Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
HI. the app your describing sounds like blind square? regards Maria and crew from australia email: bubbygirl1...@gmail.com check out www.95-the-mix.com where we play lots of great music On 17 Jan 2014, at 4:31 am, Alan Paganelli alanandsuza...@earthlink.net wrote: I was thinking the same thing. In museums, art centers etc. There is another app called There was another app that did something also pretty nice. It announced points of interest near by. I don't remember if the app name was near by or around me. Anyway, it would read to you about the points of interest as you got near them. I had only one problem with the app. It was self voicing and that interfered with Voice over. Of course you could turn voice over off but that would be like putting blinders on. Anyway this app also let you create your own points of interest. There is also a national database and you could load in POIS for that State or local. anybody can add to the database. I spent several days fooling around with it listening to all the points of interest around me. I've lived in Las Vegas 31 years and they had places I had never been to or even knew existed. Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Julie Dawson julie.magno...@att.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 7:27 PM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane I wonder if this ap could be usedoutside and programmed with routs outside. What terrific idea for an ap! Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly And leave the rest to God! - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 3:16 PM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Actually I remembered that your apps get backed up to your computer in iTunes so I went and looked. It's called GeoReader. My problem with it is, because it's self voicing, it enterfears with voice over wanting to read the same thing. They may have updated the app sense I used it and in the app is one of those contact us things. I did report the problem to them and said that althoug the app is inteded for sighted users it can also be useful for blind users because you can create your own points of interest and have a description attached to it. A point of interest that says turn right here can be useful when you might be walking through a park to locate your picnic table again etc.h Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Maria and Joe Chapman bubbygirl1...@gmail.com To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 9:55 AM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane HI. the app your describing sounds like blind square? regards Maria and crew from australia email: bubbygirl1...@gmail.com check out www.95-the-mix.com where we play lots of great music On 17 Jan 2014, at 4:31 am, Alan Paganelli alanandsuza...@earthlink.net wrote: I was thinking the same thing. In museums, art centers etc. There is another app called There was another app that did something also pretty nice. It announced points of interest near by. I don't remember if the app name was near by or around me. Anyway, it would read to you about the points of interest as you got near them. I had only one problem with the app. It was self voicing and that interfered with Voice over. Of course you could turn voice over off but that would be like putting blinders on. Anyway this app also let you create your own points of interest. There is also a national database and you could load in POIS for that State or local. anybody can add to the database. I spent several days fooling around with it listening to all the points of interest around me. I've lived in Las Vegas 31 years and they had places I had never been to or even knew existed. Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Julie Dawson julie.magno...@att.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 7:27 PM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane I wonder if this ap could be usedoutside and programmed with routs outside. What terrific idea for an ap! Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly And leave the rest to God! - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 3:16 PM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Hi. this sounds like it could be a useful app. Please update the list if you get a response form the debs. Warm regards and blessings Maria, Joe and FurBabies Email: iMessage:bubbygirl1...@gmail.com On 18 Jan 2014, at 5:07 am, Alan Paganelli alanandsuza...@earthlink.net wrote: Actually I remembered that your apps get backed up to your computer in iTunes so I went and looked. It's called GeoReader. My problem with it is, because it's self voicing, it enterfears with voice over wanting to read the same thing. They may have updated the app sense I used it and in the app is one of those contact us things. I did report the problem to them and said that althoug the app is inteded for sighted users it can also be useful for blind users because you can create your own points of interest and have a description attached to it. A point of interest that says turn right here can be useful when you might be walking through a park to locate your picnic table again etc.h Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Maria and Joe Chapman bubbygirl1...@gmail.com To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Friday, January 17, 2014 9:55 AM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane HI. the app your describing sounds like blind square? regards Maria and crew from australia email: bubbygirl1...@gmail.com check out www.95-the-mix.com where we play lots of great music On 17 Jan 2014, at 4:31 am, Alan Paganelli alanandsuza...@earthlink.net wrote: I was thinking the same thing. In museums, art centers etc. There is another app called There was another app that did something also pretty nice. It announced points of interest near by. I don't remember if the app name was near by or around me. Anyway, it would read to you about the points of interest as you got near them. I had only one problem with the app. It was self voicing and that interfered with Voice over. Of course you could turn voice over off but that would be like putting blinders on. Anyway this app also let you create your own points of interest. There is also a national database and you could load in POIS for that State or local. anybody can add to the database. I spent several days fooling around with it listening to all the points of interest around me. I've lived in Las Vegas 31 years and they had places I had never been to or even knew existed. Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Julie Dawson julie.magno...@att.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 7:27 PM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane I wonder if this ap could be usedoutside and programmed with routs outside. What terrific idea for an ap! Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly And leave the rest to God! - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 3:16 PM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I was thinking the same thing. In museums, art centers etc. There is another app called There was another app that did something also pretty nice. It announced points of interest near by. I don't remember if the app name was near by or around me. Anyway, it would read to you about the points of interest as you got near them. I had only one problem with the app. It was self voicing and that interfered with Voice over. Of course you could turn voice over off but that would be like putting blinders on. Anyway this app also let you create your own points of interest. There is also a national database and you could load in POIS for that State or local. anybody can add to the database. I spent several days fooling around with it listening to all the points of interest around me. I've lived in Las Vegas 31 years and they had places I had never been to or even knew existed. Regards, Alan Please click on: HTTP://WWW.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! - Original Message - From: Julie Dawson julie.magno...@att.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 7:27 PM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane I wonder if this ap could be usedoutside and programmed with routs outside. What terrific idea for an ap! Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly And leave the rest to God! - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 3:16 PM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I wonder if this ap could be usedoutside and programmed with routs outside. What terrific idea for an ap! Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly And leave the rest to God! - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 3:16 PM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I think the idea of infrared has some possibility. It is amazing what can come from ideas like this. Hopefully, we can have something to help with indoor mobility in the future. I hope people keep working on these ideas because I believe it is possible. I will still use my dog even when something comes along and I don't think either a dog or cane will go away soon. On 1/10/14, RobH. bobs...@googlemail.com wrote: However, many a good idea has been known to come from some really bad ideas. Hummmnmnmnm, So what was the long spindly rotor designed for, before they put it on helicopters? But handles were a good idea, even before they invented tea pots and kettles. Rh,... trying not to think about it. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Marianne Denning, TVI, MA Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired (513) 607-6053 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
However, many a good idea has been known to come from some really bad ideas. Hummmnmnmnm, So what was the long spindly rotor designed for, before they put it on helicopters? But handles were a good idea, even before they invented tea pots and kettles. Rh,... trying not to think about it. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Bit more OT, but you mentioned it:- I, and I suppose We, don't like being poked in the eye any more than anyone else, so do wear eye protection out doors regardless. Indoors too recently since nearly poking my eye out on a bit of furniture someone had moved and I didn't know about until I bent down for my shoes that normally lived there. The second time she's done that so I've done that. If I'm reduced to have to grope my way round every inch of the way in the safe place called Home, it's time to go get one of my own. Rh. - Original Message - From: Adrienne Sinclair Chalmers chalmer...@googlemail.com To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Friday, January 10, 2014 12:54 AM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Hi all Yeah, there is a thing called appropriate technology and, so far as I have ever noticed that means a cane, or a dog, or sighted assistance. Could you whack an overhanging hedge which had just stuck in your eye with an iPhone? Nah, but you can with a cane. Will your iPhone keep you company when you are temporarily lost? Nah, but a dog will. Will the iPhone attract the kind attention of others? Nah, it might get you bopped over the head and your phone nicked, but a dog will at least attract animal lovers who may help you. Which reminds me that the first time I ever heard of such a thing as this, was in a statement by a relatively extreme animal welfare organisation which was bothered by all us blindies oppressing dogs and had seen something similar to this and thought that was the herald of the end of dog slavery. I’ve never tried one of those sonic torch things, but I have heard of them. I tried some silly glasses which which vibrated when you got near an object. All it did was set the fillings in my teeth off and I would certainly hope to be moving a bit faster than this device allowed for. Wasn’t very good at detecting pits in the ground with crocodiles at the bottom either. And I said I was going to be less grumpy and sarcastic this year:) Adrienne -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I wouldn't be happy using a £500 phone for the job even if it did; not when I can make my plastic one for about £20. But this is a common sighted perspective, who, not having to do this main streamm or way of life, has no real idea of the level of detail involved in the mobility process. College courses hardly fill the gap as they're taught by,... more sighted. Like I said, they meant well, but can't see it catching on. Sounds like another science degree student's final year project again. Rh. - Original Message - From: Ron Pelletier ron.pellet...@sympatico.ca To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:32 PM Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
It's amazing the things they've tried developing over the years to help us walk without a cane. Remember the Sonic Guide? On 1/9/14, RobH. bobs...@googlemail.com wrote: I wouldn't be happy using a £500 phone for the job even if it did; not when I can make my plastic one for about £20. But this is a common sighted perspective, who, not having to do this main streamm or way of life, has no real idea of the level of detail involved in the mobility process. College courses hardly fill the gap as they're taught by,... more sighted. Like I said, they meant well, but can't see it catching on. Sounds like another science degree student's final year project again. Rh. - Original Message - From: Ron Pelletier ron.pellet...@sympatico.ca To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:32 PM Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I remember the sonic torch of the mid 60s too; when iPhone was sci-fi and only appeared on Dan Dare in the Eagle comic, many of the glossy American comics, and Thunderbirds. - Original Message - From: John Diakogeorgiou jdiakoge2...@gmail.com To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 5:33 PM Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane It's amazing the things they've tried developing over the years to help us walk without a cane. Remember the Sonic Guide? On 1/9/14, RobH. bobs...@googlemail.com wrote: I wouldn't be happy using a £500 phone for the job even if it did; not when I can make my plastic one for about £20. But this is a common sighted perspective, who, not having to do this main streamm or way of life, has no real idea of the level of detail involved in the mobility process. College courses hardly fill the gap as they're taught by,... more sighted. Like I said, they meant well, but can't see it catching on. Sounds like another science degree student's final year project again. Rh. - Original Message - From: Ron Pelletier ron.pellet...@sympatico.ca To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:32 PM Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Sorry, a technological wonder will not do it for me! Give me my dog or a cane any time! The rest, finding bathrooms, shops, etc., the public will just continue to have to put up helping me with, even with all the bugs using it. reggie and Allegra On Jan 9, 2014, at 12:22 PM, RobH. bobs...@googlemail.com wrote: I wouldn't be happy using a £500 phone for the job even if it did; not when I can make my plastic one for about £20. But this is a common sighted perspective, who, not having to do this main streamm or way of life, has no real idea of the level of detail involved in the mobility process. College courses hardly fill the gap as they're taught by,... more sighted. Like I said, they meant well, but can't see it catching on. Sounds like another science degree student's final year project again. Rh. - Original Message - From: Ron Pelletier ron.pellet...@sympatico.ca To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:32 PM Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help
RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
I have this wonderful mental picture of the look on the face of the facilities manager where I used to work as we lay down this tape from the front door of the converted warehouse, up to the third floor, and through the incredible maze of offices and cubicles to my work unitsmile. Then there is the response from accounting when I explain that I cannot attend the crises meeting on the year end statements because I don't have a tape for accounting conference room 421. However, many a good idea has been known to come from some really bad ideas. Go MIT!! Wayne -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Regina Alvarado Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 11:55 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Sorry, a technological wonder will not do it for me! Give me my dog or a cane any time! The rest, finding bathrooms, shops, etc., the public will just continue to have to put up helping me with, even with all the bugs using it. reggie and Allegra On Jan 9, 2014, at 12:22 PM, RobH. bobs...@googlemail.com wrote: I wouldn't be happy using a £500 phone for the job even if it did; not when I can make my plastic one for about £20. But this is a common sighted perspective, who, not having to do this main streamm or way of life, has no real idea of the level of detail involved in the mobility process. College courses hardly fill the gap as they're taught by,... more sighted. Like I said, they meant well, but can't see it catching on. Sounds like another science degree student's final year project again. Rh. - Original Message - From: Ron Pelletier ron.pellet...@sympatico.ca To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:32 PM Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Also, an iPhone gives no protection against obstacles so it's a bit exaggerated to say it turns the phone into a virtual cane. Ron Danvers -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 11:49 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
If I understand wright, QR codes need to be put on the ground wherever the blind person wants to use this app? Sent from my iPhone On Jan 8, 2014, at 7:16 PM, Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net wrote: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post
RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
You could be right, but I don't know. It sounds like a Pen Friend with a longer range and the ability to vibrate. I imagine there would be some people who would not like pieces of tape stuck around their property. Some clever troublemakers might even remove the tape marker, or even lead you to the wrong restroom. Sometimes the world would be more manageable if we didn't have to share it with people. Oh well, I still think the app would have its uses. Gary -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ryan Mann Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 8:09 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane If I understand wright, QR codes need to be put on the ground wherever the blind person wants to use this app? Sent from my iPhone On Jan 8, 2014, at 7:16 PM, Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net wrote: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http
RE: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Interesting concept. However, I think iBeacons are the way of the future, they could probably do anything this system could do. -Original Message- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 4:17 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups VIPhone group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message
Re: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane
Sigh!... different I suppose. I can imagine so many of the public buildings sticking tape all over the place for us, and how easy it would be in a crowded public building trying to find the tape with this app. I'll not carry on, they mean well, I have a lotof issue with some of this Mean-Well, even if they do nearly tip me down stairs, push me into traffic and all that crap; they don't think, but they do mean well. So yes, interesting app; but I'll stick with the cane I already have, if that's all of it. Rh. Ps: Cadbury, the chocolate people in the UK, used this principle back in the 60s for their robot tractor units towing trains of trolleys around the site following the line on the ground. They also had a long protruding fender connected to a deadStop trip switch for folks who didn't get out the way despite the audio and visual warning of their approach. - Original Message - From: Gary Bowers gh...@swbell.net To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:16 AM Subject: App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane App Turns Smartphone Into Virtual Cane for the Blind MIT Technology Review January 8, 2014 A smartphone app inspired by Greek mythology has the potential to help the blind navigate indoors where GPS is unavailable. It's easy to imagine that being blind or visually impaired more or less excludes people from using smartphones or tablets. But nothing could be further from the truth. App stores have a dizzying variety of products that help the visually impaired access all kinds of information much more easily than would otherwise be possible. These apps offer audio books, match clothes by colour and even offer games played by hearing and touch alone. But the apps designed to give directions all suffer from the same drawbacks-audio directions are helpful but also screen out other audio such as conversations or the sound of traffic nearby. What's more, GPS does not work indoors so these kinds of systems are of little use in homes and other buildings Now Pierluigi Gallo and buddies at the University of Palermo in Italy have come up with an alternative which offers the blind navigational help without any form of audio distraction or the need for GPS. The approach is surprisingly simple and inspired by the famous Greek myth of Ariadne and Theseus. In the story, Theseus volunteers to kill the Minotaur which lives in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. To help him, Ariadne gives him a sword to kill the beast and a ball of thread to help him find his way out when the deed is done. Gallo and co take a similar approach with their prototype smartphone app called Arianna, the Italian name for Ariadne. (It's also short for pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception.) Their idea is to map out a route through a building by sticking coloured tape on the ground. The user then switches on the smartphone camera and points it towards the ground, while placing a finger on the screen. He or she then waves the camera back and forth, scanning the ground for the line. In the meantime, the app analyses the frames produced by the camera, picking out the line as it moves across the screen. When the line passes under the user's finger on the screen, the app causes the smartphone to vibrate, providing a tactile indication of where the line falls. Scanning the smartphone back and forth allows the user to follow the line in the same way as he or she might use a cane (see diagram above). At the same time, QR codes placed on the ground can give the user other information such as the location of places such as toilets, water coolers, shops and so on. Gallo and co say they tested their virtual cane in December at workshop in Boston organised by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and say it works well. And they plan significant upgrades in future. One idea is to use infrared lines that are not visible but can nevertheless be picked up by smartphone cameras which are sensitive to infrared. This infrared sensitivity is currently an under-used feature of most smartphones, they point out. And that raises the possibility of games and challenges that are equally accessible to the blind and sighted. All in all, this software could be a significant help to the blind and visually impaired. Hi-tech aids for this disability tend to be expensive because they have to be specially designed and manufactured for a relatively small group of people. But with smartphones widely available at affordable prices, much of the technology necessary for Ariana is available off-the-shelf. Gallo and co don't say when their new idea will be available as a commercial app or how much it will cost but it has the potential to be significantly cheaper than a bespoke device. So: useful, simple and potentially cheap. Not a bad combination for an app. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the VIPhone Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing
