HumanWare, in cooperation with Microsoft Corporation and the National Federation of the Blind, has supplied assistive technology for a family in New Jersey to be featured on ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition airing on Sunday, September 17, 2006 in a special two hour show.

The nationally televised show selects families from around the country who are without a habitable home due to hardship. They recently selected a family in Bergenfield, New Jersey. Originally from the Philippines, the father, two daughters and grandmother suffer from a degenerative genetic eye disease, which eventually causes blindness. The son is deaf and the mother was recently diagnosed with cancer.

HumanWare graciously donated a Trekker Pro GPS unit and a VoiceNote mPower QT notetaker to the family. In addition, Microsoft purchased a myReader low vision auto-reader, a Brailliant 40 braille display and a VoiceNote mPower QT.

The Trekker Pro is a revolutionary system that uses GPS and digital maps to help blind persons find their way in urban and rural areas. Combined with an accessible handheld PC, the Maestro, the user is able to navigate almost anywhere. The VoiceNote mPower is a powerful notetaker with crisp speech output, allowing the user to do word processing, browse the internet, send email, and read books. The myReader low vision auto-reader is designed for people who have low vision and want to read without the distraction of a traditional x/y table found on traditional video magnifiers. The Brailliant 40 is a 40-cell Braille display that connects to a PC via a USB cable or Bluetooth. It is a lightweight portable display, ideal for school or work.

“HumanWare is proud to be helping this family live more independently by providing them with the tools they will need to succeed,” said Phil Rance, president of HumanWare US. “We were glad to cooperate in this effort with Microsoft and the NFB.”

HumanWare specializes in the design and manufacture of innovative technology products for people who are blind, deaf-blind and visually impaired. Our products empower our customers and allow them to live independently and compete effectively in a sighted world.

For further information contact:
Sharon Spiker
HumanWare
175 Mason Circle
Concord, CA 94520
800-722-3393
us.info@humanware.com