Blind Bargains

#NFB18 Audio: Let Your Fingers Do The Walking Along The Tactile Mapping Automated Project’s Pages


Chancy initially spoke to Scott Blanks of the San Francisco Lighthouse about the tactile maps being embossed on a View Plus Columbia Braille Embosser
At the Tactile Mapping Automated project s booth. Except, being the intrepid reporter that we all know her to be, the interview soon expands outward to cover several aspects of the wide array of services offered by this famous organization. To learn more about the maps mentioned at the beginning of this interview, or about any of the services spoken about afterwards, visit the San Francisco Lighthouse
Webpage.

Our 2018 summer convention coverage is sponsored by Google.

This week we're teaming up with our friends on the Google Accessibility team to talk about accessibility features within products like Android, Chrome OS, G Suite, Google Home, Assistant and more! Be sure to listen to our podcast series where we get the inside scoop, including the upcoming launch of Chat support and a 24 hour response time for the Disability Support team on July 9th.

The Google Accessibility team is also inviting everyone to participate in user research studies, where you can help shape the future of accessible products and features -- and get rewarded for it. Select here to sign up to participate and learn more at google.com/accessibility.

Transcript

We strive to provide an accurate transcription, though errors may occur.

Hide transcript
Transcribed by Grecia Ramirez

Direct from Orlando, it’s blindbargains.com coverage of NFB 2018, brought to you by Google
Our friends at Google are working hard to create great technology products for everyone. They’re inviting you to participate in Google user research studies, where you can help shape the future of accessible products and features and get rewarded for it. Check out our tweet for the sign-up link, at blind bargains, or head to google.com slash user research.
Now, here’s Chancey Fleet.
CHANCEY FLEET: I am here with Scott Blanks. He’s the senior director of programs at the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco, California.
Hi, Scott.
SCOTT BLANKS: Hey, Chancey. Thanks for having me on.
CF: So you’ve got a booth in there in the Exhibit Hall, and one of the things that’s drawing people over there is the steady sound of an embosser that is printing out TMAPs that folks can pick up. Can you say a little bit about the TMAP project?
SB: Sure. So TMAP stands for Tactile Mapping Automated Production. It’s actually a service that got started way back in 2003, thanks to Josh Miele of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. He ran it for a good ten years, and then it took a break. Josh needed to do some other things, as people often do. And then, we were able to partner with SKEI a couple years later and get the project restarted. We produce tactile and print street maps. And these street maps can vary in radius from something around 4 tenths of a mile to a mile and a half, depending on the density of the area we are mapping. And right now, here at the convention, at booth B22, we are working on a ViewPlus Columbia embosser. So we’re just giving away tactile street maps here. No print. But they are coming out beautifully.
CF: All right. And if folks aren’t here at the convention, how can they get their hands on a TMAP?
SB: Yeah. So we have a store in San Francisco at the Lighthouse called Adaptations, where we sell a number of blindness products and we can also source the maps through Adaptations. So if you need to, right now, we’re only taking phone orders, but we hope to be online soon. The number is (888) 400-8933.
CF: Okay. And how much is it to get a TMAP?
SB: It’s approximately 20 dollars. A little bit more with the San Francisco tax. What you’ll get in the package is three scales of the map, along with a key listing all of the streets labeled on the map, and an intro-page that describes a little bit about the map and how to use it.
CF: Sounds good. And what are some of the other products that Adaptations carries, if somebody might want to make a phone order with a couple items in it?
SB: Absolutely. So we have a range of blindness tools, everything from slates and styli to canes, watches, talking and tactile. We sell a number of bump dots. So from low-tech to high-tech. We have some video magnifiers as well. And of course, our store is a wonderful place to visit in person, but we can take those phone orders as well.
CF: I really appreciate your proper use of the plural, “styli.” Thank you for that.
SB: I try.
CF: So in addition to that, you oversee programs for children and adults, and some of them are residential learning opportunities, short-term residential there in San Francisco, and also up at the camp. Can you tell us a little bit about what’s available?
SB: Absolutely. So Lighthouse – in the past couple of years, moved to a new location on Market Street in San Francisco, downtown. And we built 30 beds on the 11th floor of our building. And so we are really looking at the idea that intensive – short, intensive trainings – are really effective for everything from technology to cooking to orientation and mobility in an urban setting.
We also have our Enchanted Hills camp in Napa. It’s a 300-acre facility where we have summer sessions that run from June through August, adult, youth sessions. We have a woodworking shop. We also do music camps, horseback riding, and a number of other things.
And so we work with all ages, and everyone is welcome to connect with us and learn more about the Lighthouse. We realize that there is a need in the Bay area, but there is also a national and international need for folks to get training that is frankly not available often enough in the places where they live.
CF: You run one short-term intensive, which is called Changing Vision, Changing Lives, and it got a favorable essay, or review, in the New York Times, and it’s there for folks that are perhaps newly orienting themselves to blindness or to living with changed vision. Can you talk a little bit about what’s included there and how folks can get funded to participate in that?
SB: Absolutely. So Changing Vision, Changing Lives – we shortened it to CVCL – is something that we run four or five times a year. Sometimes, it happens at Enchanted Hills camp in Napa, sometimes in the urban setting of San Francisco. And we bring people in for about five days, and we touch on a number of topics. We want people not to be overwhelmed, but to be tantalized about what’s to come.
And often, they do come in overwhelmed and not certain what the next step will be, and we try to sit down with them and talk about everything, but talk about it in a conversational, yet professional way. So to say, you know, yes. Thinking about using a white cane is a good idea, but we’re going to talk to you about what that would look like, what that would feel like. And we are welcoming anybody in who can take part in the program, and that includes people outside the Bay area. We have a number of funding sources, and anybody who’s interested should absolutely contact us regardless of their location within the United States, or even outside the U.S. We’d love to talk to you and come up with solutions, whatever they might be
CF: You mentioned earlier, kind of an international need. And on the international stage, there is the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition, and within a few weeks, I think, we’re expecting some news there; right?
SB: That’s right. I’m not certain the exact timetable, but I do think within the next couple of weeks, we will be hearing about the next winners for the second annual Holman Prize for Blind Ambition. And this is a prize that looks to applaud, and not sensationalize in any way, but really applaud people who want to adventure, people who want to extend themselves, and people who want to connect with new things and connect with the world in new ways. We had three winners last year, and we will have up to three winners coming up in just a couple more weeks, so we’ll get to learn who those people are, where they are, and what they will be doing.
CF: All right. So stay tuned. Scott, thanks, as always, for your work and enjoy the rest of the convention. And keep those TMAPs rolling.
SB: Absolutely. Thanks, Chancey.
CF: Thank you.
For more exclusive audio coverage, visit blindbargains.com or download the Blind Bargains app for your iOS or Android device.
Blind Bargains audio coverage is presented by the A T guys, online at atguys.com.
This has been another Blind Bargains audio podcast. Visit blindbargains.com for the latest deals, news, and exclusive content. This podcast may not be retransmitted, sold, or reproduced without the expressed written permission of A T guys.
Copyright 2018.


Listen to the File


File size: 11MB
Length: 07:18

Check out our audio index for more exclusive content
Blind Bargains Audio RSS Feed

This content is the property of Blind Bargains and may not be redistributed without permission. If you wish to link to this content, please do not link to the audio files directly.

Category: Shows

No one has commented on this post.

You must be logged in to post comments.

Username or Email:
Password:
Keep me logged in on this computer

Or Forgot username or password?
Register for free

Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.


Copyright 2006-2024, A T Guys, LLC.