Announcing the 2019 Touch of Genius Prize Winners

There are two Touch of Genius Prize winners this year!

Canute – Bristol Braille Technologies – won $5000
The Canute is a 360 cell braille display, with 9 rows of 40 cells developed by Bristol Braille Technologies in the UK. The Canute will be the first affordable multi-line display on the market. Targeted toward education settings and libraries, and looking toward areas of math, science, coding and music, the Canute has endured many iterations and been a cooperative experience between braille readers across the world. This “kindle for the blind” is surely be an innovative game-changer and will only push forward braille literacy. 
http://www.bristolbraille.co.uk/

Braille Sheets – ObjectiveEd– won $5000
Braille Sheets is an interactive app to help children learn to read braille developed by ObjectiveEd. ObjectiveEd’s mission is to help children with visual impairments maximize educational results. The app makes it easy to enter programs/lessons for students, see lessons from other teachers, and pair with an actual braille sheet where the student is tactile-y learning letters and words as they are getting real-time audio feedback. A collection of lessons and games, Braille Sheets will be a great supplement for teachers and an easy, affordable way to help students learn braille and become literate. 
https://www.objectiveed.com/

NBP awarded the Touch of Genius prize to the winners at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference on Wednesday, March 17th.

Image on left: Brian MacDonald (NBP) with Marty Shutz of ObjectiveEd at TOG reception. Image on right: MacDonald with Ed Rogers of Bristol Braille at TOG reception.

The Touch of Genius Prize is made possible by the support of the Gibney Family Foundation! Thank you!

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Braille in Hotels: Accessibility Away from Home!

NBP recently worked with the Residence Inn Boston Watertown to produce braille versions of their restaurant guide, shuttle service information, and points of interest in the area!

Director of Sales and Marketing, Korinne Robertson says, “The BRAND NEW Residence Inn by Marriott in Watertown, MA neighbors both Perkins School for the Blind as well as The Carroll Center for the Blind. Associates of the hotel feel it’s important that guests walk through the doors and settle into an environment where they will feel at ease, at home, and acquainted. Being able to provide them with tools and information about the surrounding area and hotel is a great amenity! We strive to provide as much as we can for all of our guests, and having guides and information about the hotel are essential to ensuring a seamless stay while away from the comforts of home.”

When visiting a hotel for the first time, blind and visually impaired guests need to get the lay of the land, figure out where they are going, and of course navigate to new places. Proofreader and frequent traveler, Chris Devin, always loves going to a hotel that accommodates him with braille materials. “If a chain has braille materials and we as blind people know they do, we are more likely to frequent that hotel.” It’s important for materials that are available in print to also be available in braille. “There’s a thought that all blind people can get their information from their iPhone. This is not always the case and that’s why braille is so important,” Chris advocates.

By having braille materials for your guests, you are showing them that their needs are important to you. You are giving them a chance to check out the best places to visit or eat, and information on how they can get around the new area.

The Sound of Accessibility: Braille Materials and Music Festivals

Every spring and summer, music festival fans travel the world to see their favorite bands perform, discover new rhythms, and enjoy the vibrant atmospheres of diverse venues. Each event has its own style: a bohemian layout, regional noshes and creative libations, and highly technical (or equally rustic) stage setups. When it comes to navigating through crowded and unfamiliar locations, blind music lovers need tools to orient themselves to the new space.

“I’ve been to concerts and sporting events. The more crowded and loud it is, the more overwhelming it gets. This is where a tactile map or directions in braille would come in handy to fall back on,” says Georgie Sydnor, NBP proofreader and country music lover. “With it being so loud, it’s hard to even find someone to help you navigate. Sometimes, I won’t go to an event when I know it lacks accessibility because it becomes too stressful.”

Accessibility can be as simple as creating a list of concessions and where they can be found, or a tactile map of the venue marked with major stages, exits, and restrooms. These materials guide blind users and promote a general sense of the area.

Another NBP proofreader, Ashley Bernard, is an avid concert attendee with a recent penchant for electronica. She suggests a braille flyer handed out which gives landmarks to navigate to specific locations. “’For sections A-D, the nearest concession stand is near the main door.’ Short, simple, and descriptive enough to give someone like myself an idea of which direction to start off going,” Ashley says. “I’d most certainly choose a venue which offered accessible information over one that didn’t, regardless of price, time of day, or other variables. Accessibility doesn’t have to be high-tech, innovative, or intricate. The important thing is that it’s an option to some degree, when and if called upon.”

What resources do you use? What do you need? NBP is here to help. We love working with individuals and organizations to create braille projects for the best possible festival experience! Want to learn more? Email Nicole Noble at nnoble@nbp.org.