DALLAS, Sept. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T*, Aira
and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) are hoping to make
the transition to college easier for 100 blind students by giving
them Aira smart glasses. AT&T is funding the innovative
back-to-school program, which is managed by the NFB and Aira.
The Aira platform uses smart glasses, AT&T connectivity and
Aira's network of certified agents to help the blind navigate their
surroundings.
The agents give Aira customers, known as explorers, visual
information. The agents can "see" from the explorer's perspective
using a dashboard with video, sensors and other data in near
real-time.
Just like for any freshman student, the first weeks of college
can be daunting for blind students trying to navigate a new
environment. With Aira glasses, blind students can do everyday
tasks and take on new challenges.
For example, student explorers are using Aira to perform
self-guided tours of campuses to find the library, gym, student
center and classrooms, while discovering new things along the
way.
The Aira agents are also assisting the explorers with navigating
places like the college cafeteria. Agents help with common tasks
like selecting food, finding the shortest line to pay and finding
an open seat. They'll also assist by describing the images from
textbooks and reading content on white boards in
classrooms.
As they interact with others, agents can describe the
experience. They'll let the explorer know things like if the person
is smiling and what they're wearing. It's all about heightening the
experience for the explorer.
"Connectivity underlies everything we do. When coupled with
Internet of Things technology, connectivity has the power to
positively impact our lives and shape our experiences," said
Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO, AT&T
Business. "We're excited to team with Aira and the National
Federation of the Blind to help make this time more manageable and
memorable for participating students. It's another great example of
IoT for Good."
"The National Federation of the Blind is committed to equal
education for blind college students. Much of our effort goes to
making this becomes a reality," said Mark
A. Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the
Blind. "Aira provides a blind student with another tool for
accessing information. It augments the information we get from our
other senses, but doesn't prevent us from using our blindness
skills and independent judgment. We believe it's a useful
technology and are pleased to make it available to blind
students."
For more information about Aira, go to aira.io.
For more information about how AT&T is using IoT for Good,
go to att.com/iot.
*About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with
leading entertainment, business, mobile and high speed internet
services. We offer the nation's best data network** and the best
global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider. We're one of the
world's largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the
U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. Nearly 3.5 million companies,
from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T
for our highly secure smart solutions.
AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about
AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com.
Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att
and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.
© 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service
marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated
companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of
their respective owners.
**Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score
includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile
Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile
Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q1 + Q2 2017
across 121 markets.
National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), based in Baltimore, is the oldest and largest
nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded by
representatives from seven states in 1940, the NFB now consists of
affiliates, chapters and divisions across all 50 states. The NFB
defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides
information and support to families with blind children, older
Americans who are losing vision, and more. We believe in the hopes
and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into
reality. Learn more at www.nfb.org.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.