[access-uk] Re: KNFB reader on a Nokia cell phone
- From: "Ankers, Dave (UK)" <Dave.Ankers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:03:04 -0000
Jackie,
Glad you found it funny, the interesting bit would be entering the
criteria into the phone so it can decide whether or not you find the
person attractive or not.
I've no doubt you have heard of Mr Honest, well there's Mr Purvy too!
he's also blind, and one of his ideas to enable him to detect when a
woman is interested in him, is to have manufactured, women's underwear
incorporating the device he uses to stop him overfilling his coffee mug.
It buzzes and vibrates! So when he has the right effect, he gets an
audible cue, and she gets an even bigger smile lol
Dave
Well Dave I must admit you've given me a good laugh here over your
suggestion. Who knows, perhaps one day something like that could be
invented. The way technology is progressing, anything is possible. But
just imagine getting on a train or bus, and your little companion
whispers in your ear: "Blimey. Steer well clear. Looks like the back
end of a bus."
or: "She's a stunner mate, fill your boots." (lol).
But being a bit more serious for a sec, I must admit this would be very
useful if the price is sensible.
Jackie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ankers, Dave (UK)" <Dave.Ankers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 5:34 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: KNFB reader on a Nokia cell phone
>
> Now I like the sound of this!, only can it be programmed to recognise
> attractive women and read their facial expressions, discreetly of
course
> lol. It's so damn annoying when work colleagues say "she's nice", and
> all I can say is, "was she". I hate being in company and not knowing
if
> someone is actually looking, and maybe smiling at me, and would love
to
> chat, but because I cannot see their expression, I have no idea. I'm
> sure many others feel the same.
> Just imagine a blind date club! lol all pointing mobile phones at each
> other! Smile when your phone says "She's nice".
>
> Dave
>
> I'm posting the following which I received from another list. big
> flash from the big R.
> Begin forwarded text.
> BALTIMORE (AP) - Chris Danielsen fidgets with the cell phone, holding
it
> over a $20 bill.
> "Detecting orientation, processing U.S. currency image," the phone
says
> in a flat monotone before Danielsen snaps a photo. A few seconds
later,
> the phone says, "Twenty dollars."
> Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, is
> holding the next generation of computerized aids for the blind and
> visually impaired.
> The Nokia cell phone is loaded with software that turns text on
> photographed documents into speech. In addition to telling whether a
> bill is worth $1, $5, $10 or $20, it also allows users to read
anything
> that is photographed, whether it's a restaurant menu, a phone book or
a
> fax.
> While the technology is not new, the NFB and the software's developer
> say the cell phone is the first to incorporate the text-to-speech
> ability.
> "We've had reading devices before," Danielsen said, noting similar
> software is already available in a larger handheld reader housed in a
> personal digital assistant. Companies such as Code Factory SL, Dolphin
> Computer Access Ltd. and Nuance Communications Inc. also provide
> software that allows the blind to use cell phones and PDAs.
> Inexpensive hand-held scanners such as WizCom Technologies Ltd.'s
> SuperPen can scan limited amounts of text, read it aloud and even
> translate from other languages.
> However, the $2,100 NFB device combines all of those functions in one
> smart phone, said James Gashel, vice president of business development
> for K-NFB Reading Technology Inc., which is marketing the phone as a
> joint venture between the federation and software developer Ray
> Kurzweil.
> "It is the next step, but this is a huge leap," Gashel, who is blind,
> said in a telephone interview. "I'm talking to you on the device I
also
> use to read things. I can put it in my pocket and at the touch of a
> button, in 20 seconds, be reading something I need to read in print."
> Ray Kurzweil, who developed the first device that could convert text
> into audio in the 1970s and the current NFB device, said portability
is
> only the first step. Future versions of the device will recognize
faces,
> identify rooms and translate text from other languages for the blind
and
> the sighted.
> The inventor plans to begin marketing the cell phone in February
through
> K-NFB Reading Technology. The software will cost $1,595 and the cell
> phone is expected to cost about $500, Kurzweil said.
> Dave Doermann, president of College Park-based Applied Media Analysis
> said his company is working on similar software for smart phones that
> could be used by the military for translation and by the visually
> impaired.
> "We don't anticipate ours being that expensive, but unfortunately
we're
> not quite to the release yet," said Doermann, who is also co-director
of
> the University of Maryland's Laboratory for Language and Media
> Processing.
> Doermann said the company, which has received funding from the
> Department of Defense and the National Eye Institute, hopes to have
its
> software ready in the next 12 to 18 months.
> Kurzweil's device uses speech software provided by Nuance, said Chris
> Strammiello, the director of product management at Nuance, who said
the
> company has also developed a prototype reader that uses the Internet
to
> access more powerful server-side computers.
> "As you can harness the power of remote environments and do that so
> quickly with the Web technologies, it gives a lot more capability,
> flexibility and options to the way you solve these type of problems,"
> Strammiello said.
> There are about 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the
> U.S., a number that is expected to double in the next 30 years as baby
> boomers age.
> Kurzweil said those with vision problems are not the only ones
expected
> to benefit from the technology. Dyslexics, for example, are expected
to
> be among the users of the current device because of its ability to
> highlight each word as it's read aloud, helping them cope with their
> disability, which affects the ability to read. The highlighting
function
> can also help them improve their reading skills, he said.
> "What's new here is both blind people and kids can do this with a
device
> that fits in their shirt pocket," Kurzweil said.
> Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind, said
the
> device and its PDA predecessor are a "form of hand-held vision" that
> will make the visual environment "much more readily available to the
> blind."
>
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