Why The National Federation of the Blind Decided to Partner With Aira
by Mark Riccobono
As the President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation’s largest organization of blind people, and a leading developer and proponent of technologies to help blind people live the lives we want, I have the opportunity to engage with many technology developers. It is very rare to come across a technology that is positioned to empower the user with information and take full advantage of the capacity of the individual. Aira starts with the premise that blind people have capacity, and leverages an innovative application of technology to further extend that capacity by providing information to individuals in a new and dynamic way.
I feel confident that Aira will continue to maximize its benefit to end users while innovating technologies that will be game changers in the industry.
I have now observed the Aira team gathering feedback and listening to blind users for a year and a half. Their strong commitment to listening first, combined with the powerful blend of technologies built based on that feedback, gives me a high degree of confidence that the Aira platform will deliver services that are needed. Furthermore, I cannot state emphatically enough that I believe the benefit will extend far beyond the blind.
After studying the Aira approach and its leadership, the National Federation of the Blind has decided to partner with Aira going forward. As a committed partner, I feel confident that Aira will continue to maximize its benefit to end users while innovating technologies that will be game changers in the industry. With the right amount of development resources, Aira can completely transform the model of access technologies that accompany mainstream technology advances.
I’ll also be joining Aira’s Advisory Board, where I’ll serve as an advisor on mutually shared goals between Aira and NFB in the company’s development of personalized assistive technology that allows blind and low-vision users more immediate access to information that enhances their independence.
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