
Making an iPad case for blind to “See” with touch - anandvc
https://youtu.be/8Au47gnXs0w
======
reaperducer
In the mid-80's I had a friend who was blind. He wanted to study computers, so
the state bought him an Amiga 1000 because it has built-in speech
capabilities.

But the accessory he seemed to use the most was a device that sat above the
keyboard that was an array of maybe 200x50 pins that moved in and out. He
could use it as a window to scroll around the display (I think it followed the
mouse pointer) and use his fingers to "see" the menu bars and controls, etc...
It was pretty cool. A little noisy, but not as noisy as a dot matrix printer
of the time.

He also had a self-contained DOS computer with no screen that had an input
keyboard like a stenographer's keyboard. It was about the size of a paperback
book, and the output was voice-only. I thought it was neat, but he didn't like
it because it was from Australia, and the combination of the crude voice
synthesis of the time, and a heavy Australian accent made it hard to
understand. I thought it was cool for the very same reason.

~~~
adinisom
FYI, the device above the keyboard is a refreshable braille display. The self-
contained computer was probably a braille notetaker... the keys are chorded
and six of them represent the six dots in a standard braille cell.

------
MaxLeiter
If you haven't seen Stuff Made Here's other videos, you're missing out. He
started 3 months ago and every video is good. My favorite is the robotic golf
club that adjusts as you swing to match any club:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Cv9fvajrc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Cv9fvajrc)

~~~
mandeepj
Thanks for sharing. The video also has a dose of humor

------
bobmaxup
Tactile displays are a thing

[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014193820...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141938207000613)

------
jojo2000
There are a lot of interesting developments in the haptics world, yet we have
to see something really interesting and different from vibrations to get to
the next level..

I tried to build a startup around haptic technology which could have changed
things in that space. It didn't work out as we couldn't get funded. Still, a
prototype is laying on a shelf somewhere...

------
nautical
This is an interesting idea but from the point of view of ergonomics how much
of an improvement is it from a simple stick ? I am finding it difficult to
image a blind person keeping hands in folded position all thorough the day.

I think a more practical approach might be a similar setup with a mobile phone
in pocket ( similar to her movie ? )

------
ngerrity
Interesting idea and an entertaining and informative video. Subscribed.

