[access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
- From: "Darren Brewer" <darren.m.brewer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:38:21 +0100
Not possible.
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Beasley
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 5:13 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
I was talking about when science afords the opportunity of being able to
transmit signals directly to the brain without the need for any kind of surgery.
----- Original Message -----
From: Darren Brewer
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 3:46 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Hi
The idea of putting cameras in a blind persons eyes has been around for
many decades and has only recently become a real possibility because of CCD
technology. Unfortunately it is still a long way from being useful to the point
at which it can restore what I would call normal vision. Even with a CCD with
a resolution of 100 mega pixels you would still have the almost impossible task
of interfacing a piece of silicon to the organic material that constructs the
optic nerve. The optic nerve is really just an extension of the visual cortex.
It's like a ribbon cable in your computer, only instead of having maybe 24
connections it has millions. I can't imagine any surgical technique whereby a
surgeon would be able to make a million connections. That's only half the
problem as the connections have to be made in the right order or the picture
the cortex would perceive would be all mixed up. The best a blind person can
hope for is to see crude shadows and shapes. The only way a blind person will
have their sight restored to a reasonable level is through genetic engineering.
Nature will take care of the rest.
Darren.
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry Toner
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 2:46 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Hi,
20years & the technology will be there. According to my eye consultant.
The surgical skills have been there for some time. We’re just waiting on
colour & resolution on digital cameras catching up.
Regards,
Barry.
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Peter Beasley
Sent: 18 July 2012 14:36
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
That is correct, but I think my idea would be better if and when it can
be developed. I don't think it will be in our lifetime though.
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry Toner
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 2:24 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Hi,
The Brainport does something like this but transmits the images to the
tongue which acts as the eye.
http://vision.wicab.com/technology/
Regards,
Barry.
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Peter Beasley
Sent: 18 July 2012 14:08
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
The ideal solution would be that if someone could design a pair of
glasses that could transfer images directly to thevisual cortex of the brain.
----- Original Message -----
From: Darren Brewer
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:43 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Hi Ibrahim
lol. Oh dear I wonder how many more puns can we get out of this
subject.
Seriously though I wish him all the best with his project. It's
certainly innovative and the more people who think of solutions to our
navigation problems the better.
I can see that the turn by turn navigation variant he is developing
would be relatively straightforward to implement. However I cannot understand
how a sonar/ultrasonic technology will be able to discriminate between open
drain covers or steps, or even for that matter detect them in the first place.
I imagine The computation required would be quite intensive. I know from
research I did after leaving university that determining depth or distance
within a stereo image is very difficult to determine with accuracy and I just
can't see how it would be done with sound. It will be interesting to follow his
progress and see if anything becomes commercially available.
Cheers
Darren.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 1:26 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Hi Darren.
Well, whether it is Shoe or not, the economist article checks out
and it would make a change from the seemingly endless line of braille displays,
mobile phones and other been there done that stuff that’s coming out seemingly
every year. For someone to develop something that is of practical use not to
mention novel would be marvellous if he puts his soul in to the effort.
All the best, Ibrahim.
From: Darren Brewer
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:33 AM
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Sounds too good to be shoe
Darren.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 5:38 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Now this is real inuvation! enjoy.
Footwear for the Blind: Bluetooth shoes
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/07/footwear-blind
JUL 14 2012, 9:09 by A.A.K. ~ Mumbai
MORE than 285 million people across the globe suffer from visual
impairment.
Yet the tools to assist the blind in walking have changed little
since the 1920s, when their canes started being painted white to make other
pedestrians more aware of their presence. The gizmos that do exist have tended
to be expensive and clunky, and have not caught on. This may change if Anirudh
Sharma, a 24-year-old computer engineer from Hyderabad, a city in the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh, has his way.
His innovation, dubbed "Le Chal" ("take me along" in Hindi) pairs
a smartphone app with a small actuator sewn inside the sole of one shoe via
Bluetooth. The user tells the phone his desired destination, which is
translated into electronic commands using voice-recognition software. The app,
which can be programmed to run in the background, fetches the local map of the
area. The phone's Global Positioning System (GPS) tracks the person's location
in real-time, telling the actuator to vibrate when it is time to turn. The side
of the shoe where the vibration is felt indicates which way to go. Mr Sharma
opted for a vibrating signal because for the blind, who rely on their sense of
hearing to make sense of the environment, audio feedback is a distraction.
The system does not require constant internet access. Once
downloaded, maps can be stored locally and combined with GPS data. The app uses
Open Street Maps (OSM), an open-source rival to Google Maps. OSM allows
editing, a helpful feature in updating rapidly changing urban landscapes. A
speed-dial function can rapidly retrieve the most frequently visited routes.
The shoe pod is also equipped with an obstacle-detection
mechanism. A sensor in the tip of the shoe, devised by Mr Sharma's business
partner, Krispian Lawrence, scans the vicinity using sonar, which emits
ultrasounds that bounce off obstacles, indicating their presence. The shoe sets
off a distinct pattern of vibrations to alert the person of any obstruction and
guides him around it.
For now, the footwear, being tested at the L.V. Prasad Eye
Institute, one of India's biggest eye-health facilities, may be most useful in
areas with little or no traffic, such as quiet residential streets or parks.
The challenge, Mr Lawrence says, is to get the algorithm to tell an uncovered
manhole from a flight of stairs, but he expects it to be able to do so in due
course. Dealing with moving obstacles like cars may take longer, though the
pair are working on ways to alert wearers not just about cars' presence, but
also their speed.
To ensure that the final product resembles a regular shoe,
fashion technologists are being consulted to help with ergonomics and design.
Mr Sharma and Mr Lawrence, who started a company called Ducere
Technologies to commercialise their idea, say their high-tech brogues should
not cost more than an ordinary, stylish pair. Many of the world's visually
impaired will like the sound of that.
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