[Electronics-talk] [EXTERNAL] Color Identification Technology

[Baracco, Andrew W]

In 2000 I purchased the Colortest 150 which was marketed by APH. At that
time it was the only product available. It was expensive, about $600.
Actually, this device performs several functions related to color and
light, and is not just a simple color identifier. My experience is that
it is accurate, even though at times my wife disagreed with its
rendering. This usually happened with an article of clothing that the
unit said was a very dark blue, but it looked black to my wife. It is
true that human perception of color can vary depending on lighting, etc.
The unit uses a very bright high intensity light. You place the unit
right up in physical contact with the item that you want to text. In
real life, we do not live in a world of bright light, so our perception
of color will vary. When my wife placed the garment under a high
intensity reading lamp that she had, she finally agreed that the garment
was indeed a very dark blue.

The Colortest will speak shadings in addition to a simple blue, red,
etc. It will also give a reading for hue and intensity of the color. It
can also give you a reading in terms of wave length. A chart in print
and Braille is included, giving you the scale to use if you want to use
this reading. The device has a kind of panning mode where it emits a
tone that rises and falls as you move the device over a surface,
allowing you to detect changes in color that might denote a pattern on
the garment. It also serves as a simple light detector. So this device
will render a lot of info, perhaps more than you want to know, but it
will serve you well if you want to spend that amount of money. The
device has undergone changes since I bought mine, and will detect even
more colors and shades, and the price has risen accordingly. Since I
bought mine, other cheaper devices have come on the market, but I have
not tested them. Also, there are color detection apps for smart phones,
but I think that these serve more as a source of entertainment than a
useful service. Hopefully you will get feedback about the other devices
available, but I would advise that you stick with a dedicated device as
opposed to the smart phone apps.

Andy


-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Benjamin Vercellone via Electronics-talk
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2015 3:14 AM
To: electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Benjamin Vercellone
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Electronics-talk] Color Identification Technology

> Hello.
> I have some questions regarding color identification technology. This
could include dedicated devices, smart phone apps, etc.
> I would like to know if anyone on this list has used a color
identifier and found it to be consistently helpful. I have used several
hardware solutions up to this point, and have encountered considerable
difficulty. With each color identification tool I have owned over the
years (maybe 2 or 3), I have asked sighted family members or friends to
tell me if they agree or disagree with the answer given by the
technology. The problem in my experience is that a large percentage of
the time, the sighted people disagree with the answer given by the
technology. I have had people tell me all kinds of things, like how
everyone interprets colors differently. Some people have told me that
the human brain doesn't see the actual color anyway. I don't know if
this is true, but I honestly don't care very much personally. I simply
want to coordinate my clothing largely according to color, and to do
this as effectively, independently, and spontaneously as possible. I
desire to use technology to this 
 end if possible. I therefore care how people interpret the colors of my
clothing. I want to have technology that agrees with the color analysis
of sighted people most of the time. If it's not perfect, that's fine.
But the technology I have tried has given results different from the
human answers a huge percentage of the time. Even if this has been less
than half of the time, it still concerns me a lot. Furthermore, most
sighted people from whom I gather color information give answers that
are mostly the same. Most people say a garment is a certain color, and
if there has been an outlier in terms of the answer, it is usually on
the part of the technology I have tried.
> Has anyone else experienced this? Also, if anyone has bought a more
expensive color identifier, I am wondering if this has increased
accuracy. I am open to suggessions as well as questions.
> I have also tried using some apps on my iPhone. I have definitely had
the most success, though still spotty, with Tap Tap See. I am confident
that others have tried this kind of approach as well. I like Tap Tap see
more than other solutions I have tried thus far for a couple reasons.
Most of all, I am pleased that there are humans available on the other
end. This allows me to get an answer that I feel I can trust somewhat
more. Also, when this method works its best, I am often told the pattern
of my garment as well, such as plaid. I am totally blind, by the way. I
know that many blind people have used various types of low-tech labeling
solutions with clothing, such as metallic braille tags, various shapes,
etc. I am open to using these methods as well. However, I want to gather
information and perspectives from other blind people who have used color
identification technology.
> To summarize my opinions, I believe that color identification
technology is one of the least reliable technologies I have used for
independence up to this point. If others have had much better
experiences, I would love to hear more, and be proven wrong. However, I
can say for certain that in my experience, I have not had enough success
with color identification technology to confidently coordinate my
clothing by this means alone. Also, I went completely blind at age 4,
and only know about 10 to 15 colors accurately in my head. In other
words, I do not desire a color identifier that boasts more than 600
colors or whatever. I am able to understand light, medium, and dark for
many colors. Also, if there is a color that I did not have in my
vocabulary as a small child, I will need someone to describe it in
relation to the basic colors. This helps me a fare amount. Still, I
prefer simpler answers over sophisticated ones. Finally, can anyone give
advice regarding how to find optimal ligh
 ting for apps like Tap Tap See? Any and all advice is appreciated!
> Thank you,
> Ben
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