[Blind-Rollers] Potential Benefits of Super Lidar for Blind Rollers

Mon Feb 28 20:34:55 UTC 2022

All,

Again, as full disclosure, I am a member of this list because of my occasional role as Dave Andrews' backup, so I am not expressing an opinion as to what works best for people using wheelchairs.  However, this discussion has gone beyond that point, so I would like to add a couple of points.  

While I am one who believes that we are sometimes expected as blind people to volunteer time and effort for which others  are paid, the concept of soliciting information from a customer base without compensation is hardly limited to those of us with disabilities.  Every time I purchase from Amazon, I am asked to rate my satisfaction.  Google solicits feedback on search results.  Every time I ask for help from Google or Microsoft I am asked if the article was helpful.  If I say "no," I am expected to take my time to explain to them what they really should already know.  I could be part of Microsoft's Windows Insider program and help them work out bugs in a new version of Windows.  To my knowledge, the only compensation for that is knowing I might have helped in a small way make their product better for myself and others in the future.  Uber and LYFT ask me to rate their drivers after every single ride.  Whild doing any of this theoretically benefits me to some degree, it is really information requested by the company for their use with no compensation coming back to me.

Shane has been responsive to questions on a number of NFBNET lists and I am sure others as well.  Over time, we will see how his products evolve and how his company does, but I am not one who would question his sincerity.  I think each of us has to decide where we are going to put our time and how we feel about having input into new products.  I think, though, that we need to be careful applying reimbursement criteria to a small company for disabled persons that the big guys don't follow for the general population.  This is an individual decision.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Shane Lowe via Blind-Rollers
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 11:32 AM
To: Starry_sky at live.com
Cc: Shane Lowe <shane at mediate.tech>; Blind wheelchair users list <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Blind-Rollers] Potential Benefits of Super Lidar for Blind Rollers

To be honest, this is baffling to me. I am the only community operations person at Mediate, and have no idea from where they are pulling information in regards to our budget. It seems to me there is little I can do to actually prove my sincerity, because it appears that the only satisfactory response is of monetary value. I fully respect and agree with your position, and it is correct as it pertains to many companies. I'm afraid it doesn't fit us.

On 2/24/22, Starry_sky at live.com <Starry_sky at live.com> wrote:
> Hello Shane, I floated your email to a friend who is a business 
> strategist (with disabilities).  Here is the reply:
>
> Unfortunately, this is the typical answer "we would like to pay people 
> with disabilities but can't because of [insert excuse here]".  There 
> are different ways to compensate but doesn't sound like they are 
> offering anything.  At least that other company offered a meager gift card.
>
>  From what I can piece together, it seems that Mediate has enough 
> funds but it just isn't budgeted to compensate this user community. 
> Mediate chose to pay for a team of five or six "community engagement managers"
> to find and convince members of the disability community to work for 
> free or to sort through community exchanges to glean ideas.  Then 
> Mediate sell those features and products back to us or profit in other 
> ways.  Then they want more free ideas and free testing from us. The 
> cycle continues as they spend those profits to find more ways to use 
> us without compensating us.
>
> Everyone with and without disabilities should work to change that 
> business model and stop providing excuses to perpetuate it.  Is Shane 
> willing to be a part of the solution?  There needs to be a shift of 
> mindset at Mediate (and all other companies) so everyone benefits.  
> What if Mediate allocates part of that budget for a program that 
> respectfully compensates people with disabilities' time, skills, and 
> insights?  Then Mediate won't need a team to glean our ideas and 
> convince us to work for free because there would be a line of people w 
> disabilities ready, willing, and able to work with Mediate.
>
> On Feb 23, 2022, Shane Lowe via Blind-Rollers 
> <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
>> You have an excellent point, and as a blind person, I've seen that 
>> disparity in pay all too often.
>> However, we are a small startup. We have very little funding to 
>> expand our team of developers, let alone pay an example price similar 
>> to
>> $50.00 per hour. As much as I'd love to offer payment, We are 
>> currently too small to swing that without going under very quickly.
>>
>> On 2/22/22, Starry_sky--- via Blind-Rollers 
>> <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>> Hello Shane, there is no shortage of brilliant people with 
>>> disabilities who could work with you or other companies to design and test products.
>>> The problem is that too many of these companies feel that we should 
>>> work for free.  There was a for-profit company that paid $50/hr for 
>>> sighted testers but then asked for Blind testers to spend half a day 
>>> testing that same app for one $20 gift card.
>>>
>>> What is Mediate offering to people with disabilities to help design 
>>> and test products?  Do we get paid an hourly rate or one price for 
>>> the project?  Do we get profit-sharing, royalties, and/or 
>>> owner-rights for any of our ideas that sell or get patented?  Let us 
>>> know what the collaboration expectations are.
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ----
>>>
>>>> Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2022 10:36:30 -0500
>>>> From: Shane Lowe <shane at mediate.tech>
>>>> To: Blind wheelchair users list <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Blind-Rollers] Potential Benefits of Super Lidar for
>>>> 	Blind Rollers
>>>>
>>>> Karen and all,
>>>> That sounds intense, and I'm glad to hear that you're on the mend!
>>>> When I reached out to the list earlier this year, I didn't receive 
>>>> any feedback, so we weren't sure how to proceed or if users were 
>>>> interested in working with us to design something.
>>>> I would love to know how you envision something like this working, 
>>>> and we can go from there! :)
>>>>
>>>> On 2/18/22, Karen Rose via Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Well. Thank you :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Karen Rose MFT/LPCC 
>>>>> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fw
>>>>> ww.career-therapy.net%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb02362bac68e4667016
>>>>> 708d9fae0768f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C6378166
>>>>> 64376893616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2
>>>>> luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=cM4H16FqYX16
>>>>> bFsAlxsvtaWIXxbN%2Fo7LCYfdfvD5%2BBI%3D&reserved=0
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 18, 2022, at 11:17 AM, maureen Pranghofer via 
>>>>>> Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ?Hi Karen
>>>>>> I'm in a power chair now but used a walker for a couple of years, 
>>>>>> Rather than leaning on my palms they put forearm troughts in the 
>>>>>> walker and I could lean on them with both arms and by extending 
>>>>>> one arm slightly use my can at the same time as I'm totally 
>>>>>> blind. It worked but was very hard on my shoulder because 
>>>>>> ultimately more weight went on my shoulder on the side where I 
>>>>>> was holding the cane. But it worked.
>>>>>> Maureen
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf 
>>>>>> Of Karen Rose via Blind-Rollers
>>>>>> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2022 12:01 AM
>>>>>> To: Blind wheelchair users list <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Cc: Karen Rose <rosekm at earthlink.net>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Blind-Rollers] Potential Benefits of Super Lidar 
>>>>>> for Blind Rollers
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is anyone here using a walker or roller tour? If so how are you 
>>>>>> doing that? I am being discharged from a physical rehab center 
>>>>>> after breaking my hip, and will need to use a walker or realtor 
>>>>>> for a couple of months.
>>>>>> Would love any advice since I cannot attach my white cane to this 
>>>>>> device.
>>>>>> Thanks for any help
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Karen Rose MFT/LPCC 
>>>>>> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2F
>>>>>> www.career-therapy.net%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb02362bac68e46670
>>>>>> 16708d9fae0768f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C6378
>>>>>> 16664376893616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIj
>>>>>> oiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=cM4H16F
>>>>>> qYX16bFsAlxsvtaWIXxbN%2Fo7LCYfdfvD5%2BBI%3D&reserved=0
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Jan 26, 2022, at 12:06 PM, Shane Lowe via Blind-Rollers 
>>>>>>> <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ?Hi everyone,
>>>>>>> My name is Shane Lowe, and I am the Community Operations manager 
>>>>>>> for the company Mediate. You may know of us as the developers of 
>>>>>>> Supersense and Super Lidar.
>>>>>>> Part of what I do is work with users to turn user ideas into 
>>>>>>> features that are integrated into our apps, and a fellow member 
>>>>>>> of this list reached out to me about the potential benefits of a 
>>>>>>> navigation app for blind wheelchair users.
>>>>>>> In case you don't know, Super Lidar is our navigation app which 
>>>>>>> translate the depth and distance analysis of Lidar into 
>>>>>>> navigation features for the blind. I'd love to learn more about 
>>>>>>> how everyone on this list would like to use mobile technology in 
>>>>>>> your navigation experience so that maybe we can make some 
>>>>>>> improvements for Super Lidar.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm excited to hear what you think!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> All the best,
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Shane Lowe.
>>>>>>> Community Operations Manager @ Mediate Mobile (call or text): +1
>>>>>>> 502-435-2671 Learn more at 
>>>>>>> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2
>>>>>>> Fsupersense.app%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb02362bac68e4667016708d
>>>>>>> 9fae0768f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637816664
>>>>>>> 376893616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2
>>>>>>> luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=UfiwNvjxq5
>>>>>>> JUSFnMGJ9StmrrcrVi%2FcvZvrICQw4Rqfg%3D&reserved=0
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blind-Rollers mailing list
>>> Blind-Rollers at nfbnet.org
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>>> ediate.tech&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb02362bac68e4667016708d9fae0768f%7
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>
>

--
Shane Lowe.
Community Operations Manager @ Mediate
Mobile (call or text): +1 502-435-2671
Learn more at https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsupersense.app%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb02362bac68e4667016708d9fae0768f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637816664376893616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=UfiwNvjxq5JUSFnMGJ9StmrrcrVi%2FcvZvrICQw4Rqfg%3D&reserved=0

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