[nabs-l] Device Helps Blind See with Tongue

Wed May 23 02:46:38 UTC 2012

If these Google data lenses can do everything you hope they can, 
then you would basically be a sighted person.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Humberto Avila" <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 22 May 2012 16:25:43 -0700
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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