MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marty Schultz, founder of Blindfold Games, an app development company that builds accessible games for the visually impaired community, and co-founder of Objective Ed, an organization providing students with disabilities with educational games to achieve the best educational outcomes, has been named one of two recipients of the 2019 Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation along with a $5,000 award. Schultz will be recognized for this honor, bestowed annually by National Braille Press, during a reception at the 34th CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in Anaheim, California on March 13.
“Receiving this honor significantly raises the profile of our companies’ efforts within the assistive technology community,” said Mr. Schultz. “We believe the games developed by Blindfold Games for the blind community can provide innovative entertainment options for a population long underserved by mainstream video game manufacturers, while Objective Ed’s games serve an important educational purpose within this community.”
The $5,000 award will be donated to a not-for-profit organization that will utilize it to purchase tablet computers for blind students of need.
To date, Blindfold Games has released more than 80 games—available on the iPhone and iPad—that promote learning and fun. The games have been enjoyed by more than 25,000 visually impaired people from 7 to 70 years old, and recently surpassed half a million downloads. Blindfold Games was honored as “2015 Developer of the Year” and “2016 Best iOS Game” by AppleVis, an organization empowering blind and low-vision users of Apple products.
Objective Ed provides Core and Expanded Core Curriculum games for individuals with visual impairments. Its games help students learn the skills required to meet the goals and objectives of their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Each game is individually tuned to meet the unique needs of the student, and all members of the IEP team—teachers, therapists, specialists and parents—are able to monitor the student’s progress.
The Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation is an annual prize of $10,000 awarded to a project, or projects, that show the most innovative idea in the field of braille and tactile literacy. Winners and applicants have submitted projects for professional software and apps, educational software and apps, gaming software or apps, and braille or tactile-related hardware or leaning paraphernalia.
Innovators have come from all over the world in the fields of education, technology, engineering, tactile graphics, and literacy. This is the only prize to foster and reward innovation in the area of braille and tactile literacy for the blind and deaf blind communities.
The Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation is funded through support from The Gibney Family Foundation, since inception in 2007. The Gibney Family Foundation supports non-profit organizations to help them develop sustainable products and provide services or support.
This prize was developed to inspire an innovator to continue the promotion of braille literacy for blind and deafblind people worldwide. The publication of Louis Braille: A Touch of Genius by National Braille Press promoted braille literacy to a wider audience and provided a springboard for launching the Touch of Genius Prize, providing the exposure needed to inspire an innovator.