hi there amro and all it's all very interesting though but, to me my greatest
difficulty with getting around now a" days is the parked cars on pavements.
strangely my new guide dog has not been very well of late they cannot find out
really why she now has swollen ears but, i just admire any blind person who
does a lot of mobillity with a cane to me and maybe i'm getting too old the
actual stress of it all takes a lot out of me now and though i can echo sound
very well it's so difficult. one cannot give in but anything that comes out
which would be a help would always be of interest to me and many of us on the
list. last saturday i played chess for leeds against bradford at bradford and
both leeds and bradford rail stations were so very very busy you would be
amazing at the stuff in the way when trying to get through the station it's
just truly remarkable. i just hope soon something can be found to make things
easier for us.
----- Original Message -----
From: Amro Bilal <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wednesday, 9 March 2016 8.52 pm
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Toyota develops wearable device for blind people--BBC
News
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
They would be much better investing in self-driving car projects such as the
Google car. A project that is closer to home for them as it were. This is
something I would call life changing if/when it becomes a reality. I'm
somewhat fed up with these projects that involve a camera 6 face recognition
6 OCR which keep popping up every couple of months as it seems, and without
any thing coming out of them.
Amro
From: Gordon Keen
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2016 10.57 AM
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Toyota develops wearable device for blind people--BBC
News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35753978
Toyota develops wearable device for blind people
Toyota Toyota demonstrated how the device could work in a video posted
online
Toyota is developing a wearable device to help give blind and visually
impaired people greater mobility, the manufacturer has said.
The gadget is worn on the shoulders and uses cameras to recognise
surroundings, such as signs, then directs the wearer with speakers and
vibration motors.
Details were released this week, though no release date has been set.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) called it an exciting
development.
The device has been produced by developers working on Project Blaid. They
said they were working on plans to introduce mapping, object identification
and facial recognition technologies as well.
It comes after Microsoft said it had designed a headset that uses location
and navigation data with a network of information beacons in urban locations
to talk visually impaired people around cities.
Robin Spinks, senior strategy manager at the RNIB, told the BBC: ";This is a
very exciting development within the rapidly growing field of wearable
assistive technology. Mobility is at the heart of so much in our society and
a device like Blaid could open up limitless possibilities for millions of
blind and partially sighted people."
'Mobility'
In an announcement made this week, Toyota said the device was not meant to
replace those aids currently available to blind and visually impaired people,
but to "help fill the gaps left by canes, dogs and basic GPS devices by
providing users with more information about their surroundings".
In a video posted online, it showed how the device could be used to
distinguish between one door marked gentlemen's toilet and another marked
exit. Toyota said it was primarily intended to help users navigate indoors.
WATCH: Rory Cellan-Jones puts Microsoft's headset to the test
"Project Blaid is one example of how Toyota is leading the way to the future
of mobility, when getting around will be about more than just cars," said
Toyota executive Simon Nagata. "We want to extend the freedom of mobility for
all, no matter their circumstance, location or ability."
The firm said that, as part of the project--which is not linked to the
manufacture of cars for which it is better known--it was asking employees to
submit videos of common indoor landmarks that developers could use to teach
the device to recognise them.