The goal of the “Empowering Data Vision: A Data Science Course for Blind Individuals” program is to help people with visual impairments acquire advanced skills related to STEM subjects and careers.
The RERC Center Grant funds a number of projects for blind and visually impaired persons. The projects broadly fall into the categories of Functional Assessment, Access to Spatial and Graphic Information, and STEM Education.
The RERC encompasses projects in all of the labs listed on the RERC Center Page. Examples of specific projects include the following:
Infant Vision Assessment (Good Lab)
Assessment of Reading in mTBI and Early ARM (Lott Lab)
Assessment of Speechreading with a Visual Impairment (Simon Lab)
Development of a Hearing Aid for Blind Mobility (Brabyn Lab)
Development of Vocational Instrumentation for Blind Users (Brabyn Lab)
Access to Instruments and Appliances (Coughlan Lab, Miele Lab)
Finding and Reading Print Signs (Coughlan Lab)
Access to Travel Information (Miele Lab, Coughlan Lab, Crandall Lab)
Access to STEM Education for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons (Miele Lab)
Access to Video Information (Miele Lab)
Publications
Journal Article
Conference Papers
Presentations/Posters
Other Publications
Projects
Active
Completed
ZoomBoard: an Affordable, Portable System to Improve Access to Presentations and Lecture Notes for Low Vision Viewers
The goal of the project is to develop a “ZoomBoard” system that students with low vision can use to better access visual material on a whiteboard or blackboard. The prototype version of the system that we plan to develop in
Labs
Brabyn Lab
My lab is the home for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center funded by NIDILRR with additional support from SKERI and other agencies. Together we address problems of blindness and visual impairment, particularly problems faced by our target populaiton that may
Centers
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
The Center’s research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to better understand and address the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind consumers. The RERC has many ongoing R&D projects and collaborative
News
Steve Landau Honored with 2024 Touch of Genius Award for T3 Games
Boston, MA – June 3, 2024 – The National Braille Press has announced that Steve Landau, founder of Touch Graphics Inc., has received the prestigious Touch of Genius Prize for 2024. This accolade is in recognition of Touch Graphics’ innovative educational product, T3
Get Involved
If you are interested in vision science or want to learn more about low vision and blindness, there are many opportunities to get involved at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research CenterThe Center's research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to better understand and address the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind...
Active
Empowering Data Vision: A Data Science Course for Blind Individuals
The goal of the "Empowering Data Vision: A Data Science Course for Blind Individuals" program is to help people with visual impairments acquire advanced skills related to STEM subjects and careers.
Active
Audiom Map of Smith-Kettlewell
An Audiom map of the main Smith-Kettlewell building at 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco has been created by Brandon Biggs. This is an audio-visual map that allows users to explore a detailed map of the building with or without vision. The map runs in any browser and is available to anyone who visits the building.
Active
Magic Map
The Magic Map is an interactive 3D map installed at the Magical Bridge Playground in Palo Alto, California. It consists of a 1/100 scale 3D bronze representation of the playground, which includes over seventy play structures organized into multiple play zones and paths. When the user's index fingertip touches a specific feature on the map, the name and description of the feature are read aloud in audio. This interactivity allows visitors with visual impairments to navigate the map without requiring them to read braille.
Completed
ZoomBoard: an Affordable, Portable System to Improve Access to Presentations and Lecture Notes for Low Vision Viewers
The goal of the project is to develop a “ZoomBoard” system that students with low vision can use to better access visual material on a whiteboard or blackboard. The prototype version of the system that we plan to develop in this grant will consist of a dedicated camera system placed by the teacher to capture a view of the board, which wirelessly transmits a video stream that will be displayed on a student’s iPad. The student will use the ZoomBoard app to view this video stream, zoom in on any region of interest using a pinch gesture on the iPad, and apply image enhancements such as contrast…