Podcast series on how technology can improve the lives of people with vision loss
Technology is playing a vital role in tearing down barriers for people who are blind or visually impaired. But what is the next innovation and what do developers need to know to meet the needs of people with vision loss?
In Lighthouse Guild’s new podcast series: On Tech & Vision, Dr. Cal Roberts talks to people with big ideas about how technology can make life better for people with vision loss.
Join Dr. Roberts as he interviews experts in vision technology — focusing on a range of existing and emerging technology that provides options for seeing aimed at:
- Restoring lost vision
- Enhancing existing vision
- Improving function for people with vision loss
On Tech & Vision is for:
- Technology developers and entrepreneurs
- People with vision loss and their caregivers
- Healthcare professionals and providers of low vision services
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, rate, and review.
On Tech & Vision Podcast Winner of The 2023 Anthem Awards
About Dr. Roberts
Dr. Roberts is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lighthouse Guild. Dr. Roberts has a unique blend of academic, clinical, business and hands-on product development experience. Dr. Roberts is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College. He was formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Eye Care, at Bausch Health Companies where he coordinated global development and research efforts across their vision care, pharmaceutical and surgical business units.
Dr. Roberts has co-founded a specialty pharmaceutical company and is a frequent industry lecturer and author. He currently serves as an Independent Director on multiple corporate boards and has served as a consultant to Allergan, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis.
A graduate of Princeton University and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, Dr. Roberts completed his internship and ophthalmology residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York. He also completed cornea fellowships at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston.
On Tech & Vision Podcast Library
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Smart Cities and Autonomous Driving: How Technology is Providing Greater Freedom of Movement for People with Vision Loss
Advances in technology are giving people more freedom of movement than ever before, allowing them to get where they want, when they want, safely.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Leveling Up Accessible Video Game Features: How New Technology is Making Gaming More Immersive and Inclusive for People with Vision Loss
For decades, people with vision loss had limited options when it came to accessing video games. Aside from screen magnification and text-to-voice tools, gamers who are blind or visually impaired didn’t have many ways to play their favorite titles. But in recent years, the same cutting-edge technology used to create games has been used to also make them more accessible for people with vision impairment.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
A Celebration of Sound and Song: Music Tech Shines the Spotlight on Musicians with Vision Loss
Marcus Roberts, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and even Louis Braille (who invented the Braille Music Notation system still used today) prove that musicians who are blind or visually impaired have made profound impacts on our musical landscape.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Ambient Computing and Voice Assistants: From Your Home to the Stars
David Frerichs, Principal Engineer, Alexa Experience at Amazon on the aging and accessibility team, shares his design philosophy for making voice assistants more inclusive, and the preferred mode of engagement for every user.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Tools for Success: Tech Convergence and Co-Designed Products Close Gaps for Children Who are Blind
People who are blind or visually impaired know all too well the challenges of living in a sighted world. But today, the capabilities of computer vision and other tech are converging with the needs of people who are blind and low vision and may help level the playing field for young people with all different sensory abilities.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Innovations in Intraocular Pressure and Closed Loop Drug Delivery Systems
Max Ostermeier, CEO and Founder of Implandata Ophthalmic Products out of Hannover Germany, has reimagined the remote management and care of patients with glaucoma. Max and his team developed the EyeMate system, a microscopic implantable device and micro sensor that measures intraocular pressure throughout the day.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Restoring Vision: Code Breaking and Optogenetics
Until recently, no one knew the code the retina used to communicate with the brain to create sight. Our guest Dr. Sheila Nirenberg, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell, and Principal and Founder of Bionic Sight has — using input-output mapping — cracked the retina’s neural code, enabling her to recreate the electric signals to the brain that could restore sight in people with retinal degeneration.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Seeing with Sound: Using Audio to Activate the Brain’s Visual Cortex
In this episode, we’ll explore how, through sensory substitution, audio feedback can, in some cases, stimulate a user’s visual cortex, allowing a user to — without sight — achieve something close to visual perception.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Beyond Self Driving Cars: Technologies for Autonomous Human Navigation
Today’s big idea is about exciting and emerging technologies that facilitate autonomous navigation for people who are blind or visually impaired.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Batman Technology: Using Sonar for Human Navigation
Today’s big idea is Sonar and a somewhat similar technology called LiDAR! Can we use the latest sonar technology for obstacle detection the way bats and other nocturnal creatures do?
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
The Latest Frontier in Tactile Technologies
Our sense of touch and the way in which we interpret the materials in our environment are fundamental to our experience of the world. This episode’s big idea is the new developments in tactile technologies.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Cortical Brain Implants Are Paving the Way for Visual Restorative Medicine
Today’s big idea highlights how innovations don’t happen in a vacuum, but rather a long chain of science and research and developments that build on each other. Dr. Shelley Fried’s work exemplifies this process.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
How the Simple QR Code Became an Empowering Navigation Tool
This episode’s big idea is navigation and how to implement a navigation solution that enables people with vision impairment to broadly travel cities — how and when they want to, independently. Dr. Roberts talks with Javier Pita, the creator of such a technology called NaviLens, which marries location finding with information.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Training the Brain: Sensory Substitution
Today’s big idea centers on the place where big ideas get born — the human brain. In today’s episode, Dr. Roberts and his guests explore theories of brain plasticity, sensory substitution, and sensory augmentation.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Improving Visual Impairment with Technology
This episode’s big idea is about using augmented reality, machine learning, and soon fifth-generation (5G) connectivity to improve vision.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Extending Human Vision
Today’s big idea is how the technology used in instruments that extend human vision to space is being relied on by vision technology developers in devices that help people with vision loss in everyday tasks here on Earth. Using substitute senses has allowed scientists across many fields to continue their work without the use of sight. The eSight is one such device that stimulates the remaining functioning vision to improve the quality of life for users. Dr. Roberts speaks with Charles Lim about the development of the device, the principles behind how it works, and the motivation for future improvements.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
The Development of Artificial Vision
Today’s big idea is all about the cutting edge advancements in ocular bionic prosthetics. The Argus II is a device that uses a camera and a chip to stimulate the retina and send signals to the brain. Our guest, Dr. Mark Humayun, developer of Argus II, speaks with Dr. Roberts about the development of this device.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
A “Remapped Reality” – Using Virtual Reality to Remap the Visual
Today’s big idea is the power of virtual reality — how people are using VR to remap sight and help people with . Dr. Roberts visits with Grace and Dr. Frank Werblin about how emerging technologies help people with low vision access the areas of vision they still have, by using a virtual reality system. They also talk about how sight works biologically, and how one such device, IrisVision, works to connect people socially.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Integrating Touch and Sound
Today’s big idea is how we can use touch and sound together to create spatial awareness. Just like learning to play the piano or another instrument, smart cane technology engages the both sound and touch to compensate for loss of vision. Kürşat Ceylan, the founder and CEO of WeWALK, shares how the WeWALK smart cane engages a number of senses to develop new autonomy for users, and how their technology is a jumping-off point for integrating other technologies.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Seeing with Sound: Using Audio to Activate the Brain’s Visual Cortex
In this episode, we’ll explore how, through sensory substitution, audio feedback can, in some cases, stimulate a user’s visual cortex, allowing a user to — without sight — achieve something close to visual perception.
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On Tech & Vision Podcast
Seeing with Your Ears: Translating the Visual World to Audio
Today’s big idea is seeing with your ears — exploring technology that uses audio to connect people with vision loss to the world around them. Dr. Cal Roberts speaks with Dr. Yonatan Wexler about the OrCam My Eye device. They explore the ideas of whether the brain can recreate a picture using audio alone, how well hearing can replace lost sight, and what are the discovery processes for using audio description technology as a substitute for vision.
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