Sensory Systems Ltd,
The Town Hall, 9 Patford Street, Calne, Wiltshire. SN11 0EF.
Tel: +44 (0)1249 814309
website: www.sensorysystems.eu
Telesensory & Sensory Systems Ltd
Introduction & Company History
Telesensory is the leading worldwide developer, manufacturer, and marketer of electronic and computer-based products to assist people with low vision. For over four decades, Telesensory has been helping visually impaired and blind people achieve greater independence through innovative, technology-based products. Telesensory's strong management team is dedicated to the providing superior products and continually exceeding customer expectations.
Telesensory's corporate headquarters is in Singapore & Malasia, which includes the company's product development, sales, manufacturing, and marketing departments. Telesensory products are available in 50 countries worldwide, with sales offices in Wiltshire. In the United States, products are sold by more than 300 distributors, dealers, and resellers who provide personalized customer support throughout the country.
The Market
More than twelve million people in the United States, over eleven million in the European Economic Community, and many more worldwide, are visually impaired to the point where eyeglasses are not sufficient to enable them to meet a large portion of their visual needs. Many are seniors whose eyesight has begun to diminish due to macular degeneration. The number of seniors -people over 65- increased by 22 percent between 1980 and 1990, to about 13 percent of the population in North America. The number of people who could potentially benefit from Telesensory's low vision products is expected to continue to increase as America's & Europes population ages.
Company History
Telesensory was born out of the desire to help a blind girl read. In 1970, four members of the prestigious Stanford University electrical engineering department led by Professor John Linvill developed the technology that was to become the Optacon, a portable electronic print-reading device, the company's first product, in an effort to assist Professor Linvill's vision impaired daughter. Dr. Linvill currently serves on the Company's Board of Directors.
Today, Telesensory is the legacy of a number of pioneers in the adaptive devices industry, starting with Telesensory itself, Visualtek and Apollo Lasers in the early 1970s, and Kurzweil Computer Products in 1975.
| 1970 Telesensory is founded by John Linvill and Jim Bliss to develop, manufacture, and market innovative products for blind people. Apollo Lasers, a company in Los Angeles, Ca., develops and markets the first closed circuit television (CCTV) for people with severe low vision. 1971 Visualtek (later renamed VTEK), a company in Santa Monica, Ca., is formed to develop, manufacture, and market products to people who are visually impaired or blind. 1975 Kurzweil Computer Products, in Peabody, Massachusetts, is founded by renowned inventor Raymond Kurzweil, who introduced the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the world's first reading machine for the visually impaired. 1977 Telesensory begins marketing accessibility products made by Canon. 1980 Canon invests in Telesensory and becomes a significant shareholder. Xerox Corporation acquires Kurzweil Computer Products. Telesensory establishes a separate Speech Systems Division to pursue industrial and commercial applications of its speech synthesis technologies. 1982 Telesensory sells its speech technologies to a newly formed company named Speech Plus, Inc.; later in 1990, Speech Plus was subsequently purchased by Centigram (located in San Jose, Ca.). 1984 Telesensory enters into the low vision business with the acquisition of the assets of Apollo Lasers. 1987 Canon and Telesensory co-develop the Optacon II, the second generation of our founding product. 1989 Telesensory acquires Visualtek, forming the largest company in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of high-technology assistive devices for people who are visually impaired or blind. 1991 Telesensory receives the "Employer of the Year" award from the California Governor's Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons. 1992 Telesensory receives the Winston Gordon Award for Technological Advancement in the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairment from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. 1995 American Society on Aging awards the Gold Award to the Telesensory Aladdin Classic for Outstanding New Product in the Mature Market Design Competition. 1996 To create a stronger presence in Europe, Telesensory acquires its distributors in London (Sensory Systems, LTD) and Paris (Teletec SARL). Xerox renames Kurzweil Computer Products to Adaptive Products, Inc. 1997 Telesensory acquires Adaptive Products, Inc. from Xerox to increase market share and expand its product offering. Xerox becomes a significant shareholder in Telesensory. 1998 Telesensory divests its OEM Braille division to Metec in Germany, and also sells its Blindness Products division to Blazie Engineering in Maryland to better focus on its low vision business. 2000 Telesensory enters the new millennium enhancing their wealth of experience. |