[nfbwatlk] Fw: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes

[Gloria Whipple]

A big amen!

Gloria Whipple

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Kaye Kipp
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 22:00
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes

Oh wow.  I've heard it all now.  Someone has way too much time on their 
hands.  Why would anybody waste their time and money on something so stupid?

Kaye
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lauren Merryfield" <lauren1 at catliness.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 9:53 PM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes


> Hi,
> Hmmmmmmmm.
> Interesting article below.
> Thanks
> Lauren
>
> advice from my cats: "meow when you feel like it."
> The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
> understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.
> -- Ralph Nichols
> Visit us at catliness.com
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: from my iphone
> To: acb-chat at acb.org ; acb-l at acb.org ; Peter Pervert ; The Discussion List

> Accessible Phones
> Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 7:16 PM
> Subject: Fwd: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>
> From: "Denny Huff" <dhuff at moblind.org>
> Date: July 17, 2012 7:03:10 PM CDT
> To: "Adaptive technology information and support." <ati at moblind.org>
> Subject: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes
> Reply-To: DHuff at MoBlind.Org, "Adaptive technology information and 
> support." <ati at moblind.org>
>
>
>
>
> Footwear for the Blind: Bluetooth shoes
>
> The Economist 
> http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/07/footwear-blind
>
> JUL 14 2012, 9:09 by A.A.K. ~ Mumbai
>
>
>
> MORE than 285 million people across the globe suffer from visual 
> impairment.
>
> Yet the tools to assist the blind in walking have changed little since the

> 1920s, when their canes started being painted white to make other 
> pedestrians more aware of their presence. The gizmos that do exist have 
> tended to be expensive and clunky, and have not caught on. This may change

> if Anirudh Sharma, a 24-year-old computer engineer from Hyderabad, a city 
> in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has his way.
>
> His innovation, dubbed "Le Chal" ("take me along" in Hindi) pairs a 
> smartphone app with a small actuator sewn inside the sole of one shoe via 
> Bluetooth. The user tells the phone his desired destination, which is 
> translated into electronic commands using voice-recognition software. The 
> app, which can be programmed to run in the background, fetches the local 
> map of the area. The phone's Global Positioning System (GPS) tracks the 
> person's location in real-time, telling the actuator to vibrate when it is

> time to turn. The side of the shoe where the vibration is felt indicates 
> which way to go. Mr Sharma opted for a vibrating signal because for the 
> blind, who rely on their sense of hearing to make sense of the 
> environment, audio feedback is a distraction.
>
> The system does not require constant internet access. Once downloaded, 
> maps can be stored locally and combined with GPS data. The app uses Open 
> Street Maps (OSM), an open-source rival to Google Maps. OSM allows 
> editing, a helpful feature in updating rapidly changing urban landscapes. 
> A speed-dial function can rapidly retrieve the most frequently visited 
> routes.
>
> The shoe pod is also equipped with an obstacle-detection mechanism. A 
> sensor in the tip of the shoe, devised by Mr Sharma's business partner, 
> Krispian Lawrence,  scans the vicinity using sonar, which emits 
> ultrasounds that bounce off obstacles, indicating their presence. The shoe

> sets off a distinct pattern of vibrations to alert the person of any 
> obstruction and guides him around it.
>
> For now, the footwear, being tested at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, one 
> of India's biggest eye-health facilities, may be most useful in areas with

> little or no traffic, such as quiet residential streets or parks. The 
> challenge, Mr Lawrence says, is to get the algorithm to tell an uncovered 
> manhole from a flight of stairs, but he expects it to be able to do so in 
> due course. Dealing with moving obstacles like cars may take longer, 
> though the pair are working on ways to alert wearers not just about cars' 
> presence, but also their speed.
>
> To ensure that the final product resembles a regular shoe, fashion 
> technologists are being consulted to help with ergonomics and design.
>
> Mr Sharma and Mr Lawrence, who started a company called Ducere 
> Technologies to commercialise their idea, say their high-tech brogues 
> should not cost more than an ordinary, stylish pair. Many of the world's 
> visually impaired will like the sound of that.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> ATI (Adaptive Technology Inc.)
> A special interest affiliate of the Missouri Council of the Blind
> http://moblind.org/membership/affiliates/adaptive_technology
>
>
>
>
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