As the conference rolls on my I make more and more contacts, see ideas for new products, and then more about strategies that we could employ in Australia. First session today and was presented by accessibility Oz: one of their staff was Australian based and the other one was U.S.-based and they discussed the differences in vernacular between the two countries. Although interesting, this was probably the least beneficial of all the seminars that I’ve been to.
Other sessions throughout the day included exploring accessible shopping and indoor navigation using artificial intelligence.
I also met my counterpart from the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the UK. Justin and I had a great meeting discussing strategies to improve supply chain, improve product offering, reduce costs, and explore ways of getting better products into the hands of clients, both in the UK and Australia.
I also met with the representatives from the American printing house. APH have some wonderful products specifically for younger clients. We are great meeting, and again explored ways that we could collaborate and work together to deliver affordable product to many of our young clients.
One of the presentations I attended this from a company called QD laps, who have partnered with Sony. They have developed technology based around camera lens, think binoculars that transmits an image directly onto the Retner. So instead of looking through a magnification device such as binoculars, you look through this device without having to focus without having to adjust and the image is just projected onto your right now, using LazarBeam. I tested it out and it was fantastic. Currently the wind is only available to attach to a camera so to use it. You need to hold a camera up to your face, however, over the next six months they’re building this lens into a pair of glasses. So they use case for Meares and example would be say at a sporting event or a concert I would simply put the glasses on zoom in in the sporting fixture, concert Would be directly transmitted to my retina, allowing me to see it clearly, in full colour, without any fatigue around, holding up a device or squinting, or having to focus as the play or concert moved around. This is certainly a game changing device for people with low vision, such as me and something I’m pretty keen to get
We also met with Vispero, where we discussed, product, offerings, supply chain, issues and post Covid recovery.
All in all it was a great day, in between sessions and meetings and opportunity to walk around the exhibition hall and speak to a couple of exhibitors about their products, exploring opportunities for exclusive distribution rights into Australia. Number of suppliers indicated they often get calls from customers in Australia bring in many cases the cost of freight prohibits them purchasing the product. If we could set up some purchasing agreements and get ample supply, we should be able to deliver these products to our clients and customers.
Weather wise, California keeps turning it off, the rain that is, not the sun. I don’t think I’ve seen the sun since I arrived here on Saturday. I’ve seen a lot of people in the lift lobby, families with young children rugged up with umbrellas with Mickey Mouse ears, balloons, and bags of merchandise from the nearby theme parks. I’ve spoken to a couple of families, where they lament the poor weather and how difficult it has been to enjoy the Disneyland experience. When I conclude the meeting with Vispero, i’ll try the unit Hotel pizzeria. I’ve been walking past it all week, looking at the lines of people ordering pizzas on the go. As I walk past four in the meeting on the way to my room, there is no Q, so I decided to grab a pizza for dinner. Quite simple, can you pick up a source, some toppings and five minutes later, they produce you a freshly cooked pizza. It to my room and put my feet up for awhile
