Join BVA’s VetTech Team this Wednesday, May 31, at 2:00pm Eastern Time as the Weekly Wednesday Webinar shifts a few gears to welcome Willem Van de Mierop, a co-founder of AYES, Inc. and a developer of the mobile application known as OKO. The app assists the blind and visually impaired to receive the status of the pedestrian traffic light and to prevent them from veering outside of a crosswalk or other marked path. 

Willem earned Master’s Degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. Two years ago, a blind family friend told him and his two co-founders about his challenges while navigating outdoors. At that point, the three determined to build a solution for him and the 300 million blind and visually impaired persons worldwide. 

Do not miss this VetTech session! Attendees will learn: 

• How the OKO app helps the blind and visually impaired cross streets without installation of additional city or local infrastructure. 
• How additional up and coming AYES services, now in the development phase, will help the blind and visually impaired to further explore cities effortlessly. 
• How to acquire the OKO app. 

On Thursday, June 1, at the same 2:00pm hour and in an informal discussion format, VetTech Talk will recap the Weekly Wednesday Webinar and, time permitting, address the improvement of one’s health through iOS health and mobile apps.  

This past week, with a Weekly Wednesday Webinar presentation from Dennis Moulton and Donny Osborn, Sales and Marketing Managers for Oregon-based Boundless Assistive Technology, participants received an overview of the company, the customer service options offered with its products, and the new BAT mobile application that can be used for device support and assistance. The focus of Thursday’s VetTech Talk was the use of the Microsoft Teams software on MacOS and its growing popularity. 

All VetTech webinars and talk sessions are currently open to everyone—blind and low vision veterans and nonveterans, family members, caregivers, blind rehabilitation specialists, and all other parties interested in assistive, adaptive, and accessible technology that can result in greater independence. Membership in BVA or attendance at previous sessions is not a pre-requisite to join VetTech or VetTech Talk sessions. 

Can’t make it to a live session? No problem! VetTech is now available as a podcast on major platforms. Interested parties can listen on demand to missed Weekly Wednesday Webinars as well as original content published solely on the podcast by asking their smart speaker, Siri or Alexa, to “play the latest episode of the Blinded Veterans Association VetTech Podcast.” They can also follow the channel via Apple Podcast, Google Play, and Amazon Music.  

To enter both of the upcoming Wednesday and Thursday sessions using the same Zoom meeting credentials and link, click here. For additional information on the Wednesday sessions or VetTech Talk, click here.