Nancy,
I neglected to comment on this statement, but I agree and that statement was
rather insulting. I have to say that as much participation as you and others
have demonstrated on these e-mail lists, shows a level of commitment.
I see lots of potential in this application and although I do not have
one of those bluetooth laser barcode readers, I have thought about it. Like I
said, for me it would just speed up the process, but then I suffer from lack of
patients. :) Although now that I have gotten better with scanning barcodes with
the camera, I have shorten the time it takes. However, I see the bluetooth
scanner as a way to potentially make it easier for vendor operators to take
inventory, possibly blind people to work in retail doing a number of different
tasks, and so forth. I see the scanner as a natural extension to DigitEyes. Of
course I sent you that article that I still see possibilities with. I'm so full
of ideas, but then some say I'm just full of it. :)
On Jul 9, 2010, at 12:25 AM, Nancy Miracle wrote:
> Actually, I'd disagree with that last statement. We have a lot of incentive
> to improve it because we want our customers to be happy and if you are not
> happy, we are not happy either.
>
> Nancy Miracle
> Digital Miracles, L.L.C.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 10:10 PM, Bryan Smart <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> Yes; I'd be happy if they allowed us to use a Bluetooth laser scanner. Even
> though a separate device would be required for the higher quality scans,
> there are small scanners available. Beyond that, the important fact is that
> the CPU portion (the iPhone), is very mobile. We can, today, use a computer
> with a scanner to identify objects. Carrying a computer around the house
> isn't handy. Carrying an iPhone to do the processing, though, isn't that
> difficult. So, for me, there would still be value.
>
> I suggest that they retain the functionality with the built-in camera, but
> allow Bluetooth scanning for those that can purchase a scanner.
>
> I'm not sure that I'm going to pursue a refund, but I'd encourage others to
> withhold their money until the scanning quality has been addressed. If you
> just buy the program as-is, they have little incentive to improve it.
>
> Bryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Scott Howell
> Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 8:31 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: A warning about Digit-Eyes
>
> Bryan,
>
> I have used this application successfully with several types of packages. I
> have found cans to be particularly tricky. I can tell you that my greatest
> success seem to be starting out with my 3GS against the item, and once I
> started the scan, slowly back the phone away from the item. Again, this
> worked for me on several items. I have not run all over the house grabbing
> everything with a barcode, so I can't say that I have encountered every
> possible packaging type and this refers to shiny packaging, different color
> combinations, etc. I don't even know for sure if these are factors. I agree
> it would be nice if an external laser barcode reader could be used because
> this would seriously speed up the process of scanning items in a store etc. I
> put that suggestion out there and not sure if it will be considered or not. I
> realize carrying such a device does defeat some of the purpose perhaps, but
> it does allow for additional opportunities, such as someone who maintains
> inventory etc. Perhaps you have and if not, share your experiences and
> suggestion.
> On Jul 8, 2010, at 6:03 PM, Bryan Smart wrote:
>
> > I'm writing to share my experiences with Digit-Eyes.
> >
> > I tried it on my iPhone 4, with several bar codes, and it didn't recognize
> > even one of them. I don't mean that the code was located, but not
> > recognized. I mean that the code was not even detected as being in the
> > image. I'd tap the scan button, and the constant clicking would begin to
> > let me know that scanning was in progress. I was scanning in a brightly lit
> > room, and the screen curtain was not on. Rotating the containers in front
> > of the iPhone camera, with it held about a foot away from them, produced no
> > results. I had a sighted friend deliberately place the bar code in view,
> > something that I would have not been able to do on my own, and it wasn't
> > recognized, either. We just kept trying different angles, and rotating, but
> > all we got was more clicking from the Digit-Eyes scanner.
> >
> > I had some experience with creating a system like this several years ago.
> > At that time, CCD cameras were not as accurate. Even so, for best results,
> > we determined that a 3D laser scanner would be required in order for bar
> > codes to be detected in the way that a blind person is likely to present
> > them to the scanner: at angles, in shadow, etc. This is the technique used
> > by other commercial systems like the ID Mate. I was lead to understand that
> > this wasn't a concern with Digit-Eyes, due to the higher quality camera in
> > the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. However, based on my results, I'd say that
> > this isn't so.
> >
> > Perhaps Digit-Eyes works better with dedicated labels, but, if I were
> > to make dedicated labels, I'd just create Braille labels. I realize
> > that everyone doesn't read Braille, and so audio labels still might be
> > of use to some people. However, the advertised function of being able
> > to read bar codes seems to not work, or else, it might work, but
> > requires a level of alignment precision that I've not been able to
> > achieve. I'm usually quite capable when it comes to reasoning through
> > these types of situations, so my conclusion is that I've either
> > overlooked something profound, or else the level of alignment that is
> > required for a good scan is grater than most blind people will
> > independently obtain without assistance. If you need assistance, you
> > might as well ask the sighted person what is on the label. *shrug*
> >
> > I'd like to hear the experiences of others. However, I can't personally
> > suggest that anyone spend the $30 that is charged for this app if they
> > expect to use it as a bar code scanner.
> >
> > Bryan
> >
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