[NFBNJ] The 12 Point - Thank you from Aira

[joe ruffalo]

Greetings to all!
AIRA is on the move!
Read and share with others!
Joe


We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314

**

From: Suman Kanuganti
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2019 1:00 PM
Subject: The 12 Point - Thank you from Aira

The 12-Point

Looking back on 2018

Friends of Aira,

As we start a new year, I’m excited the for the opportunities ahead and 
wanted to take a moment to share some reflections from 2018.   Since the 
beginning, we’ve worked very hard to build a team, community and ecosystem 
that is committed to tackling big challenges to achieve the bright future we 
all want.  While I could write a book on the collective achievements by this 
amazing group of talented individuals, I wanted to recognize those that I am 
most proud of in this 12-point.

In the past 12 months:

1.

We launched The Aira Employment Program, with a mission of “taking 70% 
unemployment to under 7%”. Since then, hundreds of people have secured or 
advanced their careers, and several hundred people are pursuing their dream 
jobs using our career-seeking platform. It’s amazing to hear the stories of 
someone finding their first job or building their very first resume with an 
Aira agent. Join us 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT03 
 ) in this movement or drop me a note to discuss how you can be part of the 
change.

2.

I am an entrepreneur, and we in particular serve a customer base that has a 
high percentage of self-employed people. It’s why I was excited to announce 
The Aira Blind Entrepreneur 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT13 
 ) program in partnership with Intuit. Any small business owner now can use 
Aira for free for tasks related to running their business or founding a new 
company. Isn’t that cool? Be sure to tell any entrepreneurs you know about 
this program.To participate in this program, download the Aira app for free 
here 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT23 
 ) .

3.

I am a lifelong student and proud to see our successful educational program 
called Back to School enter year two. We now have more than 300 students 
enhancing their education experience with Aira. See this video 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT33 
 ) about how one student is using Aira, and find out how you can join us 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT43 
 ) in the 2019 class of Back to School students.

4.

We are proud to extend 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT53 
 ) our service to US Veterans. In 2018 we have secured approvals from the US 
Veterans Administration to provide Aira products and services. Did you know 
20% of our agents are US Veterans or spouses of US Veterans? Our goal is to 
create an ecosystem of veterans serving veterans; see this video on how 
powerful this ecosystem 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT63 
 ) can be.

5.

Our Access zones are now available at more than 30 US airports that service 
over 150 million passengers. We also announced London’s Heathrow as our 
first international airport, and this was followed quickly by the addition 
of Wellington New Zealand’s airport in the southern hemisphere. Just like 
WiFi Access provides free internet, our Aira Access provides free visual 
information anytime a blind person needs it. Make your local airport part of 
this growing network of Aira Airports by sharing this link 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT73 
 ) . To see the full list of airports download the Aira app for free here 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT83 
 ) .

6.

Our Access zones also expanded to 20k retail locations, universities, 
supermarkets, museums, parks, and more. Our access network is full of 
leading brands  such as Wegmans 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffT93 
 ) , Walgreens 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTb3 
 ) , AT&T 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTc3 
 ) , all of whom want to ensure their customers have the best possible 
experience. Join 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTd3 
 ) the growing network of Aira Access. To see the full list download Aira 
app for free here 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTf3 
 ) .

7.

We partnered with Vispero, the maker of the JAWS screen reader and other 
products, to provide free Aira access to their screens when issues arise. 
This is a unique partnership 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTg3 
 ) in our category in Aira Access where any company can choose to offer Aira 
visual interpretation services if an issue arises with their products. Our 
platform also learns these situations, and data is useful for innovative 
access automation features.

8.

Have you heard the buzz about our new  Horizon 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTh3 
 ) smart glasses? The Explorers love them (one-touch) and Agents do too, as 
they provide Aira Agents with 120 degree immersion. We made significant 
enhancements to the Aira agent dashboard to include Horizon’s 80ms video, 
multi modal maps including street view, messaging, transfers, Lyft/Uber 
integrations, autonomous car integrations, airport maps integrations, and 
much more. Do you know about airax.io 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTj3 
 ) - a new application stack built on a powerful technology platform we 
created for blind people?

9.

Our AI “Chloe” was inspired from the TV Series 24 starring Kiefer 
Sutherland. In 2018, we took great steps forward with Chloe, as our users 
were able to test reading capabilities. Do you know Anirudh Koul 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTk3 
 ) , ex Microsoft AI Researcher and founder of SeeingAI? He joined Aira as 
our new Head of Artificial Intelligence. Together we have some big plans for 
Chloe and can’t wait to share them with you all.

10.

We are a fast growing startup and had some growing pains. We recognize that 
we needed to evolve our operations, particularly when it comes to customer 
service. We expanded the size of the team and will continue to invest in 
making sure the Aira Explorer has what they need from us. We love our 
customers, and want to do everything we can to make their experience the 
best it can be. Speaking of love to our customers, do you know that in 2018 
we had our first Aira concert 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTl3 
 ) starring Apl De Ap from Black Eyed Peas?

11.

I’m a firm believer that accessibility should not be defined based on the 
solution, but the concept of “Access” made possible for anything, anywhere 
and anytime. This concept that I worked on encourages people to think about 
accessibility through a new lens--a lens that is fundamental to autonomous 
cars and smart cities, based on connected sensors combined with intelligence 
rather than rules defined in a web-based protocol I encourage you to hear my 
speech 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTm3 
 ) on this approach, and join us in new radical ways of evolving new 
accessibility.

12.

Did you know we went 24/7 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTn3 
 ) in 2018? Yes, all 365 days, even on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s, 
because we want to be there for our Explorers through all aspects of their 
life, whenever they want it. Aira agents receive calls from around the world 
as we pilot Aira globally in predominantly English-speaking countries like 
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland. If you ever visit the 
Aira office in San Diego, ask me about the real-time Aira live map. It shows 
the calls in progress through lines that show where the Explorer is and 
where the agent is. I love it, as it shows how technology is bringing two 
humans together, no matter where they are, and it reminds us all that we are 
one planet without any boundaries. It’s why Time Magazine named Aira as one 
of the Best Inventions of 2018 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTp3 
 )

What will Aira do in 2019 - we have lots planned but it’s no fun if I tell 
you all about it now.  I will ask that you join us as the bright future we 
all want will only happen if we all make it happen together.

Thank you for a great 2018.

Follow my tweet here 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTq3 
 ) to see some stats on above.

Suman

PS: If you had too much fun and want to dig details visit our timeline 
(https://go.aira.io/e2t/sc2/Mm-nFbjZckMW8Wwb5H5Dd0JYW4SsYfc4QXMDLW8GDYZY7GW9vWf1FXffTr3 
 ) where we capture most of the public events surrounding what we do here at 
Aira.

Have any questions or issues? Contact Customer Care at 800-835-1934 or email 
support at aira.io.

Refer a friend to join Aira and get a discount on your Aira service! Simply 
choose “Referral” in the More tab in the Aira app to send them an invite.

Aira Tech Corp - 4225 Executive Square La Jolla CA

To Unsubscribe click here 
(https://go.aira.io/hs/manage-preferences/unsubscribe?d=eyJlYSI6Im5mYm5qMUB2ZXJpem9uLm5ldCIsImVjIjo2ODY5Nzk2Niwic3Vic2NyaXB0aW9uSWQiOjQ0Njg1MzEsImV0IjoxNTQ2NDUxNDk1MTA4LCJldSI6ImVkMGI1ZGQ4LTNjMmMtNDE4NC1hZTMyLTg4ODA3ZTc0YmQ5NiJ9&v=1&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--K4ckH8tTCswuwO9ryWctEZ5UrJPLO0vJTFlihLMf2MpdWISa7EVRPRL8Kzdv56LCbY_C03kJtEiIjgcn-0QR459z_kQ&_hsmi=68697966 
 ) . 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20190102/05bade89/attachment.html>