[Blindtlk] The Buzz Clip: Wearable Technology for the Blind

Fri Oct 23 22:39:20 UTC 2015

Hi,
  First, please feel free to call me Chris!

  Just curious about something. You mentioned that it will go to sleep after a few seconds but that people use it to know when someone has moved forward in a line. How do  you detect the difference with it between its going to sleep and the person in front of you moving forward. For example, say you are in a line waiting  for the next teller at a bank. You have the sensor on so that it  indicates that there is someone in front of you. If the line is moving really slowly, and the sensor goes to sleep, how do you know that the line has not moved but rather the device has just gone to sleep? In other  words, you would seem to get the same result in both cases unless you were  paying really close attention to the device so as to determine how quickly the signal disappeared (e.g., did it decrease instantly or a little more slowly as though a person is walking away. This would seem to give you a fair amount of false positives unless I am just missing something. If you  have to pay that close of attention, it would seem like that could make it really hard to concentrate on other important surrounding information in the environment. Although I understand the point of the going to sleep, I think there would be situations where that could be a hindrance rather than a help. One advantage of the non-clip on sensors is that you can really easily move  them out of range when stopping (e.g., when stopping to talk with someone) rather than the sensor deciding when it will stop giving you feedback, especially if they are just sitting on your wrist or in the palm of your hand (e.g., you do not need to reach up and do something like fiddling with something on your shirt to get it out of range or to wake it up... if you want it to wake before something changes in the environment).
Have a great weekend all!
Chris
Dr. Christine M. Szostak
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Social Sciences
Shorter University
Rome, Georgia
szostak.1 at osu.edu
cszostak at shorter.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: bin lie [mailto:info at imerciv.com] 
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 6:18 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Szostak, Christine <szostak.1 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>; cindyray at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] The Buzz Clip: Wearable Technology for the Blind

Hi Cindy and Dr. Christine,

The Buzz clip does use the same ultrasonic technology as the Mini guide as well as other ultrasonic canes that have been around for decades. It detects obstacles within a fixed range and distances and provides vibratory feedback that changes with the distance of the obstacle. Where we differ from the other devices is in the application of this technology.

A lot of effort was put into optimizing the user experience of the device. The limiting it to M and M modes reduces false positives and only provide vibratory feedback obstacles or people that is in your path or coming directly at you. The 2 range modes allows more flexibility depending on the density of objects or people in you immediate environment, i.e. indoors and outdoors. The device goes to sleep if you are at a fixed distance for over a few seconds so that it doesn't constantly vibrate if you are talking to someone for example. It reactivates again if the distance changes for more than 10-15cm. So once it is switch on, the user can simply carry on their usual routine with out the need to operate the device constantly. The battery will last for a full days use on a single charge.

The Buzz clip is not just another ultrasonic proximity detector. The fact that it is wearable and hands free makes it applicable in a lot more use cases. Some of our testers have been using it in line ups at coffee shops to determine when the line is moving forward. Some of them have been using it as a way finder in tight spaces by walking in the directions where the Buzz clip doesn't detect anything. Some have been using it as security by attaching it behind them, they would know someone is sneaking up on them if the Buzz clip detects something coming towards them and they don't hear anything. Some have found it useful as they would be able to tell if the person they are conversing with got up to get water and when they get back. It provides extra information on the surrounding passively and users are constantly finding new ways to use this extra information.

Aside from the usability, a lot of thought was put into the design and aesthetics as well. The Buzz clip is slightly larger than a lighter. The enclosure is made entirely of aluminum so that it is water resistant and durable and also very aesthetically pleasing. The devices consists of 3 main sections, a sensor arm that is circular and smaller than the size of an iPod Nano in terms of area and just a little bit thicker. it is connected to the battery enclosure by a metallic spring clip that is similar to the ones on pocket knifes and multi-tools. The Battery pack is in the shape of a rectangle with rounded edges and is roughly the size of a USB drive. The micro-USB charging port is on the side of the battery pack. At the back of the sensor is the vibration motor arm with is elevated from the battery pack. The entire unit has a finish that is similar to the look and feel of the Apple TV remote. When it is worn, the only portion that will be exposed is the round sensor arm.

I hope this explains it a little bit better. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions.

Best Regards
The immersive Team.

On 2015-10-23 3:02 PM, Szostak, Christine via Blindtlk wrote:
> Hi,
>    I think it is a version of the miniguide or moat (sorry not sure of spelling) sensor. Basically, from the description it appears to be a small device that clips to your clothing and vibrates when it senses something that is ahead of you. I am not sure how this differs other than it is charged by a USB rather than just batteries that need replaced and it has only a 1-2 m range where as the mini guide has 1-4 m ranges. Thus, I am not sure what is ground-breaking about this as the video says. I think I am likely missing something that makes it different from the others that have been out there for at least a decade or two (e.g., miniguide). Note that the miniguide... also use echolocation to detect objects.
> Happy Friday all!
> Chris
>
> Dr. Christine M. Szostak
> Assistant Professor of Psychology
> Department of Social Sciences
> Shorter University
> Rome, Georgia
> szostak.1 at osu.edu
> cszostak at shorter.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy 
> Ray via blindtlk
> Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 11:13 AM
> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List' <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] The BuzzClip: Wearable Technology for the 
> Blind
>
> So what is this buzz clip supposed to do I wonder.
> Cindy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
> iMerciv via blindtlk
> Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 9:48 AM
> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: iMerciv <info at imerciv.com>
> Subject: [Blindtlk] The BuzzClip: Wearable Technology for the Blind
>
> Dear Readers,
>   
>
>   
> We wanted to share with some information with you about a new revolutionary product that could really help people living with vision loss all over the world. The BuzzClip is currently live on Indiegogo and while our campaign is promoting this cool new technology, it also has a big social cause attached to it. For more information please check out our campaign page:
> https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-buzzclip-wearable-ultrasound-fo
> r-the-
> blind/x/11673979#/
> <https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-buzzclip-wearable-ultrasound-f
> or-the
> -blind/x/11673979#/>
>   
> Our device has been street tested here in Toronto, as well as the U.S and India by hundreds of visually impaired individuals.
> We have working units at many organizations within Toronto that have been testing our device with their clients and the response thus far has been amazing. You can watch the BuzzClip in action or hear what some of our users have to say about it on our Youtube Channel:
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSnwSwEYIMD-bs8xOZM4tIQ
> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSnwSwEYIMD-bs8xOZM4tIQ>
>   
> It would be great if you could share this information with anyone who would benefit from using a device like this or anyone who may want to order one for family and friends. With the support of the public, we can build a better product and can have them in the hands of people that truly need them as early as the spring of 2016.
>   
> Please contact us if you have any questions and we really look forward to hearing from you.
> Thank You & Best Regards,
>
> The iMerciv Team
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