[accessibleimage] Re: Mental synthesis of images

Hi Chris,

> I have cameras on my cell phone, my pda/phone, my wife's
> cell phone and her 5 megapixel digital camera. I don't
> know if I can hook up any of these

What phones do you have? There is a crude and simplified
version of The vOICe that runs on high-end camera phones
such as the Nokia 6630 and Nokia 6682. That version is
available for free download from my web page at the URL

   http://www.seeingwithsound.com/midlet.htm

and it includes a (very basic) talking color identifier.
You can read a few accounts from blind users at the URL

   http://www.seeingwithsound.com/midlet_users.htm

Blind people increasingly use camera phones running a
general screen reader like Talks or Mobile Speak, and
it is getting harder to buy a phone without a camera.

However, phones clearly lack processing power as compared
to PCs, so I had to make quality compromises in creating
the phone version. The vOICe Learning Edition running on
the PC is in many respects more powerful.

> Are there any specifics on the Web Camera that I should
> consider before my trip to Circuit City today?

All USB webcams will do, but for best results under low
light conditions (as are typical for indoor use) you might
consider webcams having a CCD image sensor rather than the
more common and cheaper CMOS image sensors. A CCD webcam
is somewhat more expensive, and an example is the "Logitech
Quickcam for Notebooks Pro" (don't forget the "Pro" tag),
which you currently find on the web for some $30 to $50
(not the newer 1.3 megapixel type that is still a bit more
expensive). Most of the CMOS-based webcams give very poor
contrast and motion blur under low light conditions, and
basically only work well in bright daylight.

Best wishes,

Peter


Seeing with Sound - The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm


Chris Hofstader wrote: 
Are there any specifics on the Web Camera that I should consider before my
trip to Circuit City today?  I have cameras on my cell phone, my pda/phone,
my wife's cell phone and her 5 megapixel digital camera.  I don't know if I
can hook up any of these or if I should just plunk down a few dollars and
get something specific for the PC.

Are there any resolution requirements?  Circuit City has something they call
a web camera for $19 but I can't imagine it is very good.  Then again, after
getting my wife the digital camera as a gift for Christmas 2004, I haven't
even thought of digital cameras so maybe the prices have crashed, I don't
know.

Enjoy,
cdh


Other related posts: