let me know if you don't get any responses by end of week and I'll let you post inside the community.

Hi! Your post itself was accessible to me, but it didnt read the equation except for the x and x•. I'm not sure why.

Parentheses was my preferred method with my braille display in Calculus as I would only get one indicator that the next symbol isn't a letter or number but a parentheses. I never used the times symbol, but did have equations written with a dot.

Edit: the derivative symbol with the math extension doesn't do it as x-dot. Dot is a period which are holes 2-5-6. I don't know if this would make sense to you any, but here is $1 works for derivatives and partial derivatives.

For me and this is someone who doesn’t do math extensively on the computer I am a stem major but mostly do it traditional but I would like to hear times I mean I could memorize and understand the middle dot for sure. But the nothing only makes sense if it’s with an x like 3x+2y or something like that.


But probably not the best person to ask about this specific issue.

Please reach out! We will really appreciate it!

Yes happy to help if you want to dm me I’ll do it. Happy to help you! I have an apple watch and love it.

Hmm….. I think one drive is easier for me to get stuff on and off. And microsoft products has worked more on accessibility for longer. So probably microsoft. Word is and has made a lot of screen reader changes with freedom scientific and is more popular and thus got more of the screen reading community time and attention so it’s more perfected. I like neither mail apps but okay I use my native apple mail app. But outlook could be clunky and gmail isn’t much better. I think outlook generally has more screen reader support though.

Well, I have RP, with a decent amount remaining vision, and I have nothing to add to what u/blindemanonfire said. My experience is almost exactly the same, except the tube I look through is a bit wider than a straw. And, FWIW, I’ve been wondering/musing about how much my brain fills in versus what I’m actually seeing (basically your Q2) for quite a while now, so your question was pretty interesting to me. I’m disappointed you didn’t get more responses; would like to hear more about other peoples’ experiences

That said, I imagine there’s a huge difference in the answers to your questions depending on whether a person suddenly lost most/all of their sight, and a person (like me) who’s been slowly losing it for many years. Don’t know if that’s true, but it’s something you might wanna keep in mind

I understand why the editors want to keep questions like this in just one thread, bit I think it might be nice to have a separate sub Reddit (or a sub sub Reddit if there is such a thing) for this stuff

Awesome! I am doing a very similar project to what you are describing. I'm making a virtual reality experience about being VI or blind. I'd love to see what you'll come up with!

For me, rooms seemed bigger and took longer to cross. Like "dang, I didn't realize how many steps it took to get to my refrigerator." Or "wow, this coffee table never seemed so long before."

Yeah, unexpected sounds or sounds I didn't know what was making them scared me. And I still jump some times.

I don't really imagine what people look like, but I do make mental guesses on their race, hight, and what kind of clothing I think they wear & like.

One thing with becoming blind is you forget what things look like. This can be hilarious at times and upsetting at other times. This something that comes with time, but all blind people experience this to different degrees. You forget the face of your loved ones and your own face, which colors are which. What different objects and animals look like and in some cases you forget what almost everything looks like. This is more dependent on how long you have been blind, what age you were when you went blind, and your own mind and interest. I started going blind as a child and now I'm in my mid 20s, so there are many things I don't remember visually anymore.

I don't imagine pizza box labels or what the shelf looks like. But some things you try to picture in your head. What exactly, i think that's up to the person. Sometimes it works, other times it really doesn't. I do try to get an understanding of the layout of a place. And it's not only by touch, sound and smell play a huge role in navigation.

It's important to pay attention to what you hear and what you don't hear.

You can tell the size of a room, how clutter or how much furniture is in it, and even if there is furniture on one side more the other by how the sound of your voice or footsteps reverberate off the walls.

This one time I was out with my O & M teacher we were at a road crossing and she was teaching me how to cross it. (O& M stand for orientation and Mobility. These are people who have the lovely job of teaching us blind people how to go places while not being able to see. And how to use a cane.)

I was at this crossing and I listening to the traffic parallel to me. And I kept hearing the cars, but as soon as they went to pass in front of me, the sound would vanish for a second or two. And it really freaked me out. So asked "ms Suzy, what the heck is happening?"
She told me that it was a round about. She explains to me that there is a circle that the cars have to drive around. I tried to picture this, and I can't wrap my head around it.

You can also recognize people & places solely on the smell. Personally I always know where the Bakery section in a store is based on the smell and know when my fiance has been in a room recently because the scent of her shampoo clings to the air.


A lot of this does have to do with the person and these things do change as a person gets use to being blind and as the years go on while being blind.
If you have more questions or need clarification on something, I don't mind exlpaining.

1. Assumed it was a weird astigmatism. Didn't know the seriousness of my vision loss and thought I had only lost my ability to see at night. Edit: It looked doubled vision at times and the walls looked concave or convex depending on the angle I was looking at it, but this was suttle and I could easily ignore it. I have no depth perception and can't see 3D at all. If I want to get a better look at something from far away, I close my right eye and use my left, but if I want to look at something better up close, I close my left eye and use my right. No reason why I choose one eye over the other for these particular tasks, just did.

2. Not my video, but this is what $1. My brain takes what it is seeing out of my peripheral and tries to fill in the middle pieces for me. Whether or not the middle part is accurate is beyond me. If there was a dog that fit in my blind spot without my peripheral picking it up, then I cannot see it at all, it's as if the dog does not exist.

3. No anxiety with sound, although I might pause mid conversation briefly to ID sudden noises approaching me.

1. I see the world through a straw, It can be disorienting. Some of what I see is without context of the surroundings. For example, sometimes the picture frame on the wall looks crooked. It's not crooked, I just can't see where the wall meets the ceiling or another wall so I don't have any parallel lines to compare with the picture.
2. Described $1
3. Anxious? No. But more aware of them? Yes. They're the cues I need to understand my surroundings.

Call me what you want it’s not what you call it, it’s how you treat me, and what really is your attitude. I don’t care about pc. Actions speak much much louder than words.

I cook on an induction stove. It's not as hard as you imagine. I often wet a sponge and quickly moisten the bottom of my pan just before setting it on a hot, flat burner. The sudden hiss of steam tells me I'm in the right place. From there I move the pan around a bit and listen to the hiss. When the hissing stops I know I've reached the edge of the burner. It only takes a second or two to do.

About a minute into cooking I pass my hand over the pan to feel for extra heat. If extra heat is coming from the left side but not the right I probably need to move my pan a bit to the left.

The hard part about cooking is reading the packaging. It's hard to tell what's in a can when we can't read the label. What I'm really hoping for is a cabinet mounted camera that reads nutrition labels aloud to me.

Actually the ones in los angeles the metro talk so it’s fairly cool actually.

But more vending machines should. A friend who codes suggested to me that the machine should work with your phone and all of that could and should work with an app on the phone and the vending machines payment and chooseing can be done all via your phone. Cool idea.

Never been to Toronto but we've gotten public transport cards in London. The terminals were completely inaccessible. I guess the only thing that would helpful is audio feedback so we know what's on the screen and what we're tapping on. Maybe have a tactile button the person could push and that activates the audio feedback for that session only? Just some thoughts.

Responded!

Have you looked in to the wcag or something like that online guidelines on accessibility. That’s the best resource I think.

The problem is honestly if the company isn’t behind you not much can be done. As someone who likes to make changes and acomodate like you this is what I can find. It’s so much easier buying up braille stuff and happily declaring yaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!! We’re accessible now then to do anything honestly. It’s lip service and easy. Otherwise it’s not. Implement services. Nah that’s difficult. Provide accessible vi friendly service, sorry that’s too fricking hard. Really care about the blind and disabled. Meh sorry in our hearts of hearts we’re not really interested. It’s like that kinda. If that makes sense. It’s better to put up a front that we care. There’s genuine people who do care like you sure, but as a whole nope. As a totally blind very loud advocate and civil rights proponent advocating for integration, leveling the playing field, mainstreaming, acceptance, and the like you find out the hard truths no one cares nor wants it. Talk is cheap, doing nah. Too hard too much work we don’t want to spend even a little money.

Good on you you want it I am afraid you’re going to keep having to push be that examplar. There’s another place you can learn but will need you to pay for it. It’s like a course on how to make things accessible.

But besides general guidelines I don’t know if there’s that specific stuff but here and there. I wish there was a more comprehensive place for certain. Different disability places will post a lot of little tips and resources but yeah. Deeper dives you’ll need to take a course or something.

If it's a website then it could be voice over or screen reader accessible. I'm not technical so I can't give details but a google should come up with something. Otherwise, I don't know what your business is so it's hard to comment.

I would yeah, sounds like an interesting idea. I don’t have a lot of money plus I am a techy so if I can play with a new device I think I will. That’s pretty interesting. Are you actually thinking of selling these or are these just a theory haha!

Just to add to this - we've budgeted $25 for taking the test and roughly and hour of feedback. Please let me know if anyone is interested!

I took a pregnancy test two months ago and couldn't read the results. Thankfully I wasn't some teen taking one in the bathroom at a gas station like in the movie Juno, and just had my husband read the results.

Next time I have to take one, I plan on using one that simply says "yes" or "no" and seeing if the app Seeing AI will pick it up and read the results. Pregnancy test aren't exactly something I want to use Aira or BeMyEyes for.

Food packaging.

The spice bottles are all the same size, the cans of soup are the same size, so are the canned fruit, soft drinks are the same size as beer cans, and they're all getting harder and harder for me to tell apart.

That the playing field is not quite equal yet. That sometimes bob and joe can but we can’t especially if you’re totally blind and the world doesn’t give a single frick about it. And kind of don’t like you especially if you’re a bit of an activist and openly pushy and ask about it and push for change. Not that I start off that way or progressively get more pushy and challenging about it and asking for change.

There’s plenty of software that is not accessible processes that are outdated and done through paperwork.

Also people don’t want to change generally or want to be educated. The system won’t change because *sigh* yes it’s the system. I love civil rights but it’s a hard thing to go in to change making.

That blindness is a lesser civil right. We all know about gays, race, transgender, etc…. What about blindness and disabled what about the ada. Teachers will rush through those like okay I covered them are you freaking happy now? Civil rights movies won’t cover the ada! But…… but… but.. it’s civil rights too.

The biggest thing is transportation issues. Especially in America where public transportation, even in large cities, is almost pointless. We have to use uber a lot which gets super expensive.

Sure I’d help. Do you want me to outline it here. I don’t really have a set schedule. It would take a long time for me to type. If that’s best I’ll do it if not then maybe a call will work.


Are you trying to figure out what kind of thing to design?

I mean ultimately you’ll get various answers here..

Some are more independent, and some are less, some get out a lot some don’t. Some you’ll never catch them depending on people, they rather die first. Some are really dependent and sheltered. I am much closer to the former.

I am a total, I am totally blind but very busy and very independent. I study computer science and help out and get involved in my community and generally do a lot.


I would say I do fairly normal things.

I get to school and am a student, I get out and go to church and right now found a group who sings at the beach.and have joined them and will go every sunday. I listen to sermons, and study things for fun. I come on line to. Help people and to see what I can find online on these forums. When I can afford to or have money, I like to do yelping or food hunting.

I love advocacy, helping people out, representing, community type work, etc…..

I tinker with computers and stuff for fun also.

I enjoy talking about theology or other topics for fun as well.

I think inherently I do very similar things as most people, just that I do them a little bit differently.

The link I clicked on it it said not found.

Also if you want to interview or talk to someone about this that would be great too. I am willing to help.


Sounds like an interesting project you’re doing and not the same old tired out thing.

Hmm… interesting.

I don’t actually know if this is really that doable or possible. And if a blind person would survive absolutely alone.


I would imagine if someone was top of the game with independence let’s suppose, I am quite independent myself.

I would say yes they could get about fine without street signs and maps blind people can’t read street signs and sometimes only maps are helpful. So without these it is possible.

The main issue realistically is after such an event all the debris, all the waste, maybe dead bodies. That doesn’t quite work for the blind person. One can use a cane to get around for certain, but the issues are is the landscape going to be dangerous. Is there left over dangers that a blind person can’t avoid. Like explosives?

Also I suppose the blind person could mind for refuse but can only do so for so long. Hunting and gathering would be extremely difficult for a blind person. And doing their own farming is also not that easy. Finding a forest and trying to live in it and live off of plants is also exponentially harder as a blind person.

The entire firewood thing starting the fire would be the easy part. Going around finding the firewood would be much harder.

* What sort of technological aids do you use for your disability? For instance, navigation apps or similar?

There are many and varried. Most phones and computers now have a screen reader built in natively. Sscreen readers read what you have readily available on the screen and provides a way for blind people to use technologies. It reads files, webpages, and most things besides pictures. Though there is a way to code that makes it hard for screen readers to access it. It will not read pictures and most blind people do not have access to pictures unless the text is written in the code of the picture and sourced out to the screen reader but is invisible to everyone else. It is called alt text. It will describe a picture. Modern screen readers are trying now to use ai technoligies to describe pictures but unfortunately it is not always successful. Sometimes the alt text is better and the description provided by the ai is strange and sometimes outright humorous. Once it told me there was a hospital in a guitar. Another time it told me that the liberty bell picture I took was actually gym equipment. really. Ai generated image descriptions isn’t that detailed yet.

For screen readers, ios has voice over android has talk back windows has narrator, chrombooks has chromevox, macs also has voice over all apple products do including ipads and apple watches. Additionally windows has third party screen reader such as Jaws which is commercially available and people pay for it, it can be quite expensive, and then also nvda is an open sourced project that is a free screen reader to download. A lot more people use these for now but the windows narrator screen reader is catching up nicely.

I also use something called optical character recognition or also Ocr for short. And this can scan printed materials like mail and papers that I can’t read with absolutely no vision. I remember in fifth grade a substitute handed me a paper and expected to read it. It was pretty funny. I think I was trying to mock her by pretending to read it and be a smartaholic hahah! But honestly we can’t read that type of thing so we really rely on scanning and optical character recognition software to do this job for us. On the phone there is several voice dream scanner is the best of the best but there are also seeing ai and envision ai to help. On the computer side of things kurzweil is the most popular and also open book. Which is two ocr software programs. I have a flatbed scanner on my desk and I scan in everything from mail to books to printed materials. Unfortunately it can’t recognize images quite yet and is not up to par with that type of thing, and so a picture heavy thing it would either do poorly or skip the pictures.

There are apps on the phone to recognize money called money identifiers, and color identifiers that would recognize and tell what colors the object or piece of clothing is. There is a mode to help with taking pictures as well. There are a few gps apps on your phones. There are apps that can help you download descriptive movie and tv show tracks and would sync it to the movie. There an app or two to recognize and read the labels on pill bottles.

There are apps to connect to places that read out audio books or put them on a radio type forma. Also apps that can read and download braille format books. Not that audible or ibooks or kindle doesn’t work. Wel or something.

There are games for the blind as well.

There are apps that connect you to an agent and that agent or volunteer that can help blind people. Be my eyes is free and connect you to a sited person who volunteers their time and just want to be a good person and help out the blind. There’s a paid version of these where agents are actualy trained to do this job and provide more of a professional type approach to these things.


There are also a plethora of other stand alone specialized devices that can do the same thing. There is a thing called the colorino that will tell you what color things are and has a light detector. This is like your color identifiers. There is the orcam which helps with reading texts aloud and recognizing objects if you program it in, and can serve as ocr. There is a stand alone thing called the pearl camera which serves as a similar job. I think and don’t quote me on this specific thing but maybe there was something called a sarah that did the same thing.

There are multiple like 2 to 4 companies that makes their own blind PDAs hand held type blind tablets with a braille keyboard. Though a blind person can type on a regular qwerty keyboard like I am doing now connected to a regular iphone running voice over. I saw a newer PDa and it ran a older version of android though those are limited. A little bit.

There’s a modified and specialized tape players to basically play either cds, tapes, or just stuff. You can download or load on to it through a usb. But all this is like specialized digital players.

I’ve seen a talking measuring tape. A talking compass. Thermometers that would talk, cooking, medical, and just weather type ones.

There are cooking talking scales and bathroom scales. There’s also talking pedometers I am diabetttic and there is one or two talking glucometers. Theres definitely talking blood pressure machines. There’s a talking microwave. There are a lot of braille and talking watches but a lot of us now use an apple watch that can talk to us because it has voice over built in. There are talking calculators I own a talking graphing calculator. The ti84 that talks it is called the orion ti84.

There are also talking dictionaries. That are out there.

There are screenes that are braille scrreens and you. Hook them up and they work like computer monitors but for the blind. They read one line at a time and don’t do pictures though. They work in tandem with a screen reader.

There are braille printers that can hook up to a printer and can print out braille or we call it embossing we call these embossers. It will produce embossed out braille pages. So basically a printer but in braille. They can also print out both print and braille some of the more expensive ones.


I’ve probably left something out but on the top of my head that’s what I got for that question but you get the idea there’s plenty you didn’t probably know.


* Do you require help often? When you do, what's the most likely situation that may require for you to ask for aid?

Different blind people have different answers to this one. I am a very independent, resilient, determined person. I don’t ask for help all that often.

I may ask for visual type things though, seeing a sign on a restaurant or a street sign. Or sometimes crossing a busy tricky road. Sometimes just driving me places because the bus doesn’t go there, or it’s faster, or because simply I am carrying some heavy stuff. I can’t get in my own car and drive myself or even ride a bike, scooter, or hoverboard there. Sometimes in an unfamiliar place or a place hard to navigate I will have someone help me a little from point a to b sometimes asking for directions.


* Can you tell me, on general terms, how does a school for blind children work? What differences in the teaching methods are when compared with regular schools?


Well a lot of people encourage mainstreaming, which is placing children in to regular schools and education and regular classrooms. Sometimes they are contained in a resource room until a certain age or throughout school sadly.


Schools for the blind teach people slower and definitely have all the blind or braille materials there that they need to teach the blind. But they don’t always do a good job at it. A lot of those schools are mixed with people with special needs otherwise and can be a school for those who need more time or care. They are slower and you definitely do not learn as much as other type schools. They tend to be residential but if you live near by you can go for the day or go there as an after school program. The teachers are more trained or more geared towards working with the blind and other disabilities. It resembles more of a special education institution and environment. In the US ones you don’t learn as much and there is more of a isolated type situation where there is a bubble that’s formed. Unfortunately it’s very institutionalized and kids of these schools are either socially or academically behind or often both.

The class sizes at those places are usually smaller.

The risks of the public schools are they are unwilling or unready with materials to teach you with dependent on the school district. Some are really good and some are really bad. The mainstream teacher may or may not be open and ready to teach a blind student. Sometimes they are pulled in to a resource room which is somewhat similar to a blind school but this would be a room in a regular school.again dependent on the district some of these may be more or less prepared.

The education quality is higher in a mainstream class if done well. And the student ready to keep up depends on the person and how well they were prepared and the parents attitudes.

Saw this a few hours ago but it will be lengthy so got home and have some time now.


Maybe it will be a short novel of my own. Heh! :d


* How is it to navigate through yor home? And how's it in the outside?


As a quite independent blind person who has been totally blind most of my life before this I had very little vision to begin with, probably not much to even talk about.

I navigate fine around my house. After you have been in an environment for a long time you know your surroundings. Either through habit and practice or memorization. If you keep your house organized I think you’ll be fine. My family isn’t very organized but I am in general as a person and it’s very helpful. Even people who are less organized sort of know where they place stuff in their own messes. I have a very organized way about me. I also use proprioception and spacial awareness. I don’t use a cane inside and most people don’t. Putting things in it’s proper place is quite important and people not moving things is pretty important too.

Navigating outside is definitely takes training or natural talent. Sometimes a combo between talent and practice. I use a cane and frequently go places on my own. I take trains and buses and sometimes get rides and sometime take ride share but less frequent. These days I get rides from people more often because of the pandemic but should get back on the buses. I travel by using my cane and memorizing or logically figuring out where the city leads me. And how the city is laid out. But after a while it’s more about memorizing your surroundings, mind mapping and understanding how your city is laid out and memorizing your surroundings. Sometimes it is through logically figuring out your surroundings. I traveled to 6 different states by myself on the eastern seaboard of the united states. I myself live on the west coast. I went by myself as a single blind woman and got only very minimal help. I could have fooled people i was a local there and I got around just fine, logically and figured out things. It took me a few days before I figured out some parts of the city of philidelphia. I almost took another blind person back to his home from a restaurant but I think he was too embarrassed so we took a ride home. I have traveled many times and all around the los angeles county including many times in the city of los angeles and hollywood. I also know the next county over of orange county pretty well and have done a fair share of traveling in it though the buses are unfortunately so much better in Los angeles county. Though orange county transit isn’t that bad.



* How do you organize your house to be able to find anything you may need? Such as the house keys, kitchen ware, etc.


If you always put it there you won’t forget it and just strictly good organization helps anyone find things right? Some strategies is to categorise or to label things. Some labels can be in braille, or with just dots or labels read by your phone through qr technology or through voice in some fashion. You can organize ingrediance, cans, and even spices this way. The most efficient is probably to braille out the precise name of the item. This works best with cans or jars, or spice jars. If it is a silverware or key categorizing and remembering and having a system of organization is easier. Also remembering what key looks or feels like what is very important. My house key is that really round one at the top. My mailbox is the key with the octagonal metal piece. My key to work is the really short or really thick key. The biggest key is to my father’s house. That smallest key is to my office.


* Do you cook? Is there any way of cooking that is especially difficult for a blind person? How do you manage in the kitchen (meaning about using knives, hot oil, firepans and the sort)?

I can cook but not too much, and it has nothing much to do with blindness I just don’t enjoy it. I think if you don’t know how to cook and don’t have much training yes it can be dangerous especially the stove.

You use knives really carefully and with spacial awareness or proprioception. You know where the hand with the knife is. And your other hand that gides it. If it’s something small and not that hard to cut you can guide it with your hands and have your fingers away from the knife and a little back. You would feel out where you would cut first then get out of the way of the knife with your other hand if it’s chopping or somehow harder you would move your hand out of the way and just cut it or chop it.

You are very careful with hot pans and oils you pour slowly and carefully either in to the hot source or the hot oil instead. Sometimes you can estimate and sometimes it’s easier to measure out before. You would be careful in carrying or bringing back and forth a hot pan. You also always know where you and your hand is in relations to the hot sources. Use spacial awareness or estimation. If you need to touch a hot pan for any reason silicon gloves may help or oven mits.

Navigating our homes is pretty simple. We know where everything is.

Navigating outside our homes is easier than most people realize. I don't have a driver's license anymore so anytime I'm out in public, I'm with the family member who drove me there so I'm almost always with a sighted guide when I'm out.

There really isn't a blind way of organizing a house or a kitchen. We just learn to pay attention to where we leave things if we want to find them again. A person who can see might have a pantry shelf with canned fruit, canned chili, canned spaghetti sauce, and canned vegetables. A blind person can't read the labels on the cans very easily so we tend to keep the cans separate. Fruit goes on this shelf, chili goes on the next shelf, etc.

I cook quite often. I cook the same way I did before I lost my eyesight. The only real change I've made is to wrap elastic bands around the spice bottles so I can tell what's in them. One elastic for the nutmeg, two for the curry, etc.

The only aids I use are my white cane and my phone reads text messages aloud to me.

My wife reads my mail to me. She fills out all of the paperwork. We shop for groceries together but she's the one putting stuff in the cart now. We're both so used to it I don't really think of it as asking for help. She just does the things I can no longer do. The only time strangers helped me was at the airport, and I didn't ask - they volunteered.

Happy to chat. I think plastics may be better, I think they keep in better shape or metal type materials, but replicas are useful. At one point just feeling a smaller replica was useful. I was at the museum of the statue of liberty. Obviously even if you reserved and got to go up there I didn’t do this I bought a ticket on the day and was told to go up there you need to reserve months in advance, but it wouldn’t have been great because the statue was so big so the person who got assigned to me we felt different replicas. He gave me a tour type of thing and also explained things and helped me around the statue museum. It was pretty cool. There was a big touchable one that I felt a part of and a smaller one.

I can explain more I’ve been to a number of places especially historic type places and political establishments.

There seems to be an assumption in your question that blind people shop at certain stores or buy certain products because they're accessible.

While that may be true for a small percentage of us, it's not true for most of us.

I didn't change grocery stores when I lost my vision. My favorite dance club is still my favorite dance club. I still like Wild Mike's pizza and Stouffer's lasagna. I still bank at the same bank, I still think the little Chinese restaurant on Goliad Street has the best won ton soup in Texas, and I still buy strawberry scented shampoo.

My preferences and tastes haven't changed.

If a shampoo brand started embossing their bottles with Braille I wouldn't switch brands. I like the strawberry scent of my current shampoo. If another Chinese restaurant in town offered menus in Braille I'd still go to the one on Goliad. If another dance club had disability parties every weekend I'd still go to the club where the DJ knows my favorite songs and the bartender sets two bottled waters on the counter for my wife and I before we even say hello.

Being blind has *nothing* to do with my favorite brands, stores, or retail decisions. Nothing at all.

I wouldn’t, I don’t think. The problem is really that there is a lot of drama going on in disabled communities. Much of this is petty, unconstructive, and highly unnecessary. I am usually not isolated also, I make acquaintances pretty readily

This might be a good idea for a public computer found in a library, but not for our personal laptops or cell phones. 99% of us already have our personal electronic devices set up to accommodate our disabilities.

Maybe to mark which building is what by the door. Like a symbol this building has this feature and that one has that. Kind of landmarking if you will?

Integration and learning to socialize. And how to do it well and how to be a normal person learning to be like the rest. Blind children and sometimes even blind adults lack the means to communicate especially if totally blind. If you teach the children to communicate well and stuff this will be good teach body language and socialization skills and encourage mixing with sighted children.

Have you guys thought of point of sale machines or improving vending machine experience stuff like things you can buy candy or soda from or something like that

Or point of sale machines and self check out type situation. Also the little machines credit and debit card machines are likewise not accessible.

One of the questions on your survey is "Do u think these glasses would be beneficial?"

My survey options are yes or no. The reality is more nuanced.

As a means to navigate, nope. Talking eyeglasses telling me what's ahead on the sidewalk would annoy the crap out of me. I do just fine with my white cane or holding my wife's hand. An extra voice in my ear competing with my surroundings for my attention would be a potentially dangerous distraction.

But if those glasses could read text aloud to me on command, then yes, that would be very beneficial.

I've answered enough of these kinds of questions to recognize the survivor bias implicit in them. Sighted people see us on the street and want to help us, so they start dreaming up ways to help us navigate the streets. Perfectly logical and compassionate.

But I spend very little time on the street. And since I don't drive anymore, if I'm out in public I'm with the family member who drove me there.

Most of my time is spent in my home where sighted people don't see me. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. Aspiring engineers don't see us in our homes so they don't think about the help we need there. The assumption seems to be "Well, that's their home - they're familiar with it and don't need help there like they do in public."

While there's some truth in that, it overlooks important aspects of our reality.

Imagine every can of food in your kitchen has a blank label. How can you tell the beans from the peaches? How do you know which kind of soup you have, or when it expires, or if it contains something your daughter is allergic to?

Is this a beer or a soda? Is it diet or regular? Coke or Pepsi? Root beer? You can't just open it and put it back if it's not what you're looking for - it will go flat and be ruined.

Those aren't the challenges sighted people see so they aren't the challenges they're trying to solve. Unfortunate, because that's the help I need.

Smart glasses that can read the cooking directions and nutrition labels? Yeah, I'd buy that. But smart glasses to tell me what my white cane already knows? No thanks.

I think there are already solutions like this but making glasses apps sounds cool. I definitely think this is great if we can tell it to tell us what is relevant but not everything in front of us read a door sign.

I travel and explore the city quite a bit and also very independent and have issues with reading door signs, hours, and finding a business. I don’t need it to tell me what is going on every minute but if I command it to yes if I pressed a button or prompted it somehow to read the door sign is this shop joes dentist or is this vons or is this yummy yummy sandwiches? No. Oh this is wells fargo oops well lets’ see the next door. Or a street sign or even the color of the traffic light but I have to want it. Not everything. My cane will generally tell me what’s in front of me.


I use nothing around the house I am familiar and memorized it I just walk around with me and my feet hahaha! So I checked other. Memorization proprioception?

You also can’t use voice over to navigate around your house or outside. It can’t do that, gps maybe? But voice over that just sounds wrong and riddiculous hahaha! I don’t even know what you mean.

Also why can’t we use these glasses on top of a cane though so both not replacing it but extra mobility aid. It would be a good enhancement but I like my cane and nothing can replace it but things can enhance it for sure.

Sure there are a lot of such machines already but you can feel free to dm and we can talk about it either dm or voice interview type thing there’s a lot of mobility aids. Have you guys thought of point of sale machines though.