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Touch Sight camera for the blind displays photos using Braille
Gadgets for the visually impaired are nothing new, but the Touch Sight camera is one of the most unique we've seen. Designed to be held against the forehead, the camera doesn't have an LCD, but instead displays a three-dimensional representation of the image on a built-in Braille screen and records three seconds of audio to assist users in locating and managing shots. Just a concept for now, but let's hope it makes it to market -- it seems like it'd be a fun toy for the sighted as well.
Friday Video: Rock Band in the blind
With Rock Band coming out shortly, we know some of you are still excited for the game, despite its shortcomings. But, that isn't the topic of discussion here, the topic of discussion is OHMYGOD 5 STARS WITH NO TV ON?! Ahem, sorry -- can you believe that he just got 5 stars on Molly Hatchet's "Flirtin' With Disaster" with the TV off? That's pretty darn good, if you ask us.Now if this dude got together with the Guitar Hero virtuosos, he could be in the greatest fake band in the universe.See also: Rock Band drum kit mod allows disabled gamers to get in on the action%Gallery-19119% Each week, our Friday Video segment takes a look at the gaming landscape online and brings forth an interesting video that (hopefully) gets the dialog started. Our previous week's coverage featured a video of Samus as a playable character in the Activision game, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
New PC game accessible to blind players, uses Wiimote
AudiOdyssey is the work of the folks at MIT's GAMBIT Game Lab, and is designed to be playable for both visually-impaired and sighted users. It's not alone in this respect -- in 2006, Nintendo released Soundvoyager for the GBA in Japan, a title that featured exclusively sound-based gameplay -- but AudiOdyssey is the first Wiimote-compatible title to be designed with both groups in mind.The aim is straightforward enough: as questionably coiffured DJ Vinyl Scorcher, your task is to keep a nightclub dancing by swinging the Wii Remote to the beat. Keep up well, and you'll be allowed to freestyle, but getting the crowd overly excited isn't advised, as patrons are likely to bump into your wheels of steel, messing up your tracks.Needless to say, it's heartening to see any game catering to visually-impaired gamers -- if AudiOdyssey enjoys some success, it may not be the last of its kind. Make the jump for footage of the game in action.%Gallery-24343%
Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight
We've seen initiatives all over the globe created in an attempt to beat blindness, but researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly confident that their development is within a few years of being able to "restore partial sight to people who have slowly gone blind because of degenerative diseases of the retina." The bio-electronic implant, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, would actually sit behind the retina at the back of the eyeball, and images would be transmitted to the brain "via a connector the width of a human hair." As it stands, an FDA grant application is already in the works, and the scientists are hoping to have it implanted in an animal as early as this summer. Still, the solution only works for folks who "were once able to see and have partially intact optic nerve cells" -- those who were blind from birth or suffer from glaucoma are unfortunately ineligible for the procedure.[Thanks, Rusty]
Tactile Wand concept aims to aid the visually impaired
We've seen plenty of gadgets designed to aid the visually impaired, but none quite like this so-called "Tactile Wand" concept from designer Jin Woo Han, who's no stranger to nifty concept devices. Obviously taking a few cues from another familiar "wand," this would-be device employs a sensor on the front to determine the distance to the object it's pointed at, which gets relayed to the user in the form of varying levels of vibration. Needless to say, there's no indication of it actually moving beyond the concept stage, but it certainly doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility.[Via OhGizmo]
Zen concept PC caters to visually impaired
There's hardly a shortage of pocketable devices for the blind, but the Zen is lookin' out for the visually impaired who crave a more full-fledged computing experience. Essentially, the Sandbox PC (hardware) and Zen (operating system) would team up to "create a computing environment that could be used with eyes closed." More specifically, it would utilize an Active Surface for displaying text in Braille and producing images, windows and icons that could be felt. No word on whether this contraption would handle other tasks such as reading one's e-mail aloud or enabling the blind to still participate in Hot or Not, but nevertheless, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Balancing crowd control
Relmstein has an interesting commentary up about crowd control in World of Warcraft, and how balancing it is imperative to get PvP done right. It used to be that fear was the main problem, but now that fear has been nerfed and balanced with so many other abilities, it's just crowd control in general that has become the main issue. Instead of Warlocks and Mages ruling the roost with Fear and Polymorph, almost every class has picked up their own little methods of stopping other players in their tracks momentarily.And thus, says Relmstein, the quicker abilities are becoming more powerful. Blind and Cyclone are the two main abilities he mentions, and both are extremely powerful in that they can be used by Rogues and Druids in conjunction with their escape abilities. And on the other side of the equation, Relmstein says that burst damage is king-- doing serious damage in between those moments where crowd control can stop you is critical. And that's why Warriors (and to an extent, he says, Hunters) are doing so well in the Arenas. When you can break out a ton of damage and debuffs during someone else's global cooldown, you're going to go a long way towards winning.And it'll be interesting to see where this all goes in the future. With the recent changes to spell haste and the curving up of gear in the expansion, things are just going to get faster and faster-- players are going to be able to push out damage quicker and quicker, and crowd control will be more and more powerful.
Japan's AMEDIA shows off 18 new devices for the visually impaired
A trade show held in Japan recently called AMEDIA showed off 18 new products aimed at helping the visually impaired better utilize technology. Among the devices on offer were an adaptive Braille display, which can convert text from a PC screen into the hand-read alphabet in real time, the REHA Vision "Color Talk," a handheld scanner which can recognize 220 colors and speak them to the user, and what appears to be GW Micro's VoiceSense PDA (here being employed to help those with visual impairments in the IT sector). The collection of gadgets clearly illustrates the kind of time and energy being put into making modern technology more accessible to everyone. Hit the read link for a (translated) tour of the show.
ELIA Life to roll out tactile displays for the visually impaired
A project that saw a prototype form some five years back is finally nearing commercialization, as ELIA Life Technology has recently been licensed to bring a tactile graphic display device and fingertip graphic reader to market. Originally developed by NIST researchers, the aforementioned screen enables individuals to feel an array of images on a reusable surface by raising around 3,600 actuator points into a certain pattern, each of which can be sent electronically to the reader. Separately, a finger-based device utilizes 100 minuscule pins that can be activated as a person scans a given surface, which enables the pins to move across one's skin as it "translates" the text / image / etc. Regrettably, a concrete release date wasn't mentioned, but judging by the looks of it, it shouldn't be long now before it's widely available to those interested.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Homebrew brings PSP to the blind
In one of the most interesting developments in the homebrew scene, pegasus2000 has crafted a new proof of concept program called "Nanodesktop Blind Assistant." According to the developer: "It is a program that uses PSP for help blind children or blind men. This program is able to recognizes the name of the people that are present in that moment in the room." Fascinating! Of course, the ambition doesn't stop there. "In the future, we'll release more complex version of the program, with a better speed of recognition and with network support, and support for GPS and collision avoidance." Certainly, if the program can deliver on even just half of what it promises, it will be incredibly helpful for those with the disability.[Via DCEmu]
Blue notes for Rogues
Rogues got a good bit of blue response on the forums today. First, player Snlper of Ysondre server wanted to know why Vanish and Blind still required reagents. The Fadeleaf component to make Blinding Powder is particularly annoying to her as it has to be gathered with Herbalism, pickpocketed or bought at inflated price on the Auction House. Community Manager Drysc thought the complaint holds merit and will hopefully bring it to the attention of the devs.Next, player Istarian of Lightninghoof suggested a new talent/skill that shifts some unused combo points to the next target when the current target dies before the rogue can pull off a finishing move. This is how he worded it:Redirect FocusPassiveWhen your target dies with 3/4/5 combo points on it, your next attacked hostile target within 15 seconds gains 1/2/3 of those combo points. (This effect will only be active if you have at least 3 combo points on your target). CM Drysc responded that the dev team has considered ways to deal with unused combo points, but hasn't decided on anything yet. Finally, this last bit of blue lovin' is a clarification on the melee haste nerf and the impact on casters. Drysc explained that haste and attack power were of similar value to melee players at their base level, but +haste was scaling much faster than +attack power when a player loaded up on it through equipment. Blizzard is bringing down the benefit of +haste for all classes. But then they noticed it impacted casters too much and now they are bringing back up (all the way? a little bit? just for casters? that wasn't clear.)
Ninja inviting is a no-no
I can't really say I'm surprised to the response to the question Calipsa asked. But what I am surprised by is why she asked it: she wanted to know if sending group or even guild invites without whispering first was rude, and players responded overwhelmingly that it was. Why did she think it wasn't? There's almost nothing more confusing than receiving a random group or guild invite, and considering that even spammers are using group invites to spam, it's just not something you want to do.Now maybe she meant just whether a whisper was necessary or not. If a player is marked LFG, or they're a guildie you know is available for a group, or they've just shouted out "LFG for group quests" in a chat channel, then I'd say they're fair game for a ninja invite. You don't need to actually whisper them and confirm everything you do (well, it's still nice to do, but in those cases, I'd say you don't need to).But yes, invites out of the blue are a no-no. Rude, maybe, annoying, yes, and usually a waste of time for both parties.
Blind as a viable form of crowd control
While a Rogue is my highest level alt (heading through Outland as we speak!), I have to admit that I hardly ever use the skill Blind. A 10-second disorient on a 3-minute cooldown (yes, I know the first patch 2.2 notes said it was going to be reduced to a 1-minute cooldown, but that change was reverted)? Perhaps I am a complete newbie of a Rogue, but 10 seconds hardly seems like enough time to accomplish anything, and so the skill sits, collecting dust on a rarely-hit hotkey. However, Doomilias points out that Blind really can be a useful crowd control -- and that ten seconds can make all the difference, both in solo and group play. 10 seconds can give you time to finish off a mob when you've gotten an add, it can give you time to get in some bandaging, in a group situation it can keep a hard-hitting mob off your healers for a few precious seconds. So, Rogues -- do you find Blind to be a useful form of crowd control?
PTR Notes: Rogue's Blind change changed back
From the "some-of-the-people-happy-all-of-the-time file," you may have noticed a fun little change under the Rogue notes in patch 2.2: "Blind duration reduced to 8 seconds, cooldown reduced to 1 minute, Blinding Powder is no longer required to use." Blind with only a minute cooldown? With no reagent cost? Sounds good to my PvP Undead Rogue.But most people didn't like the sound of spending all that time disoriented, so this weekend, the forums opened up with the QQ rain. Even some Rogues agreed that they didn't use Blind that often, and that the reagent costs didn't bother them that much (I know I always have tons of it from pickpocketing-- it's the Flash Powder that I never have enough of). And yet when Neth announced that the change that was in the patch notes hadn't actually been implemented on the PTR (here are the new official patch notes, sans Blind changes), the whole situation flipped-- Rogues decided that they did want the Blind change, and other classes cheered that a change they weren't sure would affect them negatively had ever existed in the first place.Should Blind be changed? I tend to agree with most people's opinions-- it works right now, so why bother with it? But all the outrage and the flip-flopping on the PTR (a place that is supposed to be full of experimentation) just brings up the point I made on the last PTR: have a little patience, people. The PTRs are a place to test ideas on a massive scale, and since this change never actually appeared on the PTRs, all the commentary on it actually came from people who'd never actually played with it in the first place.
GW Micro's VoiceSense: PDA for the blind
Fort Wayne, Indiana based company GW Micro has developed a new type of PDA designed specifically for the blind and sight-impaired, called the VoiceSense. The assistant runs a modified version of Windows CE and features a vocal guidance system, a full function PIM, web browser, MP3 player, Daisy talking book player, FM radio tuner and MSN Messenger -- all accessible through its custom Perkins-style Braille keyboard. The device has a 540MHz PXA270 processor, 1GB of RAM, and also boasts 802.11b/g, USB 2.0, audio in and out jacks, SD and CF card support, and runs 12 hours on a full charge. The PDA is available right now for $1,795, though the price goes up to $1,895 after July 15th.
Deaf gamer seeks subtitles support
Kotaku has reprinted an interesting letter from a deaf gamer asking the ESA to support subtitling in video games. The lack of subtitling means a game's story is often incomprehensible to roughly one percent of the population. Not only that, but audio-only cues are sometimes important to the gameplay itself, such as the beeping bomb-detection device in Metal Gear Solid 2.What's worse, deaf and hard of hearing gamers often have no idea whether a game will cater to them going into a purchase. Game packaging rarely notes the availability of subtitles, and game reviews rarely mention audio accessibility (GameCritics is a notable exception, including a deaf and hard of hearing section in its consumer guides).Game accessibility doesn't stop at hearing loss. Developers are working on audio-only games for the blind and The Switch Project supports simple, one-button games that "can be played by anyone, no matter the disability."
OtoTenji interactive display teaches you Braille
We've see a myriad of methods to communicate and even learn Braille, but we'll admit, most of the previous iterations lacked that sense of excitement necessary to motivate most folks to assimilate something new. Akinori Oishi's creation, however, seeks to be different, as the OtoTenji interactive machine allows users to press touch-sensitive pads and then hear back the letter / character in which they've signaled. We've no word on whether or not the machine is programmed to handle a one-on-one Braille spelling challenge, but if you're interested in just how this peculiar teaching tool actually goes about its business, be sure to click on through for a videotaped demonstration.[Via FreshCreation]
Tactile 3D maps could help blind people navigate
Scientific American is reporting that a team of researchers at the Aristotle University of Thessaloníki in Greece have created a system that can convert video into tactile, three dimensional maps designed to help blind people navigate. So called "haptic maps" have apparently been developed before, but the new system works with standard video camera equipment. These maps are created by using software that maps a series of points to a virtual 3D space: a special glove and wand then apply forces to the fingers to simulate these virtual space points. The system can also simulate 3D street maps where the user can "run a finger or wand down the grooved roads of the virtual map" and have street names spoken to them using speech synthesis. This isn't the end of the problem however, as visually impaired people will still need a guide dog or cane to avoid smaller obstacles like potholes. There's also a great deal of potential here for fully sighted people: Dan Jacobson, co-chair of the International Cartographic Association's commission mentions that it could convey information about things that are not in view, and with a growing minority of sighted people trusting their gadgets more than their eyes, we'd tend to agree.[Via Primidi, Image credit]
Legally blind Texans may use lasers to pick out prey
Completely bypassing the stunning fact that (legally) blind Texans are actually allowed to wield a weapon and fire at will during regular hunting seasons, a new piece of legislation could allow these folks to see what they're aiming at a wee bit better, which is thrilling news if you're being mistaken for game. Rep. Edmund Kuempel has initiated a bill that would enable legally blind hunters that have a valid Texas hunting license to strap a sweet laser scope on their weaponry in order to pinpoint exactly where the bullet is headed before pulling the trigger. The bill would require the hunter to be accompanied by a (not legally blind) licensed hunter of 13 years or older, and is being pushed as a "reasonable accommodation" for those with disabilities. Hey, we know Texas is good for helping out the less fortunate, but we'd seriously think twice before wandering out into the wilderness for a weekend retreat in the Lonestar state.[Via Fark]
US Army to arm UAVs with xenon-based paralysis inducer
While places like Australia and Raleigh might be flooding certain areas (or in the Aussie's case, the whole continent) with more energy-efficient light, the US Army is looking to counteract those uber-green intentions by busting out a 7.5-million candlepower strobe floodlight system to be used as a "non-lethal crowd-control device." The government has awards Pennsylvania-based Peak Systems a contract to fabricate a modified Maxa Beam searchlight that will be xenon-based, sport strobing capabilities, and will act as an "immobilization system /deterrent device" on large crowds. Furthermore, this behemoth of a flashlight will be flanking an unmanned aerial system, presumably to cruise over a rioting crowd (or platoon of foes) and theoretically flash bomb them until they suffer from "short-term paralysis." While the idea sounds like a logical way to slow down millions of oncoming soldiers whilst at war, what happens with those baddies come over the hill rocking welding masks or ultra-tinted Thump shades? [Via Wired]
