San Francisco, CA – March 15, 2025 – Researchers from the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute played a key role in the 2025 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, presenting groundbreaking advancements in digital accessibility, inclusive mapping, and sensory navigation. Their work highlights the Institute’s commitment to improving access for blind and visually impaired individuals through innovative technology.
Among the featured sessions:
• Systematically Evaluating Digital Map Tools Based on WCAG (March 12) – Dr. James Coughlan and Brandon Biggs provided a structured approach to assessing the accessibility of digital maps, offering practical guidance to both users and developers.
• Making Building and Emergency Maps Accessible with Audiom (March 13) – Brandon Biggs demonstrated how Audiom, an inclusive map viewer and editor, transforms inaccessible PDF maps into fully WCAG AAA-compliant experiences, ensuring critical navigation information is available to all.
• Blind Innovators for the Blind: The Bill Gerrey Model (March 13) – Dr. James Coughlan and Dr. Joshua Miele explored the legacy of William Gerrey, whose hands-on approach to access technology development serves as a model for future innovations designed by and for blind individuals.
• The New Touchscreen Experience for Audiom Web Maps Is Here (March 14) – Brandon Biggs introduced new techniques for creating accessible touchscreen interfaces, demonstrating how Audiom’s latest updates overcome the limitations of mobile screen readers and browsers.
• Novel Stimuli to Benchmark and Train Echolocation Skills (March 14) – Dr. Haydee G. Garcia-Lazaro presented research on optimized sound stimuli to enhance echolocation skills, paving the way for improved training methods and future integration into assistive devices.
Additionally, XR Navigation, founded and led by Brandon Biggs, is providing the official accessible digital map for CSUN 2025. The interactive map, available at xrnavigation.io/csun25, ensures all conference attendees, including those with visual impairments, can navigate the event with ease.
Smith-Kettlewell’s participation underscores the Institute’s leadership in assistive technology research, fostering innovation that empowers blind and visually impaired individuals to navigate digital and physical spaces with greater independence.