DALLAS, May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* and Aira
extend their agreement as Aira makes AT&T its global data
provider as it begins to take the service to Australia, Canada and the U.K. This comes at a meaningful
time. Today marks the 7th Global Accessibility Awareness
Day (GAAD). The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking,
thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion for
people with disabilities. What better way to do that than with
technology that empowers blind and low vision individuals?
"We chose GAAD to make this announcement because bringing
accessibility to everyone forms the very core of Aira's mission,"
said Suman Kanuganti, CEO of Aira.
"Working with AT&T to make our service available around the
globe is the next step in using this technology to improve daily
lives."
The World Health Organization estimates 253 million people live
with impaired vision. For over a year, AT&T and Aira have
worked together in the U.S. to help many of the blind and those
with low vision complete daily tasks more easily.
Connected Aira glasses have also assisted with new challenges
like starting college, running the Boston Marathon, and even
experiencing the solar eclipse. Now, people around the world who
are blind or have low vision can use smart glasses to access public
transportation, navigate busy streets, shop in stores or recognize
people, without another person to physically accompany them. It
opens up a world of possibilities.
The AT&T global network connects Aira's smart glasses, worn
by blind and low vision users known as "Explorers," to trained,
professional agents. Agents use a built-for-purpose dashboard that
provides details such as the Explorer's location and profile, in
combination with a secure, near real-time stream of video. At just
the tap of a button, this information is provided to Explorers so
they can perform almost any task.
"The combination of Aira's groundbreaking assistive technology
and our highly secure global wireless connectivity helps the user
'see' the world around them," said Chris
Penrose, President of IoT, AT&T. "That world just got
bigger. This global expansion can bring the Aira platform to
millions of individuals who can benefit from this service."
Aira worked with the AT&T Foundry for Connected Health to
improve the delivery of its groundbreaking platform.
Aira will begin to market its service in Australia and Canada this month and in the U.K. later this
year. Learn more about the Aira service and how to subscribe
at the AT&T Marketplace.
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 Aira
First launched in 2014, Aira is a service that uses a combination
of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and highly-trained,
professional agents to provide instant access to visual
information. At just the touch of a button, we deliver remote
visual assistance – anytime and anywhere – that enables those who
are blind and low vision to be more efficient with any, and every,
task they undertake.
*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 have the nation's largest and most reliable 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. More than 3
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.
© 2018 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.
**Coverage not avail. everywhere. Based on overall coverage in
U.S. licensed/roaming areas. Reliability based on voice and data
performance from independent 3rd party data.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.