Double Tap

Google's new Guided Vision feature in Gemini Live was trained with help from Aira and its blind Trusted Testers. Everette Bacon and Lynette Frison of Aira explain how the partnership with Google DeepMind works, what blind users taught the AI, and what it means for Aira's future.
Steven Scott and Shaun Preece open with vibe coding, including homemade Claude voice assistants that answer in about three seconds and people using AI to bring old Echo Show and Meta Portal hardware back to life. Brandon Bracey's BlindRSS reader is now on Android, and Steven unboxes a new 8-inch Amazon tablet.
Everette Bacon, Chief of Blindness Initiatives at Aira, explains how Explorers swapped free minutes for sharing their sessions to train DeepMind's Astra model. Lynette Frison describes running the Trusted Tester program, where a human visual interpreter watches every AI session and steps in when the answer is unsafe or wrong. Early versions hallucinated and once told a tester to find a sighted person. Today's Guided Vision is, in Everette's words, a little too safe.
The panel covers how blind users prompt differently, from turning a vitamin bottle to describing remote buttons by touch. They talk about medical and personal requests, why some people feel more at ease asking AI, and why finding dog poop is Aira's number one request.
Everette is open about the business side: Google pays for the data, and Aira hasn't decided whether to charge for Aira AI. Everyone agrees that blocking image descriptions for adult content or swear words treats blind people like children. Aira's Build AI program has now expanded to the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Chapters
0:00 – Intro and vibe coding the TV
2:40 – Building a Claude voice assistant
6:29 – Reviving old tech, BlindRSS for Android and a new tablet
11:52 – Aira, Google DeepMind and Guided Vision
17:32 – Trusted Testers, hallucinations and human in the loop
25:52 – How blind users' prompts train the AI
28:36 – Comfort, privacy and sensitive requests
38:13 – The future of Aira AI and Guided Vision
44:25 – Image description limits and content filters
51:09 – Build AI expands and wrap-up
Relevant Links
Aira: https://aira.io/
Aira Build AI FAQ: https://aira.io/build-ai-faq/
Guided Vision in Gemini Live: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/guided-vision-gemini-live/
BlindRSS: https://github.com/serrebidev/BlindRSS
Claude: https://claude.com/

----
Follow on:
YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amazon's new Alexa Tablets drop Fire OS for Android 16, TalkBack and the Google Play Store. Chris Cooke, host of At Your Fingertips, has been testing the Alexa Tablet 8 and tells Steven Scott and Shaun Preece how accessible it really is for blind users.
Chris covers setting the tablet up on her own with the TalkBack shortcut, the widget-heavy home screen, and a touch-tracking problem that means you aren't always where you think you are on the screen. She goes through the accessibility settings, including switch access, voice access, live captions and hearing aid support. She also tests Alexa+ for product summaries, opening apps and on-screen descriptions, and confirms that a Bluetooth keyboard and a USB-C braille display both work.
Before that, Steven and Shaun talk about rising computer prices, memory shortages and possible price gouging, then move on to AI data centers, energy and water use, and whether one person can change anything.
Apple's Pro and Tell event on October 28 is expected to bring an OLED MacBook Pro, and maybe a touchscreen, which neither host is keen on. There's also talk of a new iMac and iPad mini, and why leasing could make assistive technology more affordable.
To finish, Amazon's Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse arrive in the US. They listen through the day and turn your conversations into summaries and to-do lists.
Chapters
0:00 – Intro and the Alexa tablet naming problem
3:30 – Rising computer prices and memory shortages
7:03 – AI, data centers and who pays the price
15:41 – Apple's Pro and Tell event and the touchscreen MacBook Pro
27:13 – Leasing computers and assistive technology
29:03 – Chris Cooke tests the Amazon Alexa Tablet 8
51:34 – Amazon Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse
55:17 – Wrap up
Relevant Links
Amazon Alexa Tablets: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-amazon-alexa-tablets-alexa-plus
At Your Fingertips, Braille Then and Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/at-your-fingertips-braille-then-and-now/id1841245814
Bee: https://bee.computer/
Plaud: https://www.plaud.ai/

----
Follow on:
YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Smart glasses for blind people made the national news this week. Anthony Corona of Sunday Edition joins Steven Scott and Shaun Preece to look at Meta Ray-Ban Display, Agiga EchoVision, Glide and the WeWALK Smart Cane 2, and to ask what blind users actually need from them.
Steven was on BBC News talking about smart glasses from a blind person's point of view, pushing back on the idea that they're "creepy." Anthony introduces Sunday Edition, now a family of 10 podcasts, and gives honest advice on starting a show and keeping it going.
On wearables, Anthony says Fovionics doesn't stand out from the crowd yet. He thinks Agiga's openness with its testers gives EchoVision a real chance, but that it needs third-party apps to compete with Meta, Samsung and Apple. He's sitting on the fence about wearing camera glasses in sensitive spaces like locker rooms.
Anthony's first guide dog is retiring, and he explains why he wouldn't trust Glide as a guide replacement yet, even though he thinks it could get there. He finds the WeWALK 2 obstacle detection impressive and the rest of it not worth the price. Steven disagrees, pointing out how useful it is to get information without taking out your phone in the rain or in an unsafe street.
The conversation finishes with Meta Ray-Ban Display. Anthony and Steven cover the screen reader, Neural Band gestures, maps with earbuds, and why handwriting doesn't work yet for screen reader users. They also remind each other that if a tool does the job for you, it's good enough.
Chapters
0:00 – Intro and Steven on BBC News talking smart glasses
5:02 – Anthony Corona and Sunday Edition
8:15 – Starting a podcast and the rise of blind creators
12:15 – Fovionics, Agiga EchoVision and mainstream smart glasses
21:15 – Guide dogs, trust and Glide
28:01 – WeWALK Smart Cane 2: useful or overloaded?
35:24 – Getting the basics right and the geek trap
47:08 – Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on
53:53 – Where to find Anthony and wrap-up
Relevant Links
Anthony Corona and Sunday Edition: https://www.anthonycorona.com
Double Tap Live: https://doubletaponair.com/live
Fovionics: https://fovionics.com/
Agiga EchoVision: https://agiga.ai/
Glidance Glide: https://www.glidance.io/
WeWALK Smart Cane 2: https://wewalk.io/en/
Meta Ray-Ban Display: https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display/
ScribeMe: https://scribeme-ai.com/
TripleTapTech: https://tripletaptech.org/

----
Follow on:
YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two Austrian accessibility innovators from the Zero Project Technology Forum in Tokyo: Lingvano, the sign language learning app taught entirely by deaf teachers, and Turn-Motion, which uses AI and robotics to make custom carbon fibre leg braces.
Elena Coazzoli and Johanna Steiner of Lingvano explain how the app teaches American, British and Austrian Sign Language, with German Sign Language days away. They describe sign recognition built in-house, which watches you fingerspell and gives feedback on where and how you sign, and why every lesson uses deaf teachers rather than avatars. About a quarter of Lingvano's staff are deaf or hard of hearing.
Steven asks what a sign language app can offer blind and deafblind people. Johanna explains that tactile signing cannot be taught through an app, and Elena says accessibility is one of Lingvano's core product rules. They also cover their 2024 Zero Project award and the myth of one universal sign language.
Georg Popp, an architect and 3D designer who has lived with polio paralysis since he was one, founded Turn-Motion out of frustration with handmade orthoses that can cost up to 80,000 euros. He walks through the process from a clinic's 3D scan to an AI-optimised carbon fibre shell printed along curves by its own robotic machine in about eight hours. He talks about halving costs, first sales planned in Austria in summer 2027, and his own trials of an exoskeleton.
Chapters
0:00 – Welcome back to Zero Project Tokyo
1:10 – Lingvano and the first ten minutes of learning
2:46 – Gamification and the power of the streak
4:25 – Sign recognition and training data
8:19 – Deaf teachers, deaf staff and the app's platforms
10:52 – Sign language, blind and deafblind people
13:12 – The 2024 award and the myth of one sign language
16:55 – Georg Popp, polio and Turn-Motion's automated braces
22:58 – Robotic carbon fibre printing, speed and cost
28:48 – Prosthetics, exoskeletons and what comes next
Relevant Links
Lingvano: https://www.lingvano.com
Turn-Motion: https://turn-motion.com
Zero Project Technology Forum: https://zeroproject.org/initiatives/the-zero-project-technology-forum

----
Follow on:
YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two Japanese accessibility innovators from the Zero Project Technology Forum in Tokyo: OryLab, whose OriHime robots let homebound disabled people go to work and school, and Miruoto, which turns the sound of sport into words on screen for deaf fans.
Maria Juul, a Dane who has lived in Japan for more than ten years, explains OryLab's mission to eliminate loneliness. Its OriHime robots are always driven by a real person, called a pilot, and she explains why being present in the room creates memories and relationships in a way a video call does not.
Steven asks Maria to describe the robots for a blind audience: a 23 centimetre tabletop unit with penguin-wing arms and a face shaped like a Japanese theatre mask, and a 120 centimetre robot that serves drinks in OryLab's Tokyo café. She covers how AI plays a supporting role only, a six month café trial in Denmark, pilots who now earn enough to come off disability support, and the price of around 6,500 euros outside Japan.
Reiko Katayama of the Tokyo design company Hogaku answers in Japanese, with an English translation. Miruoto was built over two and a half years for the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics, from ideas given by Hogaku's deaf and hard of hearing staff, and uses manga-style onomatopoeia to show the crack of a table tennis ball and the atmosphere of a match. She explains how it differs from Fujitsu's station sounds project, and her plans to take it into live music.
Chapters
0:00 – Welcome to Zero Project Tokyo
1:15 – Maria Juul and OryLab's mission to end loneliness
4:12 – Why presence matters more than video calls
8:41 – What the OriHime robots look and sound like
11:26 – Loneliness, employment and the robot café
15:02 – Where AI fits, and working with pilots
17:29 – Denmark, new pilots and the cost of OriHime
21:52 – Reiko Katayama and Miruoto
25:41 – Onomatopoeia, manga and Deaflympics feedback
27:44 – Station sounds and what's next for Miruoto
Relevant Links
OryLab: https://orylab.com/en/
Miruoto: https://miruoto.jp
Zero Project Technology Forum: https://zeroproject.org/initiatives/the-zero-project-technology-forum

----
Follow on:
YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.