Chieko Asakawa (1958-) is a Japanese computer scientist and engineer who went blind from an accident at 14. While working for IBM, she invented a number of assistive technologies for the visually impaired, including the Home Page Reader, the first practical web-to-speech browser to provide internet browsing capability to the blind and visually handicapped. Dr. Asakawa was awarded the Medal of Honor with a purple Ribbon from the government of Japan in 2013 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2019 for her Home Page Reader.
Learn More:
TED Talk: How new technology help blind people explore the world
BBC article "The blind woman developing tech for the good of others"
Dr. Asakawa teaching at Carnegie Mellon
