Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Help improving school project about Accessibility (self.Blind)
submitted by tawaylidemp
Hi r/blind as a part of a school Project I was tasked with improving a patent that could help visually impaired people navigate, this patent was made without much thought as to if it was really needed and has long been forgotten by the inventor.
To improve on this patent my team and I imagined a product that could help in other ways such as, money, face, product, weather recognition and also provide spatial information such as movie times when in the movies or store information when out in a mall. We took inspiration from Orcam https://www.orcam.com/en/myeye2/ but wanted to make it easier to interact with. The imagined product is formed by a clip-on camera and a control that can be attached to walking sticks.
Now what we want to find out is if this could actually be useful to you guys?
And if so how much will you be willing to spend on something like this?
If this is something you do not need, could you please help me out by describing your toughest challenges day to day?
It would be great if I can get some insights out of you guys!
To improve on this patent my team and I imagined a product that could help in other ways such as, money, face, product, weather recognition and also provide spatial information such as movie times when in the movies or store information when out in a mall. We took inspiration from Orcam https://www.orcam.com/en/myeye2/ but wanted to make it easier to interact with. The imagined product is formed by a clip-on camera and a control that can be attached to walking sticks.
Now what we want to find out is if this could actually be useful to you guys?
And if so how much will you be willing to spend on something like this?
If this is something you do not need, could you please help me out by describing your toughest challenges day to day?
It would be great if I can get some insights out of you guys!
KillerLag 1 points 5y ago
One of the reasons Orcam is mounted onto glasses is that it makes it easier to look at things and let the camera focus on it. If the camera is clipped to your shirt, you would have to turn your entire body to see the object in question.
For the control, that controls would you be imagine you would attach to the cane? And how would that control be easier that pointing to the object?
Also, how would you imagine someone can hold the cane and use this controller? There are three methods of gripping a cane, and two of them has the three major fingers (thumb, index and middle finger) supporting and controlling the cane.
For the control, that controls would you be imagine you would attach to the cane? And how would that control be easier that pointing to the object?
Also, how would you imagine someone can hold the cane and use this controller? There are three methods of gripping a cane, and two of them has the three major fingers (thumb, index and middle finger) supporting and controlling the cane.
tawaylidemp [OP] 1 points 5y ago
Hi, thanks for the answer. The clip on camera was imagined to clip on onto glasses sorry if that was confusing. Regarding the controller we haven't really figured it out bout should be as ergonomic as possible. What we're interested in is to know if there would be a market for something like this, and if not maybe you as an O&M instructor could give some insights on some other problems that could be tackled right now using emerging technologies.
KillerLag 1 points 5y ago
There could be a market, but you also have to consider what other products are already on the market. Also what products have been produced but failed.
Right now, I see two major issues that come up fairly often that neither technology or training has solved well.
The first is crowded locations, such as a crowded subway station during rush hour, or a concert hall. Too many people, not enough people paying attention, and not enough room to use the cane well. Any kind of distance sensing technology (laser, sonar) doesn't help because there is just so much stuff in the way.
The second one is multiple conditions at once. Vision loss is significantly more common in elderly people, but so are many other health conditions. Deafblindness, or balance issues. One common issue that keeps cropping up is someone who uses a walker (due to bad balance) and a white cane. So someone needs two hands to hold the walker... which leaves no available hand to hold a white cane. Dementia is also an issue, where clients forget things. There are some devices that help (for example, this is quite helpful https://seniorcareshop.com/products/personal-reminder-board ), but that doesn't help when someone can't see the board. And if you have something that CONSTANTLY reminds someone, that just becomes annoying. So you need a product that a person can use without learning new skills, but not overwhelm them with information they can't process at the same time.
Right now, I see two major issues that come up fairly often that neither technology or training has solved well.
The first is crowded locations, such as a crowded subway station during rush hour, or a concert hall. Too many people, not enough people paying attention, and not enough room to use the cane well. Any kind of distance sensing technology (laser, sonar) doesn't help because there is just so much stuff in the way.
The second one is multiple conditions at once. Vision loss is significantly more common in elderly people, but so are many other health conditions. Deafblindness, or balance issues. One common issue that keeps cropping up is someone who uses a walker (due to bad balance) and a white cane. So someone needs two hands to hold the walker... which leaves no available hand to hold a white cane. Dementia is also an issue, where clients forget things. There are some devices that help (for example, this is quite helpful https://seniorcareshop.com/products/personal-reminder-board ), but that doesn't help when someone can't see the board. And if you have something that CONSTANTLY reminds someone, that just becomes annoying. So you need a product that a person can use without learning new skills, but not overwhelm them with information they can't process at the same time.
tawaylidemp [OP] 1 points 5y ago
Thanks a lot for the further explication of those two issues. If you don't mind keeping the conversation going, regarding the navigation in crowded locations. Do you think the solution should arise from a better education of sighted individuals, better infrastructure, better technology or something else?
KillerLag 2 points 5y ago
All three are important, and there isn't a single solution.
Individuals can be trained, but they can also just be busy or not paying attention. I've had people run into my clients because they were busy on their phone.
Infrastructure can be improved to make traveling easier, but when a place is filled to max capacity, it doesn't matter if a person can't find the adapted sections. For example, the subway in Toronto has tactile markers that a cane user can use to follow to get to stairs, escalators, etc. But if people are standing on them and not moving, then that becomes much more difficult to use.
For technology, some locations are starting to use iBeacons now to help navigate. However, they are imprecise at best, and downright confusing at worst. I know of a location where two iBeacon signals overlap, and the phone thinks that someone is moving back and forth between then, when you are standing still. Worse yet, because the signals are overlapping, the message plays for a few seconds before jumping to the next one, and then it happens again. Also, EM interference (from Bluetooth devices, magnetic fields, and lots of other things) can throw it off as well.
Individuals can be trained, but they can also just be busy or not paying attention. I've had people run into my clients because they were busy on their phone.
Infrastructure can be improved to make traveling easier, but when a place is filled to max capacity, it doesn't matter if a person can't find the adapted sections. For example, the subway in Toronto has tactile markers that a cane user can use to follow to get to stairs, escalators, etc. But if people are standing on them and not moving, then that becomes much more difficult to use.
For technology, some locations are starting to use iBeacons now to help navigate. However, they are imprecise at best, and downright confusing at worst. I know of a location where two iBeacon signals overlap, and the phone thinks that someone is moving back and forth between then, when you are standing still. Worse yet, because the signals are overlapping, the message plays for a few seconds before jumping to the next one, and then it happens again. Also, EM interference (from Bluetooth devices, magnetic fields, and lots of other things) can throw it off as well.
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