Created by William Loughborough in 1979, Talking Lights was a system of infrared transmitters and receivers allowing blind and visually impaired travelers to quickly and easily “read signs” at a distance.

Principal Accessibility Researcher
Amazon Lab126
Ph.D.
I am a blind scientist, designer, and educator with decades of active involvement in the world of technology, accessibility, and disability. My work in information accessibility has impacted technologies including screen readers, auditory displays, audio/tactile maps and graphics, wayfinding, braille input, video description, and STEM education. The accessibility solutions I find most attractive are characterized by the creative use of low-cost, off-the-shelf technologies to address significant challenges in information accessibility.
Links:
Mentorship Period:
June 2003Publications
Mentors
Trainees
Collaborators
Internal
Projects
The Smith-Kettlewell Haptics Symposium
The Smith-Kettlewell Haptics Symposium was held on March 29, 2018 to honor and remember Dr. Val Morash and her research.
Tactile Map Automated Production (TMAP)
Smith-Kettlewell’s Tactile Map Automated Production (TMAP) Project was initiated with the goal of developing the first web-based software tool for rapid production of highly specific, tactile street maps of any location in the USA.