[NFB-Idaho] ACB and OrCam

[Sean Malone]

The American Council of the Blind and OrCam Technologies Announce Cooperative Agreement

ACB-OrCam Collaboration Seeks to Enhance Independence for Blind and Low Vision Community through Innovative Assistive Technology

Rochester, New York (July 7, 2019) – The American Council of the Blind (ACB), a leader in national, state, local and international advocacy efforts for blind Americans, and OrCam Technologies, the world’s most advanced wearable AI-driven artificial vision innovator for people who are blind or have low vision, jointly announced a cooperative agreement at the ACB's 58th Annual Conference and Convention that will help empower blind and low vision Americans to achieve increased independence.

The cooperation between the ACB and OrCam will raise awareness of OrCam's assistive technology among ACB members in the United States to support uses in education, employment and quality of life for Blind and Low Vision Americans. OrCam devices will be available for sale to ACB members with a special ACB discount.

"The OrCam Team is privileged to collaborate with the ACB – a leader in advocacy efforts at the national, state, and local levels in the U.S. as well as internationally – in this cooperative agreement," said Mr. Ziv Aviram, OrCam Co-founder, President and CEO. "The joint work of the ACB and OrCam will enable us to provide increased independence to people who are blind or have low vision by enabling them to successfully study, work and perform daily activities. OrCam is committed to empowering the visually impaired community by improving quality of life through our breakthrough artificial vision technology."

Wireless, lightweight and compacted into the size of a finger, the pioneering technology of the AI-driven OrCam MyEye 2 artificial vision device discreetly reads printed and digital text aloud – from any surface – in real time. Newspapers, books, computer and smartphone screens, restaurant menus, labels on supermarket products and street signs become immediately accessible. Additional features of OrCam MyEye 2 include instant face recognition and identification of consumer products, colors and money notes. 
Magnetically mounted on the wearer’s eyeglasses frame and weighing only 22.5 grams, OrCam MyEye 2 has been meticulously designed by leading minds in the Computer Vision and Machine Learning fields to be intuitive and easy to use for the blind and people with vision loss. The device is the only wearable artificial vision technology that is activated by an intuitive pointing gesture or simply by following the wearer's gaze – allowing for hands-free use – without the need of a smartphone or Wi-Fi, resulting in real time audio communication while ensuring data privacy.

Globally, OrCam MyEye is available in 25 languages and in 48 countries.
“ACB is proud to partner with OrCam to provide this innovative technology to our members. As OrCam continues to develop this technology, we look forward to a strong partnership,” says Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind.

The latest available figures as of 2016 indicate that 7.68 million Americans have a visual disability, with over 70% of working age adults reporting significant vision loss not employed full-time.

The ACB and OrCam will continue to take the lead to increase the independence of people who are blind or who have low vision through access to the most effective assistive technology solutions.

About OrCam Technologies: OrCam harnesses the power of artificial vision by incorporating pioneering technology into a wearable platform which improves the lives of individuals who are blind, visually impaired, have reading difficulties including dyslexia or reading fatigue. OrCam was co-founded in 2010 by Prof. Amnon Shashua and Mr. Ziv Aviram, who are also the co-founders of Mobileye, the collision avoidance system leader and autonomous driving innovator, which was acquired by Intel Corp. in August 2017 for $15.3 billion.

For more information: www.orcam.com and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/OrCamTech) and follow OrCam on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OrCamTech) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/OrCam).

About the American Council of the Blind: ACB works to increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life, for all people who are blind or visually impaired. ACB advocates for policies that provide services, opportunities, infrastructure, and equipment that are necessary for an inclusive society, in federal, state, and local governments, and among service providers and industry.

For more information: Visit www.acb.org and our YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_nLwS9Cw2Bm1IA4qIBw3Q), and follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial) and Twitter(https://twitter.com/acbnational).

Media contact: 
Rafi Fischer
Rafi.Fischer at OrCam.com
+1-800-713-3741 x113 (U.S.)
+972-2-591-7805 (Israel)

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