[access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
- From: Saqib Hussain <saqibh23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:21:41 +0100
I tried the glasses and they were no good to me as it requires you to
look straight ahead with your head held high. I tend to turn my head
to the side as I have residual vision out of the corner of my eyes. So
when I'm walking down a road a passer by may think I'm looking across
the road slightly. It doesn't always go down well as I don't have my
cane out and people don't realise I'm not doing it on purpose.
On 18/07/2012, Ibrahim Gucukoglu <ibrahim_gucukoglu@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi Darren.
>
> There are already products that use sonar technology, the RNIB glasses and
> the Ultra cane to name but a couple. These shoes would really augment GPS
> as a mobility aid and if they did this alone I’d be a willing customer.
>
> All the best, Ibrahim.
>
> From: Darren Brewer
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 3:37 PM
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
> Yes I'm all in favour of aids that are not obvious and don't draw attention
> to our disability. Something like that would be of immense help. I still
> have concerns how the problem of random obsticles both near the ground and
> overhanging would be solved though.
>
> Darren.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 2:22 PM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
> Hi Darren.
>
> For my part, I’d be delighted with just the ability to be sure in which
> direction I needed to travel. If these shoes could remember a route and had
> a GPS function, a nudge in either right or left foot with perhaps pads at
> heel and toes would be a great orientation aid. Needless to say, a nudge in
> your left shoe with a vibration in the heel would indicate to the left and
> behind etc. Would do away with the need for mobile compasses which aren’t
> always accurate anyway, not to mention just plane confusing at times.
>
> All the best, Ibrahim.
>
> From: Darren Brewer
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:43 PM
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
> Hi Ibrahim
>
> lol. Oh dear I wonder how many more puns can we get out of this subject.
>
> Seriously though I wish him all the best with his project. It's certainly
> innovative and the more people who think of solutions to our navigation
> problems the better.
>
> I can see that the turn by turn navigation variant he is developing would
> be relatively straightforward to implement. However I cannot understand how
> a sonar/ultrasonic technology will be able to discriminate between open
> drain covers or steps, or even for that matter detect them in the first
> place. I imagine The computation required would be quite intensive. I know
> from research I did after leaving university that determining depth or
> distance within a stereo image is very difficult to determine with accuracy
> and I just can't see how it would be done with sound. It will be interesting
> to follow his progress and see if anything becomes commercially available.
>
> Cheers
>
> Darren.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:26 PM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
>
> Hi Darren.
>
> Well, whether it is Shoe or not, the economist article checks out and it
> would make a change from the seemingly endless line of braille displays,
> mobile phones and other been there done that stuff that’s coming out
> seemingly every year. For someone to develop something that is of practical
> use not to mention novel would be marvellous if he puts his soul in to the
> effort.
>
> All the best, Ibrahim.
>
> From: Darren Brewer
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:33 AM
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
> Sounds too good to be shoe
>
> Darren.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 5:38 AM
> Subject: [access-uk] Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
>
> Footwear for the Blind: Bluetooth shoes
>
> The Economist
> http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/07/footwear-blind
>
> JUL 14 2012, 9:09 by A.A.K. ~ Mumbai
>
>
> MORE than 285 million people across the globe suffer from visual
> impairment.
>
> Yet the tools to assist the blind in walking have changed little since
> the 1920s, when their canes started being painted white to make other
> pedestrians more aware of their presence. The gizmos that do exist have
> tended to be expensive and clunky, and have not caught on. This may change
> if Anirudh Sharma, a 24-year-old computer engineer from Hyderabad, a city in
> the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has his way.
>
> His innovation, dubbed "Le Chal" ("take me along" in Hindi) pairs a
> smartphone app with a small actuator sewn inside the sole of one shoe via
> Bluetooth. The user tells the phone his desired destination, which is
> translated into electronic commands using voice-recognition software. The
> app, which can be programmed to run in the background, fetches the local map
> of the area. The phone's Global Positioning System (GPS) tracks the person's
> location in real-time, telling the actuator to vibrate when it is time to
> turn. The side of the shoe where the vibration is felt indicates which way
> to go. Mr Sharma opted for a vibrating signal because for the blind, who
> rely on their sense of hearing to make sense of the environment, audio
> feedback is a distraction.
>
> The system does not require constant internet access. Once downloaded,
> maps can be stored locally and combined with GPS data. The app uses Open
> Street Maps (OSM), an open-source rival to Google Maps. OSM allows editing,
> a helpful feature in updating rapidly changing urban landscapes. A
> speed-dial function can rapidly retrieve the most frequently visited
> routes.
>
> The shoe pod is also equipped with an obstacle-detection mechanism. A
> sensor in the tip of the shoe, devised by Mr Sharma's business partner,
> Krispian Lawrence, scans the vicinity using sonar, which emits ultrasounds
> that bounce off obstacles, indicating their presence. The shoe sets off a
> distinct pattern of vibrations to alert the person of any obstruction and
> guides him around it.
>
> For now, the footwear, being tested at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute,
> one of India's biggest eye-health facilities, may be most useful in areas
> with little or no traffic, such as quiet residential streets or parks. The
> challenge, Mr Lawrence says, is to get the algorithm to tell an uncovered
> manhole from a flight of stairs, but he expects it to be able to do so in
> due course. Dealing with moving obstacles like cars may take longer, though
> the pair are working on ways to alert wearers not just about cars' presence,
> but also their speed.
>
> To ensure that the final product resembles a regular shoe, fashion
> technologists are being consulted to help with ergonomics and design.
>
> Mr Sharma and Mr Lawrence, who started a company called Ducere
> Technologies to commercialise their idea, say their high-tech brogues should
> not cost more than an ordinary, stylish pair. Many of the world's visually
> impaired will like the sound of that.
>
>
>
> ____________________________________
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