<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><br><br><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> "David Goldfield via groups.io" <david.goldfield=outlook.com@groups.io><br><b>Date:</b> April 17, 2025 at 06:18:17 EDT<br><b>To:</b> tv <tech-vi@groups.io><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[Tech-VI] Accessing Print Materials with On-Demand Visual Interpreting</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> tech-vi@groups.io<br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">\ufeff
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<p>Aira - Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 12:00\u202fPM</p>
<h1>Accessing Print Materials with On-Demand Visual Interpreting</h1>
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<p><span>Print material is everywhere. In the past, blind people would have to wait until someone was available to read things like mail, directions and important paperwork. Then OCR software made it possible to scan text from print into something a screen
reader could recognize. This still didn\u2019t address encountering print \u201cin the wild\u201d\u2014things like a brochure on a community bulletin board, a coffee table book at a cafe, or a binder of archived materials at work. </span></p>
<p><span>Smart phones opened up a world of possibilities for reading. Blind and low-vision people could use the KNFB Reader app, one of the first apps built specifically for a community with a serious need to read things anywhere, any time. Other apps like
Microsoft\u2019s Seeing AI expanded on these capabilities with currency and bar code recognition, color detection and basic scene description. There was still a need though for human assistance in dealing with print. </span></p>
<p><span>In 2015, Aira began with an app that would connect blind and low-vision people to professional visual interpreters, then called agents. Although volunteer-based apps were available for text messaging for assistance, Aira based its model on people trained
specifically to give objective and comprehensible instructions and directions tailored to blind and low vision-people. In our 2024 Explorer survey, Aira Explorers identified a number of reading tasks they commonly use in their day-to-day encounters with printed
materials. </span></p>
<h2><span>Products and Prescription Labels </span></h2>
<p><span>Imagine it\u2019s late at night and you want a little snack. No one else is awake and you\u2019re not sure exactly how long to microwave those pizza rolls. Aira is here 24/7. More than half (54%) of survey respondents said that they use our service to read product
labels and prescriptions.</span></p>
<p><span>You just got a new prescription and aren\u2019t sure about how to take it. You\u2019ve asked your family to read the instructions once and feel uncomfortable about asking again. You can call Aira any time, as many times as you need. You can even ask your visual
interpreter to put the information in your file so it\u2019s readily available. Aira is now HIPAA compliant to assure that any healthcare information is kept private. </span></p>
<h2><span>Cards and Forms </span></h2>
<p><span>Half of the participants in our survey said that they use Aira to read cards, identification documents and to help complete on-line and physical forms. Reading things like greeting cards is often one of those extra tasks blind and low-vision people
used to leave for last, after the important bills and other mail, not wanting to \u201cwaste the time of the human reader\u201d. Sometimes cards and forms are very personal. Aira visual interpreters sign confidentiality agreements as a condition of employment so your
information is kept private. </span></p>
<h2><span>Important Documents </span></h2>
<p><span>More than 50% of Aira customers said that they rely on visual interpreters to assist with completing inaccessible forms and signing documents. You can get as much detail as you need when reviewing material as well. Need to get that inaccessible PDF
in a form you can review later? The Aira Explorer app allows you to send a file to the visual interpreter who can then convert it and send it back. </span></p>
<h2><span>Don\u2019t forget about AI.</span></h2>
<p><span><a href="https://aira.io/in-case-you-missed-it-free-access-ai-open-to-all-explorers/">Access AI is a free feature</a> of the Aira Explorer app that identifies images. You can ask questions about the information shown, compare multiple images at once
and get human verification any time. Reviewing Access AI sessions is easy with the chat history. You can also share images from other apps via the \u201cshare sheet\u201d. </span></p>
<p><span>There will always be a lot of print in the world. You have control though with Aira, because Access is a Human Right. </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://aira.io/aira-print-materials/">https://aira.io/aira-print-materials/</a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">David Goldfield,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If you need help using your assistive technology learn about my training services by visiting<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><font color="#000000"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.screenreadertraining.com/">WWW.ScreenReaderTraining.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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