Before the oil bust of the early 1980s, Ward Bond was a developer and a property owner who owned the Hotel Maison de Ville in New Orleans. But after he was wiped out by the oil bust, it forced him to direct his energy into smaller projects, things he could do without credit.
One of those small projects could have a major impact on the millions of people who have severe visual disabilities. Talking Signs, a company Bond co-founded in 1993, allows the blind to navigate by receivers that play a message when triggered by an infrared beam. The messages can cover anything from locating an exit or staircase to announcing when a bus or train is coming and where it is headed.
For Bond, Talking Signs addresses what he calls a fundamental civil right for the blind—use of the public facilities that are open to citizens. “They work and they pay taxes that go for signs and transit systems. This gives them the access to the things that they have paid for.”
Talking Signs came out of some of Bond’s earlier projects, such as a wearable computer and a vibrating keyboard that taught the blind how to type. The system was made by John Hilburn, a local inventor and the president of Microcomputer Systems.
Over the past 14 years, a number of cities and agencies that look after the blind have purchased Talking Signs technology. There are more than 1,600 transmitters in San Francisco in places such as City Hall and the libraries. The company is in the middle of a $2.3 million project to install the technology into the Seattle public transit system. Because Talking Signs isn’t sold to individuals—the transmitters are given to blind people by agencies and foundations—Bond spends much of his time trying to recruit people who want to back the technology and get it installed.
He has ambitions of taking the technology beyond more than just the few hundred blind people who have been early adaptors. Talking Signs technology can be used by more than just the estimated 500,000 to 600,000 blind people in the U.S., Bond says. The equipment can be used to open up the world to the 10 million or so who have visual disabilities, such as the elderly. “This is unbelievably valuable,” Bond says.
So far, the value of Talking Signs hasn’t paid off in revenues for the company. Every year, Bond says, the principal investors think the upcoming year will be the tipping point when the system becomes profitable. There are some encouraging signs for the next few years, including plans to feature Talking Signs at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a high-profile installation in the new Oslo Opera House in Norway, set to open in April.
“This is very fulfilling. It’s something that can really make a difference.”
Position: President
Company: Talking Signs
What they do: Produce a wayfaring system that allows the blind and people with visual disabilities to use public buildings and transportation systems.
Revenue: “On a good year, we bring in $250,000.”
Next goal: Expanding the business in Canada.
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