Look Who it Was Random video

How digital navigation systems will create universal access | Megan Lawrence | TEDxIndianapolis

1,923 views · Published 18 November 2014 · 9:48 · Indexed 14 October 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2014 · Nonprofits & Activism

Watch on YouTube

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. If you were blind, how would you find the new coffee shop that everyone is talking about? Google maps, right? But today’s digital navigation systems often fall short of providing the information people with visual disabilities need to travel independently. Now, imagine a world where your smartphone could sense the environment and provide rich, spatially accurate information just in time and just in place. Imagine a world where accessibility is the norm, and we all have the freedom to get where we want to go. This is my vision, and we are on the cusp of making it a reality.

Megan Lawrence (Portland, OR USA) is the founder and CEO of AccessGeo, an accessibility consulting firm. Her work focuses on applying universal design principles to create technology that is accessible to all people regardless of (dis)ability.

Maps, however, are Megan’s first love. Throughout her career, she has worked to create better environmental accessibility through access to geospatial information for people who have visual disabilities. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oregon and completed her postdoc at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Low Vision and Blindness. 

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

More from this channel