Dr. Leo Bissonnette’s Journey with Envision: Building Accessibility with the Community

For this episode of the Envision Podcast, we sat down with Dr. Leo Bissonnette from Quebec, Canada—an early adopter, longtime collaborator, and tireless advocate for technology that empowers the blind and low vision community.

Leo’s story spans decades of accessible innovation. In the early 1980s, he witnessed the impact of the Versabraille in higher education, and later, as Manager of the Access Center at Concordia University for 35 years, he helped students use technology to stay active and successful academically. That deep experience is part of what brought him to Envision.

A moment that changed everything

Leo was among the first to receive Envision Glasses in November 2020. While setting them up, he turned toward a TV in his office and read the ticker line at the bottom of the screen—with the glasses. That instant—a simple line of text suddenly accessible—became a personal “eye-opener,” and a clear signal of what purposeful accessibility can mean in everyday life.

From Envision Glasses to Ally and Solos

Looking back at 2025, Leo describes how Ally helped him effortlessly find and order books for Christmas gifts, locate restaurants, and complete everyday tasks with confidence. As Solos glasses arrived later in the year, he noticed the onboarding felt seamless and fast; charging and setup took minutes, not hours. With Solos connected through the Ally app on iPhone, he appreciates how the experience reduces friction and expands independence—whether reading documents, identifying items in the kitchen, or navigating hotels while traveling.

Accessibility by design vs. retrofitting

A recurring theme in our conversation is the difference between tools built with accessibility at their core and those that try to add accessibility later. Leo has seen both. The first path—accessibility from the start—creates clarity, reduces cognitive load, and invites new users in. The second often asks people to relearn complex interfaces or fit into a design not meant for them. His advice: begin with the question “What do you want to do?” and build from there, step by step.

Training, community, and “errors of enthusiasm”

Leo is the second vice president of the Canadian Council of the Blind and helps lead “Get Together Through Technology,” where the community demos, discusses, and learns side-by-side. He points out a common pitfall: well-meaning family and friends sometimes buy complex devices that end up on a shelf because the intended user wasn’t part of the decision. The antidote is listening, breaking tasks down into small wins (like reading a letter or making a cup of tea), and letting independence grow through practice.

Keep it simple. Keep it open.

Leo’s feedback to Envision is straightforward: stay the course. Keep listening. Let real-world use cases guide product evolution. Small companies can move fast when they stay close to the community, and that dialogue—through webinars, demos, and everyday support—turns ideas into impact.

Why this matters beyond our community

We ended by reflecting on how cutting-edge innovation often starts in specialized contexts and then becomes mainstream—like how Formula 1 advances influence everyday cars or how the space race shrank computers and reshaped our devices. Accessibility-first design follows the same pattern: what empowers one group ultimately improves experiences for everyone.

What’s next

As AI capabilities grow, more features will work offline across devices, and Ally will continue expanding to new platforms. For Leo, progress looks like an accessible toolkit that is easier, faster, and more affordable—designed with the community, not just for it.

Highlights from Leo’s experience:

• A simple text-reading moment in 2020 became a lifelong “eye-opener.”
• Ally made holiday shopping and everyday searches seamless in 2025.
• Ally Solos Glasses lowered setup friction and expanded independence.
• Start with “What do you want to do?” and build skills in small steps.
• Train the trainer; empower families and support networks to listen first.

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If you’re new to Envision, start with Ally on iOS or Android. Try a small task that matters to you—read a document, identify an item in your kitchen, or look up a book—and build from there. Independence grows one step at a time.

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You can find the full podcast episode on our YouTube channel here. You can also listen to it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Thank you, Leo, for your decades of leadership and your steady belief that technology, when designed with accessibility in mind, restores agency and expands possibilities. We’re grateful to keep building with you—and with the community—every day.