[Nfbmo] {Spam?} U of Michigan working on reasonably priced pneumatic full page Braile display
DanFlasar at aol.com
DanFlasar at aol.com
Tue Aug 30 21:49:27 UTC 2016
Hi all,
Here's a video from YouTube regarding a prototype full-page
refreshable Braille display being developed by researchers at the University of
Michigan.
Following the link is a copy of the information provided with the
video. The first paragraph describes the video, the last 3 describe the
academic activities of the researchers. It does appear that the head researcher,
Prof. Silke O'Modhrain, does appear to be blind herself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fIg4rI4cDw
Reading a computer screen in Braille is a cumbersome process today. The
visually impaired people who rely on the system of raised dots only have
access to one line at a time. Beyond that, current systems don't translate
charts or graphs. A team of researchers from Michigan Engineering and the
School of Music, Theater and Dance are working on a solution. Their technology,
which has been described as a leader in the field, relies on pneumatic use
of liquid or air to shrink the mechanism and expand it so it can display
more at once. Their goal is for it to display the equivalent of a page of
Kindle text at once.
ABOUT THE PROFESSOR
Professor Sile O’Modhrain earned a BA in music from Trinity College in
Dublin, Ireland, and a licentiate in piano teaching from Trinity College
London. She holds an MS in music technology from the University of York, York,
England, and a Ph.D. in computer-based music theory from Stanford
University.Professor O'Modhrain has worked as a researcher and faculty member, both
here and abroad, at the prestigious MIT Media Lab, Media Lab Europe, and at
the Sonic Arts Research Center at Queen's University of Belfast. She has
also worked for BBC Radio as an audio engineer and program producer. Her
research focus is on haptics–touch and gesture–and its relationship to music
performance and on the development of new interfaces for technology-enhanced
instruments that extend the boundaries of musical expression. Also
impressive is her combination of experience in many areas related to audio,
psychoacoustics, computer music, cognition, and gestural control of music.
Brent Gillespie is an associate professor of mechanical engineering with
research interests in haptic interfaces and robotics. Prof. Gillespie
obtained his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University
of California, Davis and his MS and PhD from Stanford University. At Stanford
he was associated both with the Center for Computer Research in Music and
Acoustics (CCRMA) and the Dextrous Manipulation Laboratory. After his PhD,
he spent three years as a postdoc at Northwestern University working in the
Laboratory for Intelligent Machines (LIMS).
Alexander Russomanno received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Virginia in 2012. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
His research interests involve microfluidics, surface haptic interface
design and human-machine interfaces.
Dan
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