Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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What kind of a device/app/wearable would help you most? What do you wish existed? (self.Blind)
submitted by DYWAFanta42
Hello r/blind! Some friends and I are trying to develop a navigation app/wearable for visually impaired people. Its usability, relevance and helpfulness are most important to us and we don't want to create something we think is helpful based solely off of guesses and assumptions without getting sufficient consultation from the visually impaired community. That being said, we would be incredibly grateful if you could share with us some of your thoughts and ideas on what kind of an app/wearable you wish existed. What do you find yourself needing or wanting that you can't find? What improvements do you wish existing navigation apps had? Thank you in advance for your time! :)
YorDnilb 3 points 6y ago
No app can replace the usefulness of the white cane & the seeing eye dog that have been used forever but, I do use knfb reader when internet is available & text fairy app when no internet. It is very difficult to frame the text & operate the apps with a screen reader running. It would be nice to be able to take a pic any where & have the app sort out all the text boxes & read them back to me in some kind of order easier. Stores, Streets, bus signs, & menus, reading materials & any print are the things I struggled with for years & have give up straining to make scene of with my eye.
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you for your reply! :) In terms of navigating around, what issues do you feel like you face most frequently? Do you use a navigation app? Also, do you ever encounter obstacles that the cane and dog couldn't warn you of? Thank you for your feedback!
YorDnilb 2 points 6y ago
I do use a navigation app! "my wife" I live in the country on 7 acres of woods, the only time I get to walk it is when following someone usually resulting in stumbling on rocks & uneven ground & beating my self with trees & sticks. I get out to the Doctor, Dentist & am able to push the cart when forced to go shopping, but everything around me is a blur. I find it impossible to use apps on my phone while using my cane besides not being able to afford data & finding wifi in stores like most ppl on a disability income. Maybe if there was a app to replace my wife that describes what it see on voice command & warns me of things in my way. I don't think I'm a good person to answer this question, as I rarely leave my home.
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you for your feedback! There are actually a few apps that do the things you mentioned. You may find them interesting.
-Color ID Free tells you what color anything is
-oMoby identifies objects in photos by searching for similar things on the Internet
-and VizWiz is a really cool app that has live web workers ready to answer any questions you have about anything you take a photo of (for example, you can take a photo of something and write a question below it, click send, and in seconds you will get an answer to your question and an id of the things in the photo). I hope this info is of some help! Thanks again for your response! :)
link with more apps: http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-the-visually-impaired
-Color ID Free tells you what color anything is
-oMoby identifies objects in photos by searching for similar things on the Internet
-and VizWiz is a really cool app that has live web workers ready to answer any questions you have about anything you take a photo of (for example, you can take a photo of something and write a question below it, click send, and in seconds you will get an answer to your question and an id of the things in the photo). I hope this info is of some help! Thanks again for your response! :)
link with more apps: http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-the-visually-impaired
fastfinge 3 points 6y ago
Have you looked at the features offered by apps and devices currently available? GPS for the blind is an extremely crowded field.
For IOS alone:
* $1
* $1
* Sendero LookAround
* $1
* $1
And then there are Android apps, as well as custom built GPS devices for blind folks. I don't know what accessible GPS solutions exist for the Apple Watch, because I don't own one. If there's nothing, that might be somewhere to start? But something tells me Blindsquare introduced Apple Watch support a few versions ago.
For IOS alone:
* $1
* $1
* Sendero LookAround
* $1
* $1
And then there are Android apps, as well as custom built GPS devices for blind folks. I don't know what accessible GPS solutions exist for the Apple Watch, because I don't own one. If there's nothing, that might be somewhere to start? But something tells me Blindsquare introduced Apple Watch support a few versions ago.
-shacklebolt- 3 points 6y ago
I use nearby explorer and the Android version has been excellent so far, so we (finally) have a couple of good options on Android too.
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Hello! Could you please tell me a bit more about your experience with Nearby Explorer? What about it do you like? Are there any features it doesn't have that you feel could be useful for you? Are there any difficulties with navigation or exploration of new routes that you feel you face on a fairly regular basis? Thank you for commenting! :)
-shacklebolt- 1 points 6y ago
I might not be the best person to answer this question for you, as I'm a pretty good traveler and don't have issues going most places. The only real limitation I've encountered with nearby explorer is when things are not correctly labeled on the map (businesses, etc) but that is not caused by nearby explorer itself anyways. I really like that it reads each intersection for you, heading, speed, distance, addresses, and so on. I also like being able to look up what is nearby me, I wish it had categories like Blindsquare is supposed to. Also the "geobeam" feature (where you point your phone at things and it tells you what there is) is pretty cool.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
Seems like BlindSquare $1 soon, too.
KillerLag 2 points 6y ago
They've been saying that for a while... still waiting :S
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Hello! Yes, we have been researching all the popular competitors (although thank you for mentioning Autour, we hadn't seen that one! :) ) Do you use any of these apps? Could you please tell me which are your favorites and why? Are you satisfied with them or do you wish they had some feature? Can you think of any type of app/wearable aid that could improve your experience in any other way? Thank you for your feedback!
fastfinge 2 points 6y ago
I use BlindSquare exclusively. I find turn by turn directions are too inaccurate to be useful. That's what makes BlindSquare perfect: it just reads out nearby landmarks, and gives direction and distance to my destination. I wish more places had indoor navigation, though. But I don't know much about those beacons, or why so few places have them. Are they difficult to set up? Too expensive? Is it just lack of awareness? Perhaps some research into the challenges of deploying indoor navigation faced by facility owners would be useful.
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you, that is really helpful! Could you tell me more about your issues with turn-by-turn navigation? When do you find it it helpful and when not? What have you found most frustrating about it? What part of it does not match up with your real world experience of the landscape that you have to navigate through? Does BlindSquare offer sufficient aid in new environments where you are unfamiliar with the landmarks?
On the topic of beacons - do you feel that they offer sufficient accuracy and aid in indoor environments? Where would you like to see them implemented more?
And on the topic of obstacles - would you say you encounter unexpected obstacles in your path fairly regularly? What kind of obstacles are most problematic?
Sorry for all the questions but this is great feedback! :) Please feel free to answer as little or as much as you like :)
On the topic of beacons - do you feel that they offer sufficient accuracy and aid in indoor environments? Where would you like to see them implemented more?
And on the topic of obstacles - would you say you encounter unexpected obstacles in your path fairly regularly? What kind of obstacles are most problematic?
Sorry for all the questions but this is great feedback! :) Please feel free to answer as little or as much as you like :)
fastfinge 3 points 6y ago
> When do you find it it helpful and when not?
I find it just isn't helpful. At least in Canada, it only gives directions accurate to 20 feet or so. So when it says "turn right", sometimes there are two places I could turn right within 20 feet of each other, and I can't see the street signs, so I have no way of knowing where it means for me to turn.
> Does BlindSquare offer sufficient aid in new environments where you are unfamiliar with the landmarks?
Generally, yes. It starts announcing a landmark when I'm a configurable distance away, so when I'm walking, I can hear it gradually getting closer and closer, and tell what direction it is from me. Even though it's not completely accurate, it at least gives me a good idea where I am, and if I'm going the right direction.
> On the topic of beacons
They're so rare that the only experience I have with them is listening to recordings of other people using them. I've never been in a place that had any. However, based on the recordings, they sound really helpful. But I can't really give detailed feedback on them, as I've never gotten any hands on experience using them. But based on the recordings I've heard, they sound much more accurate than even outdoor GPS, and like they'd be the missing link in getting right to where I want to go. Finding the 40 floor office building is fine with blindsquare, but once inside, finding the exact room I want can be much harder. Especially when the elevator isn't accessible, and none of the doors are labeled in Braille.
I find it just isn't helpful. At least in Canada, it only gives directions accurate to 20 feet or so. So when it says "turn right", sometimes there are two places I could turn right within 20 feet of each other, and I can't see the street signs, so I have no way of knowing where it means for me to turn.
> Does BlindSquare offer sufficient aid in new environments where you are unfamiliar with the landmarks?
Generally, yes. It starts announcing a landmark when I'm a configurable distance away, so when I'm walking, I can hear it gradually getting closer and closer, and tell what direction it is from me. Even though it's not completely accurate, it at least gives me a good idea where I am, and if I'm going the right direction.
> On the topic of beacons
They're so rare that the only experience I have with them is listening to recordings of other people using them. I've never been in a place that had any. However, based on the recordings, they sound really helpful. But I can't really give detailed feedback on them, as I've never gotten any hands on experience using them. But based on the recordings I've heard, they sound much more accurate than even outdoor GPS, and like they'd be the missing link in getting right to where I want to go. Finding the 40 floor office building is fine with blindsquare, but once inside, finding the exact room I want can be much harder. Especially when the elevator isn't accessible, and none of the doors are labeled in Braille.
YorDnilb 2 points 6y ago
I wish a voice guiding hat or glasses exist that could steer me anywhere like the Tesla self driving cars have https://www.tesla.com/autopilot
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
You should try blindsquare! People seem to be big fans :)
from their site: "BlindSquare is the World's Most Popular accessible GPS application developed for the blind and visually impaired. It describes the environment, announces points of interest and street intersections as you travel. In conjunction with free, third-party navigation apps it is a powerful solution providing most of the information blind and visually impaired people need to travel independently."
http://blindsquare.com/
from their site: "BlindSquare is the World's Most Popular accessible GPS application developed for the blind and visually impaired. It describes the environment, announces points of interest and street intersections as you travel. In conjunction with free, third-party navigation apps it is a powerful solution providing most of the information blind and visually impaired people need to travel independently."
http://blindsquare.com/
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
I'm a recently heavily visually impaired teenager. I'm rather tall, and I often run my head into things I didn't see until I was too close up. I use my cane for stuff at chest and ground level, but if there's something hanging down in front of my head, I'm screwed. This sounds dumb, but on cars, they sometimes make a loud beeping noise if you're getting too close to something. That'd be quite handy for me
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you for your feedback, that's really helpful! :) Do you use any apps for the visually impaired? Which would you consider the best/most helpful? Is there any way you think that they could be improved? Thanks again!
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
VoiceDream for school, on an iPad. I would like to get KNFB, but $100 is a lot to drop on an app, even though I have only heard good things about it. If there was some sort of plug in for the onscreen keyboard as well that made it easier to type, I would use it
DYWAFanta42 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you! On the topic of unexpected obstacles, how often would you say you encounter them when walking around? Could you list a few common obstacles for you and where they are most frequent? Thank you so much! :)
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
The other day I got lazy with my cane and ran into a stop sign. Usually it's low hanging tree branches and other similar objects, though
coconuthead777 1 points 6y ago
I know there was a computer Developed for blind users in the 1980's. That had a raised screen.
But have there been any improvements to it?
But have there been any improvements to it?
k00l_m00se 1 points 6y ago
I use a BrailleNote Apex. Very handy, lightweight and portable
coconuthead777 1 points 6y ago
I must Google this (:
k00l_m00se 1 points 6y ago
They're very expensive, but I use it for school, and I love it
coconuthead777 1 points 6y ago
I'm not blind.
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