The latest in cutting edge technology for people who are blind or partially sighted, will be on show this July in Birmingham. Celebrating its twelfth year, Queen Alexandra College’s major international exhibition of technology and services is gearing up for the best show yet.
Show sponsors, ViewPlus Technologies, from Oregon in the USA, will be showcasing their unique ‘Ink My Dots’ Braille embosser, developed in partnership with Hewlett Packard. The machine produces Braille and standard print or ink enhanced tactile graphics on one document. With the Disability Discrimination Act affecting how organisations must now provide accessible information to all their customers this product should generate a great deal of interest.
People with visual impairment have always been leaders in the use of internet technology. The concept of using Podcasts, audio files of information and entertainment, is taking off big time as more people than ever before own MP3 players.
Show organisers for QAC are Stewart Morehead and Ray Piggott. Ray says “QAC Sight Village has a major international reputation and puts Queen Alexandra College in the spotlight. This helps us in our core work of challenging discrimination by providing opportunities for people with visual impairment and other disabilities to learn, live and work independently.”
With exhibitors flying in from across the world, QAC Sight Village is the largest event of its kind in Europe. Several thousand visually impaired people from the UK and beyond will visit the show over three days to discover the very latest products and services for people with sight loss.
QAC Sight Village this year welcomes, for the first time, companies from Korea and Spain. Products include talking digital radios, accessible mobile ‘phones and Braille note takers. Ultrasonic sound and GPS navigation systems have been harnessed to provide high tech tools for independent travel. Video magnifiers and text reading equipment has developed amazingly in the past years allowing people with low vision to access written material more effectively than ever.
Alongside the technology, QAC Sight Village also welcomes the organisations that provide information, advice and support. From accessible holidays, networks of friends, talking newspapers and tactile information.
QAC Sight Village
Clarendon Suites – 2 Stirling Road Edgbaston Birmingham B16 9SB
July 19 & 20 10am – 5pm
July 21 10am – 4.30pm
Admission FREE
www.qacsightvillage.org.uk