Hi Charles,
I am very excited about the progress you have made in designing an Optacon. I
agree with you that a standalone Optacon III would be hard selling. And if
combining the Optacon with a Braille display/computer would come at an
affordable price, I am all for it. There are many who would benefit from using
a Braille display but cannot afford those expensive ones. I like the versatile
and flexible use(s) you envision.
May I ask for clarifications? If you remove the "fat domino block" from the
center position between dots 1 and 4, will there be any "springs" (connectors)
exposed that may be sensitive to touch and/or dust? Would it be advisable to
place a temporary "lid" over the hole as long as the "domino" is being used?
I am not familiar with the size of the U Sense 32. Might you offer the
specifics in inches or cm, please?
As for the Braille display, will there be cursor routing? I do not remember if
we discussed this before, but I would find it helpful when connecting the
Braille display to a PC or mobile device and navigating the screen.
Best wishes,
Cordelia
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of C. Pond
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2016 9:14 AM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] a question regarding the ergonomic design and mechanics of
the optacon III
An optacon III ergonomic mechanical question if I may in order to make it
marketable, accompanied by a pre-amble for its context:
As things stand now, the optacon III’s display has evolved from a mere dumb
display (a mere vibrotactile output device which feels something like a fat
domino)) to a stand-alone display into which the nifty camera and power and
whatever can be plugged. This way, the camera and the smart-display can be
mechanically connected to form a crude one-handed optacon with room for
improvement, or they can be used each in one hand as we traditionally have
done. Although I am still really concerned about the power monster, and I’m
working with tuflon and a few other experimental strategies to reduce power
consumption, I’m not worried about a vibrotactile display. We have a
two-handed optacon---even in its basic form—and since Mr. Noel Runyan
recommended a one-handed option, we now have that as well. So be it. Having
said these things, it is my “sense†or belief that a simple up-to-date
small optacon simply will not sell, take wings and fly. no matter the zeal of
present optacon
users. I could be wrong, given proper education of blind people, especially
children, but that is how it looks realistically from this user’s vantage.
If no new optacon users come along, ten years from now will show a very
different optacon-user landscape compared to today. Therefore, from this line
of reasoning, I have combined the basic optacon III with a small, standard
computer (around the size of a Braille Sense U2 32-cell model; smaller than a
Braille Lite 40) and a built-in 32-cell braille display (which unfortunately
and to my chagrin and sincere regret and wish for the contrary is proprietary
at this time, and this goes against Every sentiment and wish within me to have
it so!). The braille display can be built by hand for a few hundred dollars,
and likely would be less costly if produced by automation and in numbers
greater than 99 per batch. At this point, the optacon III’s display fits
nicely behind the spacebar and between dots 1 and 4 of the device’s perkin
s keyboard. So, along one long edge at the front is the 32-cell display
(built with banks of 4 braille cells per bank, smaller than bimorph-based
cells), and the optacon III’s display is right at the back edge, between dots
1 and 4, and therefore in the middle of the edge. The device has as many
useful functions as any hand-held computer with a robust braille display and
good accessibility. However, if the optacon III’s vibrotactile display is
built into the hand-held computer with its inexpensive and robust braille
display, several questions come to mind for which I do need feedback.
1. Although the smart display could be made mechanically to slide in and out
of its place, like the old PCMCIA cards, when the display is removed and
connected to its camera, a rectangle-like void about the size of a fat domino
would be left in the hand-held computer with its braille display. So, what to
do in order to prevent this mechanical oddity or use the empty display space?
2. Is there a better way to design the mechanics of the device?
The only reason why I’m evolving toward solidifying the optacon III’s
design as part of an encompassing system is that on its own, a new optacon
likely would not sell, so other things must be added. Likely enough, most
people would use the braille display and computer more often than the optacon
III’s vibrotactile display. The only two reasons I can see for being able to
detach the optacon III’s display from the hand-held computer are:
1. To connect it to its camera for one-handed use.
2. To use it as a stand-alone, small, versatile optacon.
Otherwise, and if a stand-alone optacon would indeed sell, this stuff about a
hand-held computer with a built-in braille display would not be an issue.
If the smart display were merely tacked onto one end or the other of the
hand-held computer, that would solve nothing and would make ergonomic design
and use even worse.
I doubt a market exists for two optacon III versions: a one-handed optacon and
a two-handed optacon, and also not likely for a simple, stand-alone optacon
III. If I had my way, I would build the detachable optacon III into an
encompassing system, and find a good use for that fat domino void, or find a
way so it doesn’t happen in the first place.
So, please, any thoughts and suggestions? No doubt the mechanical solution for
this is simple and straightforward.
Chuck
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