Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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I'm developing a product to help seriously visually impaired people know what they're wearing. I'd love to ask a couple of questions. (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by adzey
Hey /r/blind!
Last year, after an accident, my mums vision fell from very poor to legally blind. Obviously this has introduced a bunch of new obstacles to her day.
She was always a pretty well dressed person. After the accident, having to ask her (significantly less fashionable) family for help in putting an outfit together was getting her down.
So I developed a simple product, she has been using the prototype for a few weeks now. I've (obviously) taken her views on board, but I'd like to share it with you, and hear your views.
I've attached waterproof RFID tags to the labels on all of her clothes & shoes. Tapping the tags with a smartphone running an app I wrote triggers the app to give a quick, audible description eg."Blue t-shirt".
Tap a series of tags and the app will let you know if the items work together. Eg. "The tie you're wearing is too close in color to your shirt" or even "You are wearing a dark red bra with a white blouse, your bra may be visible through your top."
I've noticed my mum using it a lot, so I'm considering running a KickStarter campaign to develop & mass produce it.
______________________________________________________________________
Some questions:
1. Would you use this product? It would have to cost at least $200 to tag a full wardrobe, is this a cost you would be willing to pay?
2. Do you currently have a smart phone?
3.Any other input?
_______________________________________________________________________
Thanks for your help, this is an awesome community.
Last year, after an accident, my mums vision fell from very poor to legally blind. Obviously this has introduced a bunch of new obstacles to her day.
She was always a pretty well dressed person. After the accident, having to ask her (significantly less fashionable) family for help in putting an outfit together was getting her down.
So I developed a simple product, she has been using the prototype for a few weeks now. I've (obviously) taken her views on board, but I'd like to share it with you, and hear your views.
I've attached waterproof RFID tags to the labels on all of her clothes & shoes. Tapping the tags with a smartphone running an app I wrote triggers the app to give a quick, audible description eg."Blue t-shirt".
Tap a series of tags and the app will let you know if the items work together. Eg. "The tie you're wearing is too close in color to your shirt" or even "You are wearing a dark red bra with a white blouse, your bra may be visible through your top."
I've noticed my mum using it a lot, so I'm considering running a KickStarter campaign to develop & mass produce it.
______________________________________________________________________
Some questions:
1. Would you use this product? It would have to cost at least $200 to tag a full wardrobe, is this a cost you would be willing to pay?
2. Do you currently have a smart phone?
3.Any other input?
_______________________________________________________________________
Thanks for your help, this is an awesome community.
johnnytai 1 points
There is already several color tellers out for the blind, though most of them work poorly if the room is not bright enough. I am still using an old fashion nokia phone, so your product probably won't work for me, but I'd still say it's a worthwhile thing to put out there for others who are using mroe advanced tech than me.
jage9 1 points
On the surface, I'm at least intrigued. I've seen NFC tags down to about a buck or two now. I guess it would depend on the size of the wardrobe. You'll want to test your app with Talkback enabled. You don't need to self-voice the app, just make sure Talkback is getting the proper info so it knows what to speak. I like the crowdsourced dewscription idea, which seems to be a specialized version of an object recognition app like TapTapSee. Also intrigued by the matching mechanism. Where would this come from? Would you have a database of color combinations and go from there? Agreed that using bar codes or QR codes would be too cumbersome, as these aren't that easy to scan and line up with the camera.
selamat-pagi 1 points
I find the concept interesting, only hard part would be tagging all the clothes, that might require a sighted person to help.
Most blind people I know use color identifying apps and object identifying apps on their phones. Since they can snap a picture and it says blue shirt or jeans.
The RFID idea sound interesting since it can give more details besides colors.
Only hard part I see if properly tagging all the clothes.
Most blind people I know use color identifying apps and object identifying apps on their phones. Since they can snap a picture and it says blue shirt or jeans.
The RFID idea sound interesting since it can give more details besides colors.
Only hard part I see if properly tagging all the clothes.
adzey [OP] 1 points
Hi! Thanks for your response,
In writing the OP, I wanted to very quickly introduce the idea, and in doing so I glossed over a bunch of details.
Aside from installing the application, the entire process should be possible for a person with extremely limited vision. My mum, who fits comfortably into the definition of "legally blind" can use the system with ease.
The RFID tags are attached to sail tape, which is a product similar to regular sticky tape but made out of a heavy canvas. It's glossy on one side, and textured on the other. You just have to remove the glossy paper and press the tape onto the item of clothing.
My mum has diabetes (and so she has lost a lot of sensitivity in her fingertips) but she has no issues discerning which side of the tape is which.
Once the tag is attached, the user taps it against their smartphone and the app vocally instructs them to take a photo of the item of clothing. At the moment, the photo is automatically sent to me, and I input a description. If the product is ever mass produced I'm pretty sure the data input could be crowd sourced.
In writing the OP, I wanted to very quickly introduce the idea, and in doing so I glossed over a bunch of details.
Aside from installing the application, the entire process should be possible for a person with extremely limited vision. My mum, who fits comfortably into the definition of "legally blind" can use the system with ease.
The RFID tags are attached to sail tape, which is a product similar to regular sticky tape but made out of a heavy canvas. It's glossy on one side, and textured on the other. You just have to remove the glossy paper and press the tape onto the item of clothing.
My mum has diabetes (and so she has lost a lot of sensitivity in her fingertips) but she has no issues discerning which side of the tape is which.
Once the tag is attached, the user taps it against their smartphone and the app vocally instructs them to take a photo of the item of clothing. At the moment, the photo is automatically sent to me, and I input a description. If the product is ever mass produced I'm pretty sure the data input could be crowd sourced.
selamat-pagi 1 points
similar products I have seen from years past were TalkingTag and digit-eyes to name a few. but those used qr codes and needed to be found , the rfid implementation you mention sounds much easier to find and read.
I am a legally blind myself, matching clothes is not much of a problem for me since I usually just put on whatever shirt I grab, but I can see that being very useful with audio descriptions for matching , but identifying my pants for example amongst my families pants when it is laundry day I can never find.
The only problem I might see with using RFID tags is that majority of legally blind or blind people use iPhones, since those can not read RFID tags.
I am a legally blind myself, matching clothes is not much of a problem for me since I usually just put on whatever shirt I grab, but I can see that being very useful with audio descriptions for matching , but identifying my pants for example amongst my families pants when it is laundry day I can never find.
The only problem I might see with using RFID tags is that majority of legally blind or blind people use iPhones, since those can not read RFID tags.
adzey [OP] 1 points
Hey! Thanks for your input!
I've taken a look at the two companies that you mentioned. Honestly, as a sighted person, I find QR codes a hassle. I could not imagine using a system like that with a serious visual impairment unless it was utterly vital.
You've raised a totally valid point, RFID tags are absolutely an emerging technology and not every phone is capable of reading them. However, the most recent generation of iPhone does have an RFID antenna. In the past, as soon as apple adopt a technology other company's are forced to do the same. Having said that, RFID has been standard in non-apple flagship grade phones for a couple of years now.
I should acknowledge that, as of yet, apple have not opened the antenna to developers. So my app would not currently be possible on iOS. But it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll open it up eventually. The apple watch has already been demo'd using the NFC chip as a door key.
I've taken a look at the two companies that you mentioned. Honestly, as a sighted person, I find QR codes a hassle. I could not imagine using a system like that with a serious visual impairment unless it was utterly vital.
You've raised a totally valid point, RFID tags are absolutely an emerging technology and not every phone is capable of reading them. However, the most recent generation of iPhone does have an RFID antenna. In the past, as soon as apple adopt a technology other company's are forced to do the same. Having said that, RFID has been standard in non-apple flagship grade phones for a couple of years now.
I should acknowledge that, as of yet, apple have not opened the antenna to developers. So my app would not currently be possible on iOS. But it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll open it up eventually. The apple watch has already been demo'd using the NFC chip as a door key.
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