Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Question about a potential product for the blind (self.Blind)
submitted by Jerome-Baldino
Hello, I am electronics engineer and software developer currently working on some computer vision products for my company. I basically use CV to analyse faces and emotions. My software can detect smiles, anger etc. I am a hobbyst and I had this idea in my mind for some time that blind people would benefit from such product. I would use a portable computer (like Raspberry) to analyse video comming from some source like camera glasses and inform the user about detected faces and their emotional state. I would inform the use by multiple vibration engines. Say you detect a woman in front of you. Top vibrator would "beep" three times. Say this person is smiling -
upper vibration motor would start and increase in amplitude with the "level" of the smile. Lower vibration motor would be used for negative emotions. I think it could work on battery charge for 3-4 hours. The device would fit into a pocket and one cable would connect to the camera (glasses or some other device). The question is this: is this a stupid idea and is it worth looking into? Would this be in any way usefull to a blind person? Is the vibration a good way to translate emotion to sensory input for the user? This would be a hobby project so open source.
upper vibration motor would start and increase in amplitude with the "level" of the smile. Lower vibration motor would be used for negative emotions. I think it could work on battery charge for 3-4 hours. The device would fit into a pocket and one cable would connect to the camera (glasses or some other device). The question is this: is this a stupid idea and is it worth looking into? Would this be in any way usefull to a blind person? Is the vibration a good way to translate emotion to sensory input for the user? This would be a hobby project so open source.
KillerLag 2 points 6y ago
They have a simliiar device, although the target is for children with autism.
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/google-glass-app-helps-kids-autism-see-emotions-n597641
http://autismglass.stanford.edu/
That system could also be adapted with an accessible option. It is still being studied, so they aren't sure if it would be mass produced yet.
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/google-glass-app-helps-kids-autism-see-emotions-n597641
http://autismglass.stanford.edu/
That system could also be adapted with an accessible option. It is still being studied, so they aren't sure if it would be mass produced yet.
bradley22 1 points 6y ago
I would personally not use it.
Marconius 1 points 6y ago
This does not sound like something I would use. I hear emotion in speech and don't necessarily need to know who is around me when navigating. When walking through the City the amount of feedback that would come from such a device would make it more annoying than useful, plus the use of multiple vibration motors results in oversaturation of tactile feedback after a short period of use. Just listening to a voice and understanding context is enough to determine emotion at a glance, so to speak.
dmazzoni 1 points 6y ago
The main problem I see is that it'd be too expensive for what it does due to the cost of the glasses.
There are a few similar products like OrCam.
What about starting with a mobile app that does this? In a few years wearable cameras might be much more common and then this would just be add-on software rather than a brand new device.
There are a few similar products like OrCam.
What about starting with a mobile app that does this? In a few years wearable cameras might be much more common and then this would just be add-on software rather than a brand new device.
Amonwilde 1 points 6y ago
Remember that these devices have to fit into people's lives. Will people walk around with a Pi in their pocket? Probably not. But as a prototype it might be interesting.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
Well, it would certainly be unique! We have vibration used to detect obstacles (using ultrasound etc), but...vibration to detect emotion? I honestly don't know quite what to think.
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