@ -372,6 +383,78 @@ I’m not sure if this one is useful at all, I just know I like my syntax highli
I will keep writing them down somewhere here….
It really depends on the target audience as Odilia is targeted to <em>already</em> technical people and NVDA is primary used by Windows users—this is to say that an NVDA users will, on average, be less technical than an Odilia user.</p>
<h2id="11-addonadapter-for-white-canes">11. Addon/Adapter for white canes</h2>
<p>Technological white canes do exist, but they are specialty devices with huge, thick tops and handles.
Essentially the idea is to somehow fit all that tech into a smaller and smaller device so that it can eventually be sold as an assembly that a blind individual can put together themselves.
This will work with their existing cane, instead of requiring a speciality device.
There must be a way to embed a tiny microcontroller to at least handle sensor data into a bunch of pin outs (preferably, analog).
This would enable a secondary device to <em>do</em> things with that data, like send it to a phone app, or output as some kind of audio via a headphone jack.
Even if it requires a small additional box to handle the larger device (the one the actually processes the information), this would be significantly cheaper than purchasing a new cane or needing specialized repair services.
The kit will include some kind of serial cable which can be used to connect to the pieces of tech specifically.
This will allow updating of the software/firmware (potentially, updating the software for an ATMega* is extremely difficult without additional hardware; maybe impossible; we’re looking to reduce the size as much as possible.</p>
<h3id="111-genericize">11.1 Genericize</h3>
<p>Genericization (as I like to call it), is trying to use the most generic possible information, program, product, etc. and to improve upon that instead of trying to create something entirely new from scratch.
This is something which seems to be missing in many accessibility applications;
that said, it is somewhat used for example with screenreaders:
screenreaders allow blind individuals to browse the internet and read documents on the computer in a somewhat comparable way to their sighted counterparts.
Applying this principle to white canes, we want to improve upon the existing primitive long white stick to make it more functional with modern technology.
Always optional, always have many standard ways to use it (USB, audio jack, generic serial port if needed).
This is related to the two UNIX principles “always use text as it is a universal interface” and “do one thing and do it well”; in other words:
do not recreate the cane; it is more or less perfect the way it is!
Instead, offer an <em>optional</em> and <em>improved</em> experience on top of using a cane.</p>
<p>Of course, all software, hardware, layout diagrams, etc. will be open to the public, available as embosser files, etc. to enable blind tech nerds to do whatever they want with it.
If one person has a use for some feature, somebody else probably also does.</p>
<p>Not sure if this is possible with current technology, but if it is, this could be worth something:
what if you could listen for the loudest decibel rating in a 360° ring around the outer edge of a cane and attempt to “lock on” to the sound, then use positional audio (either via iOS’s API or some more advanced open-source audio interface) continue to make a beep noise when getting closer/looking the correct direction.</p>
<p>I understand that this is not really <em>that</em> useful all the time because anything which makes noise, usually will continue to make noise and you can just go up to it with your human ears.
It’s more like a “save” button for audio position.
Would need to use probably some inferred sensors to detect distance, and obviously this would only work with direct line-of-sight targets.</p>
<p>Again, this may be already outdone by the iPhone and Android phone already available to us in our pockets, but hear me out:
What if you only had to walk a route once to know where to go next time?</p>
<p>I know this would likely create a rift between the “traditional” and “new age” approach almost instantly.
The traditionalist would argue, with some merit, that the inability to navigate without a charged battery or your specific cane could <em>decrease</em> independence in those who use it.
The new agers would argue, also with some merit, that this enables somebody to walk a blind student through a few major routes on a university campus or downtown core (for example) only once, then (with a combination of high-end GPS, barometers, accesslerometers (TODO), etc.) the cane itself could record your route.</p>
<p>It could have messages like left and right turns at near exact places, “stairs/escalator ahead, going up” messages.
Maybe even identification of material depending on how complete our dataset is and if the cane user is using a two-point-touch system or rolling the cane back and forth across the surface.
The most useful case, I think, is being able to upload your (anonymous) routes to a service which can store all these routes on a public database.
Obviously, you would need some kind of anonymization feature to stop people from getting your address or whatever.
Or, depending on the verbosity of the data, a way to “smooth out” the exact cane movements so as not to identify the cane holder.</p>
<p>Having a centralized place to store these maps (for the public, all the data should be useable and clonable) could potentially make it so there is only one blind student who needs to navigate the campus a few times and then be able to share that data with everyone else.</p>
<h4id="extensions">Extensions</h4>
<p>Perhaps it could even be extended with such thinks like “there is a sign which says XYZ here or ABC there”?
This to me is even more powerful!
A partially-sighted white-cane user (or a blind user and a guide) could map all signs, hallway intersections, meeting points, etc. into the map.
The details of this, I am not sure of;
perhaps to start off there is just an additional button available which can do something like “save landmark” or some such thing.
Then, once opened on a computer (or mobile app?) you could add information to each point like “sign says XYZ” or “corner of Main St. and 1st Ave”.
Are current GPS/barometer/accesselrometer, etc. accurate enough to do this?</p>
<p>This would also make searching for a “new route” very efficient, if we’re able to match across already published routes.
Then, we are able to connect “Main St. & Main Ave. to Train Station” and “Train Station to grocery store” routes together into one continuous route.
I could see issues with this due to possible differences in where the routes <em>exactly</em> start and end.
Perhaps this is too advanced and is better suited to a mobile app and not a cane extension (as in, only use sensors on the cane, do not have any additional functionality beyond that).
I think the possibilities here are interesting;
perhaps there is the possibility of using something like this just inside university campuses and malls.
I could understand if this wouldn’t beat Google maps most times;
that said, it’s a route another white-cane user has <em>exactly</em> taken before, so it is gaurenteed to work unless something in the environment has changed since then. // TODO</p>
<p>Obviously there are a lot of other things to consider like user privacy and how to avoid the sensor signals from the cane from getting either lost, intercepted, modified, etc.
Security is <em>always</em> a concern, no matter how remote the possibility is of some kind of attack.</p>
@ -259,4 +259,77 @@ I bet there are a TON of uses for vertical integration through NVDA/Odilia plugi
I will keep writing them down somewhere here....
It really depends on the target audience as Odilia is targeted to *already* technical people and NVDA is primary used by Windows users---this is to say that an NVDA users will, on average, be less technical than an Odilia user.
## 11. Addon/Adapter for white canes
UPDATE: Although not ideal in all ways, there is something very similar to this already on the market called [We Walk](https://wewalk.io/).
Technological white canes do exist, but they are specialty devices with huge, thick tops and handles.
Essentially the idea is to somehow fit all that tech into a smaller and smaller device so that it can eventually be sold as an assembly that a blind individual can put together themselves.
This will work with their existing cane, instead of requiring a speciality device.
There must be a way to embed a tiny microcontroller to at least handle sensor data into a bunch of pin outs (preferably, analog).
This would enable a secondary device to *do* things with that data, like send it to a phone app, or output as some kind of audio via a headphone jack.
Even if it requires a small additional box to handle the larger device (the one the actually processes the information), this would be significantly cheaper than purchasing a new cane or needing specialized repair services.
The kit will include some kind of serial cable which can be used to connect to the pieces of tech specifically.
This will allow updating of the software/firmware (potentially, updating the software for an ATMega\* is extremely difficult without additional hardware; maybe impossible; we're looking to reduce the size as much as possible.
### 11.1 Genericize
Genericization (as I like to call it), is trying to use the most generic possible information, program, product, etc. and to improve upon that instead of trying to create something entirely new from scratch.
This is something which seems to be missing in many accessibility applications;
that said, it is somewhat used for example with screenreaders:
screenreaders allow blind individuals to browse the internet and read documents on the computer in a somewhat comparable way to their sighted counterparts.
Applying this principle to white canes, we want to improve upon the existing primitive long white stick to make it more functional with modern technology.
Always optional, always have many standard ways to use it (USB, audio jack, generic serial port if needed).
This is related to the two UNIX principles "always use text as it is a universal interface" and "do one thing and do it well"; in other words:
do not recreate the cane; it is more or less perfect the way it is!
Instead, offer an *optional* and *improved* experience on top of using a cane.
Of course, all software, hardware, layout diagrams, etc. will be open to the public, available as embosser files, etc. to enable blind tech nerds to do whatever they want with it.
If one person has a use for some feature, somebody else probably also does.
## 11.2 Speaker Lock-On
Not sure if this is possible with current technology, but if it is, this could be worth something:
what if you could listen for the loudest decibel rating in a 360° ring around the outer edge of a cane and attempt to "lock on" to the sound, then use positional audio (either via iOS's API or some more advanced open-source audio interface) continue to make a beep noise when getting closer/looking the correct direction.
I understand that this is not really *that* useful all the time because anything which makes noise, usually will continue to make noise and you can just go up to it with your human ears.
It's more like a "save" button for audio position.
Would need to use probably some inferred sensors to detect distance, and obviously this would only work with direct line-of-sight targets.
### 11.3 Advanced GPS, integrated
Again, this may be already outdone by the iPhone and Android phone already available to us in our pockets, but hear me out:
What if you only had to walk a route once to know where to go next time?
I know this would likely create a rift between the "traditional" and "new age" approach almost instantly.
The traditionalist would argue, with some merit, that the inability to navigate without a charged battery or your specific cane could *decrease* independence in those who use it.
The new agers would argue, also with some merit, that this enables somebody to walk a blind student through a few major routes on a university campus or downtown core (for example) only once, then (with a combination of high-end GPS, barometers, accesslerometers (TODO), etc.) the cane itself could record your route.
It could have messages like left and right turns at near exact places, "stairs/escalator ahead, going up" messages.
Maybe even identification of material depending on how complete our dataset is and if the cane user is using a two-point-touch system or rolling the cane back and forth across the surface.
The most useful case, I think, is being able to upload your (anonymous) routes to a service which can store all these routes on a public database.
Obviously, you would need some kind of anonymization feature to stop people from getting your address or whatever.
Or, depending on the verbosity of the data, a way to "smooth out" the exact cane movements so as not to identify the cane holder.
Having a centralized place to store these maps (for the public, all the data should be useable and clonable) could potentially make it so there is only one blind student who needs to navigate the campus a few times and then be able to share that data with everyone else.
#### Extensions
Perhaps it could even be extended with such thinks like "there is a sign which says XYZ here or ABC there"?
This to me is even more powerful!
A partially-sighted white-cane user (or a blind user and a guide) could map all signs, hallway intersections, meeting points, etc. into the map.
The details of this, I am not sure of;
perhaps to start off there is just an additional button available which can do something like "save landmark" or some such thing.
Then, once opened on a computer (or mobile app?) you could add information to each point like "sign says XYZ" or "corner of Main St. and 1st Ave".
Are current GPS/barometer/accesselrometer, etc. accurate enough to do this?
This would also make searching for a "new route" very efficient, if we're able to match across already published routes.
Then, we are able to connect "Main St. & Main Ave. to Train Station" and "Train Station to grocery store" routes together into one continuous route.
I could see issues with this due to possible differences in where the routes *exactly* start and end.
Perhaps this is too advanced and is better suited to a mobile app and not a cane extension (as in, only use sensors on the cane, do not have any additional functionality beyond that).
I think the possibilities here are interesting;
perhaps there is the possibility of using something like this just inside university campuses and malls.
I could understand if this wouldn't beat Google maps most times;
that said, it's a route another white-cane user has *exactly* taken before, so it is gaurenteed to work unless something in the environment has changed since then. // TODO
Obviously there are a lot of other things to consider like user privacy and how to avoid the sensor signals from the cane from getting either lost, intercepted, modified, etc.
Security is *always* a concern, no matter how remote the possibility is of some kind of attack.
Tait Hoyem
2 years ago