AT&T and Aira Leverage IoT for Accessibility

According to a recent announcement, AT&T and Aira have extended their partnership as Aira begins to bring its services to Australia, Canada and the U.K with AT&T connectivity. The announcement was timed to coincide with the 7th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which is meant to raise awareness for digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities.

“We chose GAAD to make this announcement because bringing accessibility to everyone forms the very core of Aira's mission,” said Suman Kanuganti, CEO, Aira. “Working with AT&T to make our service available around the globe is the next step in using this technology to improve daily lives.”

For about a year, AT&T and Aira reportedly have worked together in the U.S. to help many of the blind and those with low vision complete daily tasks more easily. The IoT-connected Aira smart glasses are designed to help people access public transportation, navigate busy streets, shop in stores or recognize people, without another person to physically accompany them.

The AT&T global network connects Aira's smart glasses, worn by blind and low vision users, to trained, professional agents. Agents use a built-for-purpose dashboard that provides details such as the Explorer's location and profile, in combination with a secure, near real-time stream of video. This information is provided to Explorers so they can perform almost any task.

“The combination of Aira's groundbreaking assistive technology and our highly secure global wireless connectivity helps the user 'see' the world around them,” said Chris Penrose, President of IoT, AT&T. “That world just got bigger. This global expansion can bring the Aira platform to millions of individuals who can benefit from this service.”

Aira worked with the AT&T Foundry for Connected Health to improve the delivery of its groundbreaking platform. Aira will begin to market its service in Australia and Canada this month and in the U.K. later this year.