[access-uk] Welcome Message

  • From: "tony sweeney" <deirton711@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:42:09 +0100

Jackie, 

I would like to,  in advance welcome you and Martin to Ireland. 

Trust the move will all go well for you. 

Regards 

Tony Sweeney in Dublin ROI
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jackie Cairns 
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 2:21 PM
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software


  Hi Barry

  I'm the one moving, from here to Maghera, Martin is from Northern Ireland.

  Once I get settled, I'll post about what we are doing in the access 
technology field, and you can make up your own minds and contact me if you 
wish.  I will be on list anyway sticking my pennies worth in where appropriate, 
(smile).


  Jackie Cairns
  Braille Specialist
  Email: jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Sight and Sound Technology Ltd
  Welton House North Wing
  Summerhouse Road
  Moulton Park
  Northampton
  NN3 6WD
  Tel: 01604 798024
  Mob: 07887 883815
  www.sightandsound.co.uk
  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Barry Toner
  Sent: 28 April 2010 14:11
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  Hi Jackie,

  That's magic.  I've emailed Glenn now.

  We'll have to meetup for a drink when you and Martin get over hear and 
settled.

  Where abouts are you guys moving to in N Ireland?

  Feel free to grab me offlist as I'd be interested in learning more about your 
business venture ideas as well!

  Cheers,
  Barry.



  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Jackie Cairns
  Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:33 PM
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  My advice Barry, and anyone else come to that, is to Email Glenn directly at 
glenn.tookey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  It is worth saying at this point that I am leaving Sight and Sound in exactly 
three weeks time to move to Northern Ireland to start a new life with Martin, 
and set up my own business venture.  I will, of course, still have close links 
with S and S, and be around on lists.

  So you all know as much as I do about LookTel, I have no privileged info or 
input whatsoever regarding testing or development, (smile).


  Jackie Cairns
  Braille Specialist
  Email: jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sight and Sound Technology Ltd 
Welton House North Wing Summerhouse Road Moulton Park Northampton
  NN3 6WD
  Tel: 01604 798024
  Mob: 07887 883815
  www.sightandsound.co.uk
  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Barry Toner
  Sent: 28 April 2010 12:53
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  Jackie,

  How would one go about getting involved with the feedback?

  I often find these testing processes are taken place within "who you know 
circles", typically in England.

  I'd certainly be interested and in-terms of a technical user would be 
qualified for testing with my academic and personal background.  So is there an 
application for testing this product to make sure all the bugs are ironed out 
or ... how does the selection process go?

  Cheers,
  Barry.

  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Jackie Cairns
  Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 9:36 AM
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  Having had a little play with Glenn's prototype yesterday, I can only compare 
taking pictures and positioning the camera with K-Reader.  So, on that basis, I 
find K-Reader is quite specific in how you hold the phone.  I found LookTel was 
less so, and I simply more or less waved the thing at the tins Glenn had 
positioned on his desk, and it told me what they were.
  Similarly, I didn't have to line the camera up over the 20 quid he was 
carefully guarding on his desk (smile).  I just waved the LookTel at it, and it 
told me it was £20.

  I think the best way forward with this product is to keep an open mind and 
see how it develops.  There is still a long way to go yet before it is 
available to purchase or subscribe to.  It's a very interesting concept, but it 
is still in beta, and we must try to keep a perspective on that at this time.  
It is crucial to have user input and feedback given it is being aimed at a 
specific market, so watch this space.


  Jackie Cairns
  Braille Specialist
  Email: jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sight and Sound Technology Ltd 
Welton House North Wing Summerhouse Road Moulton Park Northampton
  NN3 6WD
  Tel: 01604 798024
  Mob: 07887 883815
  www.sightandsound.co.uk
  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Glenn Tookey
  Sent: 28 April 2010 09:19
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  Hi Carol et al

  The issue is not the capacity of the phone, it is streaming real time video 
back to a base station - normally your home pc which is also online connected 
to the internet to allow the connection between the phone and the pc which 
holds the library. If you had a million pictures in your library then it would 
take a long time to search and find the image that it recognised, most people 
would have hundreds , then it would work quickly in real time.

  In terms of  recognition of place / shop fronts - it is not really impacted 
much by weather, the phone I am using has no flash and only a 3mb pixel camera, 
it is more about seeing an image that the phone / base station recognise as 
something that it has seen before and has been tagged with a description - 
training we call it. As George says, the more images you take, the better the 
recognition. For example, currency is best recognised when you take about 4 /5 
images - as the differences between UK notes is really down to the number on 
the note and the colour. It is not completely foolproof, taking pictures of 
shop fronts depends upon you arriving at a place that you have taken an image 
of before and the system recognising that view again. It works, but is less 
capable of a correct response than for example a tin of baked beans which you 
have imaged from a couple of views and would recognise next time by holding it 
in your hand.

  I have not been able to put it through its full paces yet, so we'll have to 
wait a few weeks to get it to full Beta and then we will be out and about 
getting feedback from the UK market. Remember, over 200 blind people in US have 
been part of the development programme, especially for the touch screen 
interface. I am keen to gain UK market feedback, but only when we have moved to 
a point that everything works reliably, nothing worse than demoing technology 
and finding it is not doing what it should.

  As for costs, we are regularly told that the capital cost of products for 
this industry are out of the reach of the normal person. A subscription model 
would remove upfront cost and should help more people gain access.
  Remember, this is not a stand alone product, it is a real time service - like 
your electricity or telephone service, it has to be up an running 24 X 7, it 
has to have support in place 24 X 7 - so it incurs costs from the service 
providers in real time to support the service.

  This is the first of new services and business models for a group of people 
who have traditionally had to be one step behind technology development.
  Hopefully over time with a service like this, this group of people can move 
alongside their sighted peers.


  Sermon over (Smile)

  Glenn




  -----Original Message-----
  From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
Carol Pearson
  Sent: 27 April 2010 23:14
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  So does that mean that the number of items you can store depends on the 
capacity of your phone to keep "real time video"?

  It's getting more interesting by the minute ... but who can justify those 
prices?

  --
  Carol
  carol.pearson29@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  On Twitter:  http://twitter.com/songbird49a

   ---- Original Message ----
  From: "Glenn Tookey" <Glenn.Tookey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 6:08 PM
  Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software

  > The answer is yes, once you have trained it to recognise something
  > then whenever it sees it again (and the phone is in recognition mode)
  > then it will announce the title that you have given to the object. It
  > does not matter where you are in the world as long as you have a data
  > connection back to your base station library it will give you the
  > information. The response is very quick.
  >
  > If you are in a place a long way from your base station and want to
  > train an object you can do it locally on the phone and attach a voice
  > tag from the mobile phone. This is transferred back to your base
  > station. Next time it sees the object, it announce it using your own
  > voice tag rather than the system voice that it uses for tags typed in
  > on the base station. So, you go into the hotel and tag your hotel door
  > number (remember it has to be something unique, every hotel door is
  > the same apart from the
  > number) and then  just have to know where to point it at the hotel
  > door to find out which is yours. You do not have to take a picture, it
  > is real time video, so you just move the phone about until it makes
  > the recognition.
  > Not foolpoof, but dammed clever really!
  >
  > Glenn
  >
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Amro Bilal
  > Sent: 27 April 2010 17:27
  > To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software
  >
  > Quite, George.
  >
  > A question about the product itself. I gathered from Glen's email that
  > LookTel can be trained to recognise places as well as objects. Is that
  > right? And if it is, then I can, say, take it with me overseas and
  > train it to recognise the number on my hotel room door? Have I got
  > this right or I'm fantasising now?
  >
  > If that level of recognition can be achieved with LookTel, and LookTel
  > can be used basically anywhere that has a mobile phone network
  > coverage, then IMHO this product has a lot of potential.
  >
  > Cheers,
  > Amro
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of George Bell
  > Sent: 27 April 2010 1:02 PM
  > To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software
  >
  > Quite simply because what may be right for the American market, is
  > very often not suitable for the U.K. market, even given the fact that
  > 200 blind users in America have been working with the developers for
  > the past year or so.
  >
  > And having now seen the LookTel myself, I can quite understand. This
  > is why Glen Tookey, quite understandably, is regarding the U.K.
  > version as an "Alpha", rather than "Beta". Many things do have to be
  > Anglicised.
  >
  > Suffice to say that when Glen and his team feel the product is ready
  > for the UK market, it will be revealed, and will not necessarily be
  > the final version either, thus allowing any changes potential users
  > may deem essential.
  >
  > All I will add is that what I saw was most impressive, to the point
  > where having kept out of the phone market, I'm sorely tempted.
  > It won't suit
  > everyone by any means. If you have a sophisticated phone now, the
  > extras offered may, or indeed may not, tempt you to upgrade.
  >
  > George.
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Peter Beasley
  > Sent: 27 April 2010 09:54
  > To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > Subject: [access-uk] Re: LookTel smartphone software
  >
  > Why are they only testing Alpha software in this country because
  > thee-mail I forwarded referred to Beta software.
  >
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  • » [access-uk] Welcome Message - tony sweeney