William B. Loughborough, Talking Signs/RIAS pioneer died of natural causes in his home In Madrid, Spain around midnight Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Loughborough, 84, was what could be called a true renaissance man - technology innovator, musician, song writer, theater director and relentless advocate for accessibility for people with disabilities. When he was 17, after a year at MIT, he became part of the jazz culture in New York as a drummer. During WWII he was a Navy Radioman.

In 1979, he was one of the researchers at Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and Rehabilitation Engineering Center who provided proof of concept for Remote Infrared Audible Signage technology. "Bill carried the Talking Signs torch for many years," said Ward Bond, President of Talking Signs, Inc. "Technology transfer takes many hands. Bill believed in this technology before it was available, let alone installed, anywhere. Without Bill Loughborough, there would have been no Talking Signs."

Most recently, Bill had become an influential activist/thinker concerning making the internet accessible to people with visual disabilities through his membership in the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C. In 2002, his song "Better Than Anything," sung by Natalie Cole was nominated for a Grammy Award. The words of this song express his delight in and love of life.