Making a car for blind drivers

Using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, Dennis Hong of the Virginia Tech Robotics Lab  is building a car for drivers who are blind. It’s not a “self-driving” car, he’s careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed, proximity and route — and drive independently.

Here is his presentation at TED Talks.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dennis_hong_making_a_car_for_blind_drivers.html

Verizon’s Samsung Haven Cell Phone

Samsung does it again.

Article by Maurie Hill of AI Squared. Selected by Lauren Tappan.

I recently had the opportunity to check out the Samsung Haven cell phone which is more conducive for someone who is blind or low vision.  This phone does not have Bluetooth, a camera, GPS, or the internet, so if that’s a deal breaker then it’s not the phone for you.  But even just little things make the Haven more blind and low vision friendly than the LG.  For example, there are voice commands for checking the time (“Say Time”) and battery level (“Check Battery”).  If you have an aging memory like me, you’ll like that when you flip it open, it tells you the time and the function of the major buttons, “left soft key Menu, right soft key Contacts”.

My 7-year-old daughter taught me how to text message on my LG but it’s pointless because I can only read incoming text messages by placing the phone under my CCTV, defeating the purpose of having a portable pocket phone.  But because the Haven speaks text messages aloud in addition to menus, alerts, and digits, all its features are fully functional for a person who is blind or low vision.

http://www.aisquared.com/blog/2011/03/verizon%E2%80%99s-samsung-haven/?utm_source=ZoomNews+from+Ai+Squared&utm_campaign=fc68cbf385-Blog+Summary+%2319&utm_medium=email

Kinect Game Controller for X-Box 360 aids the Visually Impaired

Kinect Used To Help the Visually Impaired
|  from the kitchen-sink-peripherals dept.
|  posted by Soulskill on Thursday March 24, @06:52 (Hardware Hacking)
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/03/24/068256/Kinect-Used-To-Help-the-Visually-Impaired?from=newsletter
+——————————————————————————————————–

Zothecula writes “The decidedly low tech white cane is still one of the
most commonly used tools to help the visually impaired get around without
bumping into things. Now, through their project called [0]NAVI
(Navigation Aids for the Visually Impaired), students at Germany’s
Universität Konstanz have leveraged the 3D imaging capabilities of
Microsoft’s Kinect camera to [1]detect objects that lie outside a cane’s
small radius and alert the wearer to the location of obstacles through
audio and vibro-tactile feedback.” In addition, Kinect is being used to “[2]manipulate
medical images during surgery without having to leave the operating room
and scrub back in,” and in [3]more artistic ways as well.

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/03/24/068256/Kinect-Used-To-Help-the-Visually-Impaired?from=newsletter#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://hci.uni-konstanz.de/blog/2011/03/15/navi/?lang=en
1. http://www.gizmag.com/kinect-as-a-set-of-eyes/18179/
2. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sunnybrook-Hospital-Adapts-Kinect-for-In-Surgery-Image-Manipulation-190403.shtml
3. http://hackaday.com/2011/03/23/real-time-wireframe-video-effect-overlay-with-kinect/

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect

 

NFB Convention for North Carolina

This item posted by Lauren Tappan.

The next state wide yearly NFB NC Convention will be in Winston Salem, Sept 9-11. There will be workshops and vendors at this convention. Contact Gary Ray in Asheville, NC for more Info.

Gary H. Ray, President
18 Sandon Drive
Asheville, North Carolina 28804
NFB of NC: 828-505-0299
E-mail: ghraynfbofnc@charter.net
Mailing List Server: http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbofnc
Web site: http://www.nfbofnc.org/

July 3-July 8, 2011: National Convention
Each year the National Federation of the Blind holds its national convention. It is traditionally the largest disability conference of its kind- more than 3,000 blind people participate from across the United States. This year’s convention will be held in Orlando, Florida, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.  Make your room reservation now by calling (866) 996-6338. Preregistration is also now open, so visit www.nfb.org/registration to register for convention and secure your spot at the banquet!

Direction-Finding Compass for Blind and Low Vision

It is not everyday you come across an outdoor/wilderness gadget for the handicapped by way of blindness and low vison. This is the #16B Braille compass made by Brunton for the blind and low vison folk to tell what direction they are headed and to tell what direction they may want to be going.

Yes, it is LOW tech, no batteries or solar panels to recharge. Sometimes the easiest methods are  the best methods. This can also be used at night if you find your self lost away from camp in the dark or caught by an earlier sunset than you thought would be upon you.

The metal dial is affected by steel/magnetic objects just like any compass dial would be. This thing is built like a tank. I have stepped on it, threw it in a paved parking lot and even had a Chevy Malibu drive over it. ZERO damage (minor scratches on the case).

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?15195-Direction-Finding-for-Blind-amp-Low-Vision

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=89

We Cannot See Most Things

While some of us lament the loss of our sight, John Llyod lists the things that none of us can see.

Nature’s mysteries meet tack-sharp wit in this hilarious, 10-minute mix of quips and fun lessons, as comedian, writer and TV man John Lloyd plucks at the substance of several things not seen.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_lloyd_inventories_the_invisible.html

Scientists Create Artificial Nerve Cell Connections with Plastic Beads

In a breakthrough study, scientists have successfully created nerve cell connections with the help of artificial substances, a major advance, which the researchers say, will help make nerve cell repair possible.

Scientists from Montreal NeurologicaI Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) and McGill University created the artificial nerve cell connections using plastic beads coated with a substance that encourages adhesion, and attracts nerve cells.

“Many therapies, most still in the conceptual stage, are aimed at restoring the connection between the nerve cell and the severed nerve fibres that innervate a target tissue, typically muscle,” said Dr. David Colman, Director of The Neuro and principal investigator in the study.

“Traditional approaches to therapies would require the re-growth of a severed nerve fibre a distance of up to one meter in order to potentially restore function.

“The approach we are using however bypasses the need to force nerve cells to artificially grow these long distances, and eliminates the demand for two neurons to make a synapse, both of which are considerable obstacles to neuronal repair in a damaged system,” he added.

The novel approach will help healthy nerve cells form functional contacts with artificial substrates in order to create a paradigm that can be adapted to model systems in which neurons are damaged.

It will be combined with strategies to encourage the outgrowth of damaged neuronal branches through which these connections, or synapses, are formed.

The synapses generated in this study are virtually identical to their natural counterparts except the ‘receiving’ side of the synapse is an artificial plastic rather than another nerve cell or the target tissue itself.

“Even though components of synapses have been induced in similar earlier studies, their functionality was not proven. In order to assess function – that is transmission of a signal from the synapse, we stimulated the nerve cells with electricity, sending the signal, an action potential, to the synapse.

“By artificially stimulating nerve cells in the presence of dyes, we could see that transmission had taken place as the dyes were taken up by the synapses.

“We believe that within the next five years we will have a fully functional device that will be able to directly convey natural nerve cell signals from the nerve cell itself to an artificial matrix containing a mini-computer that will communicate wirelessly with target tissues,” Colman added.

The study appears in Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)

http://trak.in/news/scientists-create-artificial-nerve-cell-connections-with-plastic-beads/11660/

Veterans Administration Blind Rehab Centers

The VA provides rehabilitation programs targeting low vision and blind veterans, and is also aggressively pursuing innovative service delivery models.  The challenge of helping these low vision and blind veterans has greatly increased, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has made a commitment to provide world-class rehabilitation training by enhancing services, improving access to care and increasing patient satisfaction for veterans with visual impairments.

The current estimated number of legally blind veterans in the United States is more than 160,000 (De l’Aune, 2002). Currently, over 35,000 veterans have enrolled for VA care. This number is expected to grow in the coming years as a result of aging of the veteran population, because the most prevalent causes of legal blindness are age-related.

Loss of sight affects each person differently and may hinder overall functioning, including employment, recreation, communication, and social, and family life. To help the veteran cope with these problems the Department of Veterans Affairs established the Blind Rehabilitation Service to provide a wide variety of rehabilitation programs and services to veterans who are blind. The rehabilitation program is designed to improve quality of life for veterans who are blind or severely visually impaired through the development and enhancement of skills and capabilities needed for personal independence, adjustment, and successful reintegration into the community and family environment. Elements of the blind rehabilitation program include: 10 Blind Rehabilitation Centers, Visual Impairment Services Teams (VIST) and VIST Coordinators located at many VA Medical Centers and VA Outpatient Clinics, Blind Rehabilitation Outpatient Specialist (BROS), National Consultants, and a Computer Access Training (CAT) Program. In addition, there are a variety of low vision services and blind rehabilitation programs within the Department of Veterans Affairs system including: Visual Impairment Services Outpatient Rehabilitation (VISOR) programs, Visual Impairment Centers to Optimize Remaining Sight (VICTORS) programs, Intermediate Low Vision Clinics, Advanced Ambulatory Low Vision Clinics and Advanced Hoptel Outpatient Blind Rehabilitation Programs. The VA Blind Rehabilitation Service is committed to a continuum of care model that extends from the veteran’s home environment to the local VA care site and regionally-based inpatient training programs encompassing an array of alternative rehabilitative services. The following will describe in detail the programs offered in Blind Rehabilitation Service, as well as low vision services available at local VA Medical Centers and Outpatient Clinics.

Nearest Blind Rehabilitation Centers

Augusta  Blind Rehabilitation Center
VA Medical  Center
1 Freedom Way
Augusta  , Georgia 30904-6285
(706) 733-0188

Southeastern Blind  Rehabilitation Center
VA Medical  Center
700 South 19th Street
Birmingham  , AL 35233
(205) 933-8101

West Palm Beach Blind  Rehabilitation Center
VA Medical  Center
7305 N. Military Trail
West Palm Beach , FL 33410-6400
Phone: (561) 422-8425

http://www1.va.gov/blindrehab/page.cfm?pg=4

Augusta Blind Rehabilitation Center

VA Medical Center

1 Freedom Way

Augusta , Georgia 30904-6285

(706) 733-0188

Southeastern Blind Rehabilitation Center

VA Medical Center

700 South 19th Street

Birmingham , AL 35233

(205) 933-8101

West Palm Beach Blind Rehabilitation Center

VA Medical Center

7305 N. Military Trail

West Palm Beach , FL 33410-6400

Phone: (561) 422-8425