DailyDirt: Helping The Blind With Technology
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
We've seen some early-stage advances for ways that might help restore sight to people with low vision (or no vision), but it will take many more years before the clinical trials and safety approvals are complete. And not everyone will want to undergo an eye surgery to try to regain some vision, either. Fortunately, robots and wearable technology continue to improve, and these gadgets could become very useful for the blind (and the rest of us, too). Maybe we won't just see telecommuting iPads for remote workers -- but also robot assistants for casual and everyday uses, as well.- Can robots become better than guide dogs at helping the blind? Given that some of the most advanced robots still have trouble navigating the world by themselves, robots helping the blind might not happen for a long time -- but progress will undoubtedly be welcome by both the sighted and the blind. [url]
- A wearable device could help blind users by providing tactile or audio feedback based on sensors embedded in a ring. A "smart ring" could have cameras and haptic feedback to allow a user to point it at something and have it read text or recognize objects.... But maybe a smart watch app might be a better way to start this kind of assistive tool? [url]
- Tactile Navigation Tools is a company founded by a visually-impaired doctor, making a sensor-equipped vest and "smart cane" to help the blind. The vest and cane can work together to help a user identify dangerous obstacles -- and could also be useful for fire-fighting or military personnel to navigate in low-visibility environments. [url]
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: baxter, blind, haptics, low vision, robots, smartcane, smartring, tools, visually impaired, wearables
Companies: tactile navigation tools
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Virtual Visual Cortex
[ link to this | view in thread ]
you forgot Sonar Glasses by G-Technology Group
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I sure hope they don't put their initials on their products, especially the vest...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Robots
But we'll let them drive cars until then.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Robots
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]