Real Cyborgs

Interesting article from Techradar.com "Meet the real-life human cyborgs" about individuals who are incorporating technology into their bodies. The most interesting part of the article deals with a film maker who had a camera embedded into his prosthetic eye. It goes on to talk about the research being done to use similar technology to assist individuals who are blind or visually impaired see. It also talks about an individual who has a usb drive built into their finger and use of other robotic prosthetics (see video below).

"Rob Spence is making a point, too. As the Toronto film maker explains: "I am a filmmaker who lost an eye so naturally I decided to modify my prosthetic eye into a video camera. I am not a lifecaster. I will use the eye-cam the same way I use a video camera now - or the same way any filmmaker would use a camera enabled cell phone."
Spence is working on a documentary "about how video and humanity intersect, especially with regards to surveillance."
Rob Spence's eye uses a camera sensor developed by OmniVision, which specialises in high quality cameras for medical devices such as endoscopes. The firm is also working closely with Stanford University's Daniel Palanker on the Retinal Prosthesis project, a hugely complex and ambitious attempt to use sub-retinal implants to restore blind people's sight.
As an OmniVision spokesperson told us, the firm "agreed to participate in the project to jump-start and/or fuel research to provide vision for the blind."
Palanker has published a number of scientific papers detailing the project, and they make fascinating reading. In Design of a high-resolution optoelectronic retinal prosthesis [PDF] he explains how "an image from a video camera is projected by a goggle-mounted collimated infrared LED-LCD display onto the retina, activating an array of powered photodiodes in the retinal implant." Essentially the digital eye enables the blind to see again."

Full Article




Image courtesy of gainesvegas

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Text to Speech Fun: Who's On First

Seems like with all of the issues with the Kindle and the new IPod being equipped with text to speech, there's much more awareness of text to speech engines. I keep seeing different remixes using the technology like the one below. It's Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First" performed by/in synthesized speech using different voices.

Photo courtesy of Matt McGee

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JAWS Rap- Web Accessibility Theme Song

I never thought I'd see a theme song about web accessiblilty, but here you go. The Web Accessibility WCAG Theme Song.
My favorite is the speed rap at 1:15 and how his blind friends can understand him.

Song by David McDonald from ERamp.com

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Kindle & IPod perform Wrath of Kahn

A fun demonstration of the Kindle's text to speech and the IPod synthesized speech. The Author's Guild has little to worry about these devices taking over audio books.

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LD Quarterback

The Sacramento Bee has an article called "New 49ers quarterback undaunted by disability"

"...Ball State's Nate Davis once was considered on par with first-round selections Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford. His draft status fell when scouts discovered his learning disability. He told reporters last weekend that reading and writing have been a problem since seventh grade but that it hasn't affected his play. The proof is Ball State's 12-0 start last season. The red flags were flown higher when he scored an 11 (out of 26) on the Wonderlic aptitude test, according to ProFootballTalk.com... On the field, his strong arm and accuracy were as good as those of any quarterback available."

I just find it a strange spin on this young man's learning disability. It seems to reflect the knee jerk reaction some have to disability in general, despite this athlete's performances on the field.

Photo courtesy of Anderson Mancini

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Add Power to Manual Wheelchair

Great attachment for a manual wheelchair making it a power chair. Looks a bit bulky for daily use, though the video (below) shows the user coming out of a van. It seems like its utility would be for occasional use or for amusement parks such as Disney or national parks with paved or hard pack trails. It would allow individuals for whom a manual chair is great for every day use to have greater access to these resources.

"Here is a video demonstration of the "Quadster" wheelchair assist device invented by Franklin Butts and David Gowan of Auburn University. This versatile device easily attaches and detaches to a variety of manual wheelchairs to provide the option of an easily controlled electric assist motor. Contact the Auburn University Office of Technology Transfer (ott@auburn.edu) for technology and licensing information."

Via Wheelie Catholic

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Accessible Geocaching

Geocaching is finding hidden treasures using a GPS, or global positioning system. The caches are hidden by other geocachers and range in size from the size of a pencil eraser to 5 gallon buckets. Some caches aren't a cache at all, but a location or geographic feature such as a fjord or rock formation.
In the larger caches are trinkets that people leave to trade such as golf balls, pencils, toys, stickers etc. There are also trackable items, such as coins,and path tags which have unique numbers and the finder logs on line. The person who sent it out may give it a mission to complete, such as travel around the world or visit a friend in another state or country.
Ultimately, Geocaching is a great way to get out side, visit places you probably wouldn't find otherwise, and it's great for kids. I found this coin for sale while checking out geocaching items on line.

Visit Geocaching.com for more information on the sport

Coin found at Geoswag.com

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