Hypepotamus – Foresight AR Beacons Give the Visually Impaired A Way to Navigate Independently

Excerpt from Hypepotamus article, written by Muriel Vega

25.5 million adults in the United States have reported vision loss, ranging from partial to total blindness. One of those individuals is David Furukawa, who was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease in college and gradually lost his sight. As he felt a loss his independence in tandem with vision loss, Furukawa shared his pain points with friends Tara Williams and Chris Webb.

The timing was right, as both technologists were looking for their next project. They decided to find a way to use technology to provide more access and independence to the blind and visually impaired. Aside from broad prompts from a smartphone or GPS, visually-impaired individuals often can’t easily locate the entrance of a business, read the menu at a restaurant, or even find the bathroom.

That’s how smart city beacon startup Foresight Augmented Reality (FAR) was born. “We’re providing a voice to the physical world for people who are blind and visually impaired,” says CEO Williams.

Read the full article on Hypepotamus – https://hypepotamus.com/companies/foresight-augmented-reality/

 

First FAR Accessible Atlanta Public School Unveiled

Under the direction of Principal David White, Burgess Peterson Elementary was unveiled as the first Atlanta Public School to become FAR Accessible. FAR Accessible schools enable blind and visually impaired students and parents to easily navigate to and within the school buildings as well as interact

For this initial APS roll out, the Boy Scouts of America were brought in.  Pack 1031 of East Atlanta was engaged to deploy the beacons throughout the school. Pack Leader Jason Royal shared why this was an important activity for the scouts. “I chose the FAR project at Burgess-Peterson Academy for Cub Scout Pack 1031 for a number of reasons.  It seemed to fit in perfectly with a Scout lesson on community service and helping those in need.  We had several different age appropriate examples where we had the children try to perform everyday activities with some kind of roadblock.”  “I believe the Scouts truly learned empathy and awareness in regards to walking around school or living everyday life with a disability and the Scouts learned what it truly means to be helpful as the Scout Law states.”

Staff from Atlanta Public Schools and other regional educational centers were invited to take a tour of the school and see the FAR system at work. Burgess Peterson acts as a case study demonstrating how the FAR system benefits blind students, parents, and faculty in schools and universities.

To learn more, contact FAR at contact@foresightar.com or 888.286.0075.