Vispero’s Next Big Thing Winner Announced

The winner of Vispero‘s “Next Big Thing” competition for 2024 has been announced, with Robin Christopherson earning the top prize for his innovative concept, Smart Screen Review. This feature proposes integrating AI-driven optical character recognition (OCR) into JAWS to make inaccessible elements on screens—such as unlabeled buttons or pop-ups—navigable and actionable. Robin describes the inspiration behind his idea, citing the popular Mac utility VOCR, which uses OCR to identify and interact with text and buttons on screen through virtual snapshots.

Robin elaborates on how Smart Screen Review would address common accessibility challenges, such as interacting with inaccessible software or locating unresponsive elements on web pages. He explains that the feature would allow users to navigate and click on recognized text or buttons without disrupting the screen’s layout, enabling greater usability for a wide range of applications.

Ryan Jones from Vispero also joins to discuss the themes of this year’s contest, highlighting a shift toward practical innovations like improving JAWS Tandem connections and introducing customizable settings profiles. Ryan emphasizes that the competition is as much about community engagement as it is about innovation, stating, “This is just another way to listen and let people share their ideas.”

The episode also touches on the upcoming 30th anniversary of JAWS in 2025 and the release of the FS Companion tool, an AI-powered assistant designed to provide screen reader users with keyboard commands and task-specific guidance in applications like Microsoft Office.

For more information about JAWS and the “Next Big Thing” competition, visit Vispero’s website.