ÜBER DIESE EPISODE
Mike Calvo of Pneuma Solutions joins Steven Scott to explain how Remote Incident Manager for iOS lets blind users run a Windows PC or Mac from an iPhone, and why AI document remediation is about to change what accessible information costs.
Mike also shares how a blind CEO who does not write code now designs product screens with AI, what Pneuma's own trained models do differently from ChatGPT or Claude, and why the company built Accessible Archive to run on a company's own hardware with no per-page fee.
[Sponsor]
This episode is supported by Pneuma Solutions. Creators of accessible tools like Remote Incident Manager and Scribe. Find out more at https://pneumasolutions.com/
The RIM mobile client flips the usual remote access story. Rather than controlling a phone from a computer, it turns an iPhone into the controller, so you can connect a keyboard, drop into your home machine, and work with your own screen reader, add-ons and scripts exactly as you left them. Android is in development. Mike explains what is free right now, what carries a subscription, and why the difference comes down to maintaining an open connection back to your machine.
Mike then moves on to documents. Pneuma Solutions started in 2019 doing remediation with heuristics and tools like ABBYY FineReader, an approach that broke on corner cases and, more importantly to buyers, disturbed how a document looked. Mike describes how his son David trained models on millions of accessible documents, models that know nothing about history or writing and do one thing only. Because they can run on local infrastructure with a GPU, the per-page cost of remediation disappears, which matters when an organisation is staring at decades of backlog and an ADA Title II deadline.
There is a clear-eyed explanation of what remediation actually means, headings, tables, lists, alt text and WCAG standards, plus the just-in-time approach Pneuma is building into upload portals. The example that lands hardest: court exhibits scanned as graphical PDFs, uploaded, published, and then handed to a blind lawyer who cannot read a word of them.
Running through it all is Mike's argument about employment. Blind people can describe what they want with precision, and AI has become the lever that turns description into product. He points to his own team, to a developer earning a living largely through vibe coding, and to the unemployment rate in the blind community as the problem worth attacking.
Relevant Links
Pneuma Solutions: https://pneumasolutions.com/
Remote Incident Manager: https://pneumasolutions.com/remote-incident-manager/
Scribe: https://pneumasolutions.com/scribe/
ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility rule: https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-rule-first-steps/
ABBYY FineReader PDF: https://pdf.abbyy.com/
ScribeMe: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scribeme/id6739640292
Plaud Note Pro: https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-note-pro
REAPER: https://www.reaper.fm
Double Tap: https://www.doubletaponair.com
----
Follow on:
- YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
- X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
- Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
- TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
- Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
- Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
- LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin
Subscribe to the Podcast:
- Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
- Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
- RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
- iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart
About Double Tap
Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.
"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
