survey update: Four Weeks In Review
- From: Catherine Thomas <braille@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 12:21:12 -0400 (EDT)
FACTS ABOUT THE SURVEYS
To date we have received 98 surveys from current Optacon users and
18 surveys from Potential Optacon users. The surveys have arrived in a
steady stream, averaging about thirty per week. If this trend continues we
will have a lot of data to share with funding sources and input to share
with engineers and others interested in the Optacon. Please inform
everyone that it is not too late to submit a survey.
Although many Optacon users tell us that they use the Optacon
nearly every day, there are some respondents who tell us that they use the
Optacon for a specific purpose only. For many respondents, the level of
Optacon use varies with changing life circumstances. Examples are
respondents who learned the Optacon in elementary school, did not use it
as teen agers, and picked it up again when they entered college or
work-related situations. Other respondens decreased their use of the
Optacon when they married sighted spouses.
The Optacon has evolved as user needs have changed. Many
respondents who used to read novels for pleasure, now scan these books
into a computer instead. Those who do a lot of scanning report that the
Optacon is a major help in improving the scanning process and correcting
errors.
Although this question was not asked, many respondents have
volunteered the information that they have more than one Optacon. In some
cases the units are used in different locations but mostly the second and
third Optacons are retained as backup. This fact alone tell us quite a bit
about the preciousness of the Optacon and how its users feel about doing
without it.
The uses of the Optacon vary too widely to mention all of them.
The overwhelming majority (but not all), use the Optacon to help with some
aspect of mail reading and sorting. Others use the Optacon regularly to
sign documents and to verify amounts and balances on bills, credit cards,
checks, and statements. A more detailed description of Optacon uses
appearing in the surveys will be posted at another time.
ISOLATING THE UNIQUE USES OF THE OPTACON
Many respondents have gone out of their way to tell us the things
the Optacon does that other devices available at this time cannot. Among
these types of uses are interpreting schematic diagrams, reading print on
the surfaces of appliances, reading signs on walls, reading information on
cans, bottles, boxes and jars without removing the labels, and reading any
foreign language or code including print music and programming symbols.
Some respondents who are deaf-blind or who have hearing loss find the
Optacon particularly useful when devices that speak are not an option. We
encourage deaf-blind users to tell us more.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OPTACON
All users of the Optacon agree that its greatest value is its
ability to display print as it actually appears and to allow the human
brain to interpret it. The users who mentioned it also agree that the
resolution and fine-tuning available in the r1d Optacons is far better
than that available in the later Optacon II model. Most respondents agree
that user-replaceable batteries, and a camera that could be use at a
greater distance (probably wireless) would be a plus. Although some
respondents don't find this an issue, many user would like to have a
quieter Optacon--one that does not buzz when in use. Some respondents
mention that the noise is annoying to co-workers and some prefer not to
use the Optacon in public places such as libraries because of the noise.
This matter is subjective and there is no precise agreement. Many
respondents are eager for additional lenses that will fit into small
spaces or read additional colors and types of displays. Currently there is
no device available to read a scrolling display, or the display which
contain menus such as cell phones or the displays now common to tv
screens.
Some respondents wish that the Optacon included some type of
memory, storage facility, speech, OCR etc. However, most of these
respondents would prefer to do without these things if they in any way
compromised the original purpose of the Optacon which is to read actual
print on all kinds of surfaces in real time without any sort of
pre-interpretation.
UNANTICIPATED POSITIVE OUTCOMES
Many respondents did not realize that Optacons could still be
repaired. Some units are being repaired already and others will be
repaired when their owners can raise the money to do so. Other respondents
were able to increase the use they make of their Optacons because they no
longer have to worry abut losing them entirely. This outcome is a direct
result of our outreach to Optacon users.
Our outreach has also located some unused and non-working
Optacons. We need to find as many of these units as possible and get them
back into circulation. Even badly damaged non-working Optacons have some
parts worth canabalizing. Please direct any donated Optacons to one of the
Optacon repairers. If somebody wishes to sell an Optacon or a special
lens, they should be directed to an Optacon repairer or the information
should be posted to the Optacon list. When the present project expands
enough to have a legal corporation, employers that used to provide
Optacons to employees as well as educational institutions and other types
of training and rehab agencies can be contacted to donate their stock of
Optacons.
The Optacon is generating interest from brand-new users too. Some
would like to see the Optacon demostrated. Others would like help with
training. Some might consider buying an Optacon if a suitable evaluation
period and preliminary traing instructions were a part of it. Other would
consider buying an Optacon if it could red various types of more modern
displays and interface with modern computer screens.
OTHER POSITIVE OUTCOMES
The Optacon user list which began this initiative a month ago has
increased in size by at least twenty members. A manufacturer in the U.S.
which sells the Smith-Corona ribbons needed for the typewriter that used
the Optacon special lens is willing to sell small amounts of ribbons to
members of our group. The details of how this will work are still in
negotiation. Individuals who over the years found the Optacon a
fascinating device are welcome to join us in an effort to preserve it. We
already have a method to rebuild and replace damaged retina cables, one of
the most vulnerable parts of the Optacon. All persons who repair Optacons
or who are interested in doing so have a place to come together and expand
their services as well as sharing parts and donated Optacons. All of these
facts will help to preserve the Optacon.
REDEVELOPMENT:
Nobody knows just yet what the Optacon's future will be. Our user
list currently includes several engineers and software experts who are
seriously interested in developing additional accessories for the current
units and possibly re-developing the Optacon entirely. No decisions have
actually been made in this area. Engineers are contacting other technical
experts to figure out what is possible. Users of the Optacon are telling
us what is absolutely necessary, what they would also like and what they
might like but could live without. All of this input is major to the
success of any funding effort that will be made. We do want to make clear
that any Optacon user or any interested person who responds to one of our
surveys or asks any questions is in no way under any type of financial
obligation.
SUMMARY:
For the immediate future the Optacon preservation effort will
continue to seek Optacons, data from current users, data from potential
future Optacon users, and technical expertise in various areas. We
encourage our users to let anyone who ever liked the Optacon know about
this effort. We encourage everyone to continue to get our message to lists
and magazines. We need the imaginative members of our list who like to
write or who might be interested in training users to start to think about
new methods. Since our users are all over the world, it is no longer
possible to congregate them in one place for weeks of training.
We still don't have nearly enogh data to determine whether the
Optacon can ever be marketed again. The success of such an effort would
probably depend on what new features the Optacon contains.
The drawbacks of the Optacon are well-known. No attempt is being
made to minimize them or to mislead any possible new user. The surveys
have however, exploded certain beliefs held by some Optacon users. Among
these are the following: Not all Optacon users read Braille. Many
respondents are interested in the Optacon because they have lost sight
later in life. Deaf-blind persons are able to use the Optacon even though
they cannot hear the buzz. Some diabetics who could not learn Braille were
able to use the Optacon but others were not. Time, patience, practice, and
motivation are the four elements which combine together to create a
successful Optacon user. Age, previous knowledge of print, and some other
factors thought to be a part of this success are of minor significance as
barriers. There has also been minimal probing into whether sighted
dyslexics can benefit from using an Optacon. The belief that these things
could not be done are being proven false.
During our first month we have accomplished many steps in
preserving the Optacon. If we go on as we have begun, who knows what
exciting things might be in store.
Catherine Thomas
Acting Survey Coordinator
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-Catherine Thomas
braille@xxxxxxxxx /
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