Corvallis, OR—ViewPlus Technologies Inc. today announced that it has received a Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for its accessible printing and graphics technologies. SBA presents the awards to companies and individuals that have advanced technological innovation and economic growth.
“This award represents the culmination of efforts we began after submitting for a number of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals,” said ViewPlus Founder, Dr. John Gardner. “We have since won 15 of these grants and continue to include the SBIR Program as an important piece of our business innovation."
ViewPlus’ Tibbetts Award recognizes the company’s work for a series of tactile graphic embossers which print both ink and braille, several software applications based on the ViewPlus IVEO® Hands-on Learning System, and for collaborating with the American Physical Society (the world’s leading publisher of Physics literature), to make its journals fully accessible to all people, including those who are blind.
“ViewPlus has grown from approximately 15 to over 40 people since 2003 when it received it first SBIR award,” continued Gardner. “Today, thanks to the SBIR grants, ViewPlus has been able to develop really innovative products for the market, increase our sales revenue, and allowed us to grow.”
Dr. John and Carolyn Gardner, Founders of ViewPlus, accepted the award at a ceremony this morning in Washington, DC. Afterward, they met with SBA Administrator, Karen Mills, and attended a reception at the White House.
“This is a proud day not only for ViewPlus but also for the city of Corvallis,” said Sean Greene, SBA’s Associate Administrator for Investment and Senior Adviser for Innovation. “Companies like ViewPlus represent the best in American ingenuity.”
Founded in 1996, Corvallis-based ViewPlus Technologies is an international leader in tactile graphics and braille technologies. Current ViewPlus products include the Tiger® Braille printers, IVEO Hands-on Learning System, Tiger Software Suite braille translation software, and the Audio Graphing Calculator.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
AT Needs Exposed During ATIA Orlando BLV Town Hall Meeting
This year's Town Hall Meeting at ATIA Orlando 2011 exposed many needs that still exist in the Accessible Technology field. Not only were the needs expressed but the concept of self-advocacy was an important topic.
The meeting began with important discussion surrounding job accessibility for visually impaired job seekers. Many were under the impression that with today's advances in computer technology the need to fill out a form by hand was no longer an issue. The group was quick to learn that while often this is the case, there are still many times when employers will intentionally not hire a visually impaired candidate because of this issue.
After discussing the need that still exists for certain kinds of accessible technologies in the workplace, the idea was put on the table that manufactures should be working together when developing these new technologies. Attendees expressed how important it is to visually impaired users that there is consistency across products. This is in regards to implementing similar hot-keys and compatibility between different, noncompeting, devices.
In addition to advocating for increased workplace technologies, STEM was also brought forward. STEM, an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, is an educational coalition with many different goals relating to students, especially those with disabilities. Many commented that by working with STEM to create policies that provide for the advanced technologies in the classroom, the ability for disabled students to enter the workforce in the above mentioned career fields will be greatly enhanced.
Lastly, the meeting ended with a simple yet very important topic; the idea of self-advocacy. It was mentioned that students will have a much greater opportunity to acquire their needed resources if they ask for it themselves. Not only ask, but demand these technologies. If put in the context "I need 'X' to succeed" the student will have much more power versus a company or other advocate saying what is needed.
Overall, the Town Hall Meeting was a great success. It brought awareness of these important issues directly to the general public, consumers, teachers, and vendor executives. ViewPlus always looks forward to the ATIA Town Hall Meeting and is proud to be part of the events facilitation.
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