-- original message -- Subject: Accessible Devices LookTel Smart Phone Software From: "Accessible Devices" <[email protected]> Date: 24/04/2010 2:44 pm
We offer the following information, but caution that this is currently in beta. Unfortunately, as with most software of this type, it's quite expensive. This is all the information we currently have available. A Smartphone that Sees For You Software from LookTel on a Windows-based smartphone uses "augmented reality" to help the vision-impaired and elderly By: Sean Gallagher April 23, 2010 Leave a comment Source: LookTel This video shows some of the ways the LookTel application can help people with visual and other handicaps. A new set of software that works with relatively inexpensive smart phones could help visually disabled people and the elderly. Using a technology called "augmented reality", the software can help people by recognizing text, objects and places. Augmented Reality, or AR, uses location and visual information from a camera to supply a smartphone user with extra information about their surroundings. For an introduction to AR, you can take a look at my hands-on with Spyglass , the augmented reality navigation application. LookTel takes AR technology and applies it to a very real problem. It was developed by Ipplex , in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, the National Eye Institute, the Department of Veterans Affairs and a research organization for aides for the blind, to help people who can't see well or may become disoriented. The Windows Mobile application uses character recognition technology and a voice synthesizer to read labels to the smartphone user. All that processing can't be done on the smartphone, so character and object recognition software are part of LookTel's "base station" software, which runs on a Windows-based home computer. You can also add coded labels to objects , as this YouTube demonstration shows, and associate those labels with voice descriptions of objects you put them on. The app also can connect a user to a real person for assistance by connecting back to the application's Windows PC-based "base station" software: For more complicated visual tasks such as locating a specific street corner or bus stop, LookTel enables you to remotely connect to another person for assistance. Not only can you talk to them, but you can also transmit live video from the cell phone's camera so that they can see your surroundings and help you with orientation, recognizing objects and media, and more. Your position will also be shown to them on Google Maps using the GPS services available on smart phones. These services aim to help users to independently go about daily activities with the confidence that they will have the assistance they need anytime, anywhere. LookTel is currently in testing, and is available on pre-configured HTC smartphones and mobile Internet devices. Ipplex hasn't published the pricing for the technology, but is offering it at a discount during testing. Original Article Source http://www.techgoesstrong.com/smartphone-sees-you LookTel Website http://www.looktel.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://accessible-devices.com/pipermail/a-d_accessible-devices.com/attachments/20100424/01348ba6/attachment.html> This is an Announce only list. Subscribers are not able to post to this list. To unsubscribe from the Accessible Devices list copy the line below. Paste it inthe To: line of a blank message and send it. [email protected] You may download our podcasts from this link, http://www.accessible-devices.com/Podcasts.html Or if you're using a podcatcher of some type the subscribe URL is. http://www.accessible-devices.com/feed.xml Visit our website at: www.accessible-devices.com Please feel free to pass this message on to a friend who might like to subscribe. To subscribe to Accessible Devices send a blank e mail to: [email protected] Just follow the directions in the confirmation message when it comes. Please Note: Accessible Devices is not able to provide tech support for software or products that we supply information about. _______________________________________________ A-d mailing list [email protected] http://accessible-devices.com/mailman/listinfo/a-d_accessible-devices.com To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
