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"Blinput" is a concept intended to make the lives of the visually impaired that little bit easier.
Bearing something of a resemblance to Gordon Bell's legendary, lifelog pendant-cam, this concept harnesses the capabilities of the smartphone to allow the user to engage with an increasingly networked world. Blinput uses the phone camera to interpret the user's surroundings—as well as certain hand gestures, providing something of a navigation interface.
Developer Erik Hals, a recent Edinburgh College of Art graduate, had originally envisioned a new smart product to address the needs of the blind, but soon found that the network and camera technologies in the already widely available, and relatively cheap, smartphone were more than enough to build a solution around.
Blinput, still at a conceptual level, may need some work and testing—we're wondering, for example, how comfortable a visually impaired user would be in impairing an otherwise healthy sense of hearing with headphones—but you've got to give credit to Erik for an undergraduate project well presented with the video below.
Comments
Just to say...Erik got in touch to mention:
"bone conducting headphones wouldn't directly impair hearing, as they sit on the skullbone rather than inside the ear"
Sir, we were wrong to doubt you.
This is a brilliant concept!
I do have a few issues with several invasive aspects of the system. Find a balance and I think this will go far.
Instead of for the blind... for people who travel...
Talk to some techies, make this for translation in foreign countries... could go to market quickly and be very helpful.
One man's thought...
John
Nice presentation, good job!
Just am wondering if canceling out surrounding sound is a good idea. See blind don't have visual input and mostly make use of sound and touch to navigate.
Putting a headphone on there ears that mutes part of the surrounding sound makes them even more "blind".
In the video speech and bleeps are used for communication, maybe more natural sounds can be used for a more natural approach.
(for example: you can hear if a car door is closed well, just by listening to sound it makes when you close it.)
Hi Erik,
I am a Visually Impaired person myself and find this concept very interesting.
I live within the Glasgow area, It may be an idea to have a prototype for VI and totally blind users to use (or have a focus group etc) to see their views and if a person with loss of vision would find it useful.
There are a group of people who may miss out, people who are hard of hearing and have a visual impairment, it would be good to maybe include these types of people in focus group in order to develop technology further.
Well done and keep up the good work!