Dear All, Please find the below Daily Eyeway Alerts: 1. News- IBM's latest app helps visually impaired users stand in socially distanced lines. Nearly one and a half year after the novel coronavirus was first detected, countries in various parts of the world are still implementing rolling lockdowns and curfews while encouraging mask-wearing and social distancing. While these are designed to prevent the spread of the virus, people with disabilities may have difficulty observing these rules in public places. A team of researchers at IBM is working to change that, with the help of the new LineChaser application, using AI to help visually impaired people maintain a safe distance from others around them, as spotted by SlashGear. Instead of relying on a single camera, the app uses data from two sensors to help users measure the distance between themselves and the person in front of them. Using software to make use of information captured by the device’s RGB and infrared depth sensors, to keep track of people in their surroundings – the former is used to detect people nearby, while the infrared sensor is used to measure their distance from the user. It then provides them with audio and haptic feedback. On the basis of these responses, visually impaired users can then decide whether they need to move forward in a line or stay put. According to the IBM researcher Hironobu Takagi, the app was tested on participants with various disabilities and helped all of them successfully managed to reach the end of a line, while visually impaired users were able to stop at an ‘acceptable position’ 91.7 percent of the time if they were following a line. Takagi also said that participants in the trial gave the system a high usability score, while reporting higher confidence and comfortableness when they were standing in line.
We hope that more visually impaired people can benefit from our technology. We also hope that with time, the social acceptance of the use of camera devices in public spaces will improve. We found the acceptance was already high if a blind person used a device for assistive purposes, but we think that as a society, we need to improve our understanding of such technologies,” Takagi said. Source: https://tech.hindustantimes.com/mobile/news/ibms-latest-app-helps-visually-impaired-users-stand-in-socially-distanced-lines-71620648812746.html 2. Workshop- The XRCVC - Viviana Extension, Thane is happy to announce an online workshop on the theme “Using Latest TalkBack With Android phone”. This Workshop is supported by the Great Eastern CSR Foundation. In early days Visually challenge people were having hard time to use mobile phones. From smart phone revolution and initiative of Google company has change situation drastically. TalkBack the default screen reader provided by every smart Android phone has made the life of visually impair and low vision people very easy. Today TalkBack has come a long way both in terms of its functionality, ease of access, and integration with pleasant user-friendly voices and interface. Recently TalkBack made significant changes in its latest version. Upcoming workshop will cover working with the basic features of these changes with Android phone and TalkBack version Eligibility: participants should have good knowledge of screen reader, cursor movements, Key board and internet browsing. Limited seats are available for the session. Those interested should kindly register by using the link appended below. https://forms.gle/NyYDFUG5cewzdSBp6 Resource Persons: Vikas Dabholkar, Keshavan Nadar and Aniket Gupta Criteria: Persons with print disabilities such as blind and low vision. Participant should be a screen reader user. Date: 15th May 2021, (Saturday). Time: 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Venue: Online Session (Zoom conferencing platform) The registration link will close at 2.00 pm. On Thursday 13th May 2021. Important Note: 1. Instructions to login will be sent by email on 13th May 2021, Thursday to the registered participants only. 2. After clicking the above given link, fill the form. Please do not click on Request Edit Access button. If you click on it the form will not get submitted. Once the form is filled then click on Submit button only. 3. Participants are requested to use their personal earphones/headphones during the session. 4. After successful form submission, you will receive acknowledgment email from Google. More at : http://www.eyeway.org.in/?q=online-workshop-theme-%E2%80%9Cusing-latest-talkback-android-phone%E2%80%9D -- With Best Regards, Ritu Contact: 9711982580 You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there. -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAGPUs62W9e6GC2vEMEWfLdOVjWRgrniwk%2BYxBAzzH6LwpPT0Mw%40mail.gmail.com.
