Robert Yearsley is CEO of ARIA Research, which stands for Augmented Reality in Audio. ARIA is a new approach to assistive technology being developed with, and for people who are blind. ARIA uses machine learning to turn camera vision into a novel soundscape for the user to interpret during activities of daily living, including orientation and mobility. ARIA is in its early development, and the team is looking for ideas and participation from people with ultra-low vision or blindness, and from O&M specialists. There is opportunity to join in a monthly zoom conversation about assistive technology, and to join in research sessions in Sydney, in person, to test out ideas and prototypes during 2022 and 2023. Get in touch via ariaresearch.com.au 

Jo Webber is a disability inclusion advisor, currently working in Kiribati and Vanuatu. For those interested in international work, Jo challenges us become dual qualified in international development so that we can work with others to create sustainable O&M services in Pacific Island countries.

Orientation is the vital O in O&M and we might assume that everyone can learn orientation, but this is not the case. How can we assess a person’s ability to learn orientation to new places? The Stuart Tactile Maps test is a table top test of spatial cognition that only takes 10 minutes to administer. Everyone does the test wearing a blindfold whether or not they have vision and the test predicts a person’s ability to use mental mapping for orientation. So where did this test come from? In this episode, I’m talking with Dr Ian Stuart about starting out as a neuropsychologist in Melbourne in the 1970s. He developed the Stuart Tactile Maps test as part of his PhD study in the 1980s, working with congenitally blind children and adults with acquired brain injury. Ian has worked with me to make the Stuart Tactile Maps test commercially available for use by O&M specialists. The instruction  manual includes plenty of ideas for working with someone who has trouble with mental mapping.