Blindsight is a small research and development company in Berkeley which is developing assistive technology for people with visual disabilities. We are currently gathering information and contacts for a project which is focused on providing the support and technology necessary to individuals as they start up a new business.

We are looking for candidates who are interested in starting their own enterprise, whether it’s a corporation or a consulting service, who have a specific interest and idea, and the skills necessary to support the development of that idea.

• Enable individuals with access needs to excel on their visions / purpose, etc
• Take on the issue of the unemployment rate of over 60% among people with visual access needs, by supporting them as they create businesses and jobs
• Gather in-depth understanding of the needs of Blind and Low Vision people in the professional environment
• Develop assistive technology and concepts that can not only help entrepreneurs but the broader population with vision impairment.
• Create a model for Blind entrepreneurship
• Create businesses that are more likely to hire other Blind employees

• People with an idea for a business or technology, where visual impairment so far has prevented them from pursuing their idea / vision
• College degree
• That’s it

Important

Disclaimer: this is a project which may or may not be funded; even if it is funded, individual businesses are not guaranteed success. There is always some risk in entrepreneurship, so we are looking for individuals who understand and accept the uncertainty here but want to participate in this research project, which will produce benefits for the blind population.

Interested? Send in your resume with a brief description of your idea and we’d love to talk to you! Our email is incubator@blindsight.com.

Location

Downtown Berkeley

Important

Candidates must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

We are Blindsight, a small company developing computer vision algorithms and hardware for helping the blind and/or elderly become more self-sufficient. We are in the process of building a text detector application for mobile devices that is set to transform the life of people with low or no vision, but also to be fun to use for anyone else. We need someone who creates a simple, delightful and accessible user experience around this text detection application.

You should bring 5+ years of experience in the world of interaction, user experience and user interface design and a sense for accessibility needs in mobile applications.
You get your inspiration from directly and constantly working with users, thought leaders and developers and you know your design tools (Photoshop, Illustrator) inside out for fast prototyping and testing. You have experience in mobile, preferably developing accessible UIs for the iPhone.

We can offer an open, collaborative environment and the opportunity to create something that changes the life of individuals with vision impairment.

Interested? Resume and pointers to your portfolio of past projects are much appreciated! jobs@blindsight.com

Location

Downtown Berkeley

Important

Candidates must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

We are Blindsight, a small company developing computer vision algorithms and hardware for helping the blind and/or elderly become more self-sufficient. We are in the process of building a corpus of ground truth, used to train and validate our algorithms.  We have the beginnings of a system that can manage this data, but we need someone to take charge, and continue to build it into a powerful, flexible system.

Ideally, you are a curator of data, a spotter of patterns in apparent randomness, and a quick learner.  Experience with Python and C++ helps dramatically; database and Unix command line (we use PostgreSQL and FreeBSD) experience is essential.  You will be working with computer vision scientists and other software developers regularly, in a collaborative environment.

Interested? Resume and code samples are much appreciated! ( jobs@blindsight.com)

Location

Downtown Berkeley

Blindsight is building a new service to enhance mobility, independence and social interaction for those over 70. We took on the challenge to develop a new cellphone concept that significantly improves the ease of use and enables assistance in daily activities such as shopping, medication handling, wayfinding and more.

We are conducting a pilot study for this new cellphone device concept for independent seniors. Engaging with real users 70 and older is integral part of our development to make electronic devices more simple to use that truly improve and extend independent living.

First, we conduct a brief phone interview with you. Following this, we’ll ask you to come in and talk with us, and conduct some tests related to using a mobile phone, taking pictures, and navigation using the phone. We will provide a small stipend for your effort.

We’re planning to conduct the initial phone screenings between the 6th of February and the 17th of February, and the tests will be carried out between the 27th of February and the 9th of March.

Volunteers will need to be available for a phone interview (estimated half an hour) between the 6th and 17th of February, and available to come in to our offices on one day between the 27th of February and the 9th of March.

You should be in the demographics range of 70 and older, and should be familiar with the use of cellphones. It would also be great if you are familiar with the use of the Internet.

Interested? Just send a quick summary of you with a description of why you’d like to take part on the pilot study to volunteers@blindsight.com and we’d love to talk to you!