vision and blindness etc. This homogenization is a great trend as it means a user can carry less devices and make their lives a little easier. Following...

Low Vision International are no strangers to making great low vision devices. We were big fans of their portable camera system, the Magnilink S, a few months back and now have had the chance to review their portable desktop CCTV line, the Magnilink Zip. Suffice to say, once again we are impressed. The Magnilnik Zip comes in many varieties with optional 13 or 17 inch screen sizes, an optional X-Y table, an optional HD or Full HD camera and an optional rechargeable battery....

Here at The Chicago Lighthouse we are always excited to try out new technology, and that's why when Boni approached us with a desire to install navigation beacon technology here we jumped at the chance! Boni is a company from Turkey who have been working on a navigation system to aid those who are blind or have a visual impairment to navigate through unfamiliar spaces. The way they do this is by using small beacons installed in strategic places around buildings which...

Technology is a great asset to those who are blind or visually impaired, helping to give back independence where it may have seemed that there was no hope. The down side to this is that technology costs, and is unfortunately not covered by services such as Medicare and Medicaid.  To help with this The Chicago Lighthouse offers used or ex-demo equipment at highly discounted prices. All the equipment is tested by our Assistive Technology team to ensure it is working...

For the blind and visually impaired, navigation around unfamiliar areas can be a scary proposition. Talking GPS units can be a godsend in this situation, providing street by street navigation that can guide a blind or visually impaired pedestrian to their destination. The Trekker Breeze from Humanware was one of the best GPS systems on the market but was hampered by slow connection time to satellites and a problem losing it's signal in built up urban areas.  Humanware...

The American Foundation for the Blind is a fantastic organization striving to bring equality for those with a visual impairment and has been doing great work since 1921. That's why when we were recently alerted to their blog we had to check it out, and we were not disappointed. Featuring fantastic articles on topics ranging from getting to grips with the new iWatch from Apple, to anecdotes and stories about Helen Keller, the AFB Blog is a highly recommended resource...

We have finally had a chance to make a video demonstration of the Vario Ultra Braille display, and this little guy is definitely a good tool to have around for the modern girl or guy. Featuring a sleek aluminum body, ergonomic design, excellent feeling Braille cells (available as either a 20 or 40 cell setup) and the ability to connect to 5 devices simultaneously, this Braille display hits all the right buttons.  Check out our video review to find out for yourself...

The Orcam has been in pre-release in the USA for a few months and we have had the chance to try it out, and we are liking what we see. For those of you who haven't seen the promotional video (see it below) the Orcam is a wearable camera which attaches to the side of a pair of glasses and can perform OCR to read aloud whatever text the wearer is looking at. In addition the Orcam offers additional features such as facial recognition whereby, once you have stored...

Humanware's Trekker Breeze has long been a useful tool for people who are blind or visually impaired to confidently navigate when out and about, providing a simple to use interface that can be manipulated one handed leaving a hand free to hold a white cane or dog guide. The Trekker did have a few problems though, such as very slow starting time, not telling you what side of the street things were on and sometimes inaccurate location finding when not in street view.Step...

With the release of Microsoft's Surface 3 tablet/laptop hybrid we thought it was time to blog about the benefits of this great line of devices for people who are blind or visually impaired (read a review of the Surface 3 here http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/15/surface-3-review/) The Surface 3 is the first time that Microsoft have released a Surface outside of the Pro line that runs a full version of Windows 8.1 - what does this mean? It means you will get a fully...

Here at The Chicago Lighthouse we are big fans of Zoomax's products as they combine great features and great prices. We're glad to see the Butterfly, our latest acquisition from them, is no exception. This 3.5" portable electronic magnifier features 5 color modes, 1.5x to 15x magnification and a freeze frame mode. The thing that we really like though (and that gives it its name!) is the butterfly shaped stand on the rear of the unit. This stand puts the screen at an...

The Lighthouse has just received a new desktop CCTV from Zoomax, the company who introduced the Butterfly, Snow and Snow 7 HD electronic handheld magnifiers, and we like.  The CCTV is called the Panda and comes in a striking black and white color scheme (hence the name!). Containing all the features you would expect such as 17 different color modes, 2x-70x magnification and a 19" monitor, the Panda is an attractive CCTV with a good image and is really easy to use. And...

We've been talking a lot about accessible television recently, and today we came across another great service that can make it easier for people with a visual impairment or who are blind use their television - X1 from Comcast! This service introduces some great features for the blind and visually impaired, such as an accessible television guide, accessible menus and accessible DVR control so you never have to miss your favorite shows again or find what channel they...

Let's face it, everyone likes to watch TV, but for the person with a visual impairment this can be a difficult task. For those with a central or peripheral scotoma it can be hard to see faces of the people on television, and easy to miss important action happening on the screen.  Audio described television (which we talked about last week with regards to Netflix) can be one helpful tool for this problem. A narrator describes the action on the...

The market for small portable electronic magnifiers has just got better with the introduction of a new device - The Butterfly from Zoomax. Zoomax has already impressed us with it's Snow and Snow 7 HD  handheld electronic magnifiers, and the Butterfly continues their impressive track record. Smaller than either of the Snow's, the Butterfly features a 3.5 inch screen and weighs only 4.2 ounces making it ideal for taking around in a pocket or a purse....

The Tunity app is a great new resource that is proving to be very popular, and even better it's free! But what is it, I hear you say? Tunity is an app that lets you stream audio from your favorite TV Channels through your phone. What's the point of this, I hear you say?! Imagine you are in a noisy sports bar and want to listen to the game they are showing on the TV - just start up the app and listen from your phone! Or imagine you are in the waiting room at the airport...

As Cyanogen moves along a new path (apparently with help from Microsoft) phone maker OnePlus is working on its own flavor of Android, and now it has a name: OxygenOS. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much else beyond promises of going back to the drawing board with software that is "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." That's good to hear though, and matches up with the alpha build seen earlier this month. In classic OnePlus style, the...

What if I say that while just sitting in a sofa in your room can can do your office work by changing your room compeletly into your office or, what if you can see beyond your Laptop's or PC screen. Microsoft on Wednesday in a Windows 10 even announced it's new technology breakthrough "Microsoft Hololens". Watch this Beautiful Video: A thing that will change the way you think about technology or see technology. It comes with a new innovation i.e. 3-D Holograms...

The Connect 12 from Humanware is a fantastic new device combining the convenience of tablet technology with low vision features. Based on an Android tablet, the Connect 12 runs the Prodigi software meaning good quality near magnification, fast and accurate OCR and ease of use. An optional extra is a wireless distance camera which can be used to magnify the whiteboard, look out the window or whatever else you might want to see. Once you have finished on the Prodigi side...

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 II – the successor of the Olympus OM-D E-M5, is a small 16MP camera made in Olympus’ compact range. Users of the OM-D E-M5 might think that they are still holding the same camera while holding the OM-D E-M5II. This is because the most obvious upgrade by Olympus on the OM-D E-M5II is its more advanced movie capabilities and a multi-shot 40MP mode. For me the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II does not exactly feel like a big leap forward from the Olympus...