[nfbwatlk] Fw: [ATI] Bluetooth shoes

[Frederick Driver]

I thought we had heard the end of the vibrating shoes nonsense.

One recalls Dr. Maurer's address of 2004, The Assimilation of Crisis,
speaking on another similar manifestation:
http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/convent/banque04.htm
[quote]
I think this inventor has only scratched the surface. What might
   blind people learn from expanding this technology to other items of
   clothing and to other parts of the body? The vibrating hat, the
   vibrating shirt, the vibrating pair of trousers might all be employed.
   In an information-rich environment, the blind person might jiggle all
   over, wearing the innovative vibrosuit for the blind. Vibromotors
   could transmit information by Morse code or in combinations of Braille
   dots on this or that part of the anatomy. And just imagine, if a blind
   person were looking for a chair and one came into the immediate
   vicinity, there could be a special vibration to guide the blind person
   to the correct location--right in the seat of the pants. When the
   vibration is strong enough and centered, sit down.
   What a ridiculous bunch of nonsense!  [end quote]

The Economist is a very high circulation, worldwide publication that gets
a lot of attention.

Perhaps some Federationists might like to send letters to the editor, for
publication, in response to this article?

Here's the e-mail address below.

Rick

letters at economist.com

http://www.economist.com



On Tue, 17 Jul 2012, Lauren Merryfield wrote:

> 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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