[nabs-l] Device Helps Blind See with Tongue

RJ Sandefur joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com
Tue May 22 23:42:28 UTC 2012


Nonsince RJ
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Humberto Avila" <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 7:25 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Device Helps Blind See with Tongue


>I would just rather see one of those "Google data Lenses" made for the
> blind. Have you guys heard anything about the Data lenses that Google has
> been trying to put out for the public? They are lenses that, supposedly,
> work just like little smartphones embedded in glasses that you put on. The
> user who puts them on can control and see just about anything and 
> everything
> and research just about anything and everything and get just about 
> anything
> and everything on his reach just by looking at something or just using 
> them
> as mobile gadgets. At least that's what I understand. Having said that, If
> Google can come up with "data lenses" for the blind that could:
> A.  Have a built-in screen reader and a built-in earpiece;
> B.  Audio-describe everything that is going on that a white cane or even a
> guide dog can not reach or tell, just like in audio-described movies;
> C.  Automatically give details of current location and information when I
> get lost and when I am in an unknown place I don't know;
> D.  Automatically use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to read every
> single sign, post, bulletin board, white/blackboard, and printed pages of 
> a
> regular book, booklet, and notebook without relying on someone else or 
> even
> the KNFB reader to get the most instant and real-time information never
> possible; and
> E.  Work in conjunction with notetakers and computers that use screen
> reading software.
>
> Right there, I would be a very happy blind person emulating and getting
> closer to being a sighted person. You can find more info on these glasses 
> by
> googling them or going to HTTP://NEWS.CNET.COM. Just my 50 cents.
>
> Cheers,
> Humberto
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Patrick Molloy
> Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 3:33 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Device Helps Blind See with Tongue
>
> Justin,
> If this is what I think it is, then I've heard about it before. I
> think the idea is to give blind people more information along with
> what we already get on our own. I think it's interesting research too,
> but I don't think the people who are behind it are uneducated or
> wrong. At least they're stepping up and trying something, as opposed
> to other people who would just sit back. Furthermore, I'm often
> curious about what else is out there that I might not be picking up
> on. This device, if it does all that this article claims, would
> probably help with subtle details that we might not ordinarily notice.
> In the future, it's possible that this device would help blind people
> to read signs that either were far away or didn't have Braille. As of
> now, I can guarantee that there are still bugs to work out, but I
> think this is really interesting and I hope it continues to improve
> over time. I look at this thing as similar to a talking GPS unit for
> the blind. True, we CAN get by just fine without one, but WITH one,
> you get more information than without.
> Patrick
>
> On 5/22/12, Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu> wrote:
>> Philosophy Discussion Time
>>
>> I just caught this story on the local news, and I want to hear people's
>> opinions of it.  There are many different versions of this news story, 
>> but
>> here's a link to a page with a video and text article:
>>
>> http://wearecentralpa.com/fulltext-healthcast?nxd_id=369932
>>
>> Feel free to find other versions of this story using a simple search
>> engine.
>>
>> When I heard that Mark couldn't wait for the day that he could navigate
> his
>> own home independently with a device, I thought to myself "hey, I already
>> have one of those devices.  It's called a cane!"
>>
>> In my reading on the story, I get the impression that researchers think
> that
>> this device is important because we blind people are oblivious to our
>> surroundings and need some way to get information about them.  I think
> this
>> is cool research for the sake of research, but I see absolutely no
> practical
>> need for the device.  With the proper skills and training, we can
>> independently navigate our own surroundings.  I further wonder if maybe
>> these uneducated or incorrectly educated researchers simply don't know
> about
>> the techniques we blind people can use to independently navigate our
>> surroundings or if they view them as inferior and think we should be
> trying
>> to operate as closely to sighted people as we can.
>>
>> What does everyone on the list think?
>>
>> Justin Salisbury
>> President
>> North Carolina Association of Blind Students
>>
>>
>> Justin M. Salisbury
>> Class of 2012
>> B.A. in Mathematics
>> East Carolina University
>> president at alumni.ecu.edu
>>
>> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change
>> the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."    -MARGARET MEAD
>>
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