Yet another thing that might be worth to consider is the age of
potential new Optacon users.
In the old days, when current models were still in sale, most users
would be at least in their teens, if not way into their adulthood before
attempting using the Optacon. As such, they would use the Optacon for
grown-up material, and treat the device with due respect.
I would be a bit worried, if we introduce a device that cannot be put on
the table in front of any child much older than first grade, it will be
too late. Today kids are just about born with a cellphone in their
pocket, or at least getting one for their baby-shower. Smiles, and sorry
for the joke. Kids aged three and up, likely have been introduced to
some kind of tablet, cellphone or computer, and hence have already
learned to deal with the sighted world. Nope, I am not suggesting that a
three-year-old should be granted the Optacon as a toy. Still, the more
experienced they get with the electronic workarounds of today, the less
interest they may take in widening their knowledge in the sighted world.
Specially so, since there will be a learning curve to such an exploring.
Looking at my Optacon's display, I wonder how well a child's small
finger will pick up the whole character shown. What is the two front
joint of my index finger, will likely be more like the whole finger of a
six-year-old. And what about the width? My finger well covers the whole
width of the display, but how much will a youngster actually feel,
without moving his finger in all directions.
Well enough, he could adjust the magnification, thereby crimping the
character to a size that fits his finger. But that in turn would lead to
less pins being engaged in the picture. Would not that affect the
ability of his, to read details in the character, which would be needed
for distinguishing it properly?
In our childhood, we were used to learn things gradually. We started
learning Braille, and the day when we were old enough that it would no
longer suffice, we were introduced to normal print. First with a
typewriter, and later on we learned to hold a pen, and were introduced
to the shape and characteristics of printed letters. Then, when we knew
much of this, it was time to introduce ourselves to the capabilities of
the Optacon. OK, the exact timeline might differ slightly, but point
remains: We learned gradually, throughout our childhood and younger
years. Even the art of drawing, reading maps or graphs, were impressed
on us, through different kinds of Braille or tactile methods. And there
truly did exist a gap between what we had learned in our Braille-based
world, and the things that opened up the day when we were stepping into
our side of the sighted world. It really mattered to us, if we knew the
shape of a printed letter, or if we could read printed material.
Certainly, many of the skills we have gained, by learning both sides of
the gap would benefit the young generation highly. Do they appreciate
that? Well, maybe not the same much as we did. Since more and more is
available electronically or on audio, they may not be in the need of
bothering too much about the sighted world. Kind of the price we pay for
having all the gaps bridged with technical aids. While we ran around the
house, happily enjoying reading brand names on dad's radio, mom's stove,
and the license plate of uncle's car - kids of today may enjoy it for a
moment, and then bring out their electronic device and continue their
reading that way. We did have little chance of letter-writing with our
penfriends, unless we learned to read and write their print. Did we
teach them Braille, they might have sent us one or two notes, before
they were done with their playing. Young ones today, do all of that
through Email, SMS or social media. Where do they go, when learning to
handle new tasks? Youtube or the like.
And all of this, is tasks they learn even pre-school. What we spent a
decade on learning, they learn in the swift of a year or two. Not only
do they learn, but we expect them to, don't we? Or, why is it we leave
them with a tablet even in kindergarten, or use some computer game as a
cheaper babysitter? Since all their sighted peers are raised digitally,
our blind child will have to deal with the electronic daily lifestyle as
well. Too bad, they surely are missing out on the knowledge of each
other's world. In a sense, we might claim that they no longer bother to
close the gaps, rather just skipping or overlooking them.
Somehow quite complicated for us to imagine. First of all, even if you
and I tend to linger with our old-fashioned way of handling things,
thereby valuing things like the Optacon; they handle things more
modernly, and need no bridging technology. We find that a loss, but
perhaps that is much due to us never having learned the modern way of
doing things. Our fingers are well trained for hitting old typewriter
keys with a force that would bring a clear print on the paper. And our
hands are trained to press anything from one to six keys simultaneously
on a Perkins Brailler. How about the young hands of today? They know
exactly how to manage all the swipes, twists and tabbings on a
touch-screen; things that we are stgruggling to the extent of giving up
on it altogether.
Developing an Optacon that is solid enough to withstand the rough
treatment of an 8-year old child, sized in such a way that it might be
operated by both children, teens and adults, and at the same time
filling the gaps of today's blind and sighted people - I do see there
would be rather many issues to be considered and overcome. Even the fact
that so much of today's communication is done through pictures and
icons, would leave any version of the Optacon less useful. In that
scenario, blind kids today might be more eager on sound-based
communication. What a sighted person would say by pictures, the blind
would tell by sound recordings. Where therein is the Optacon?
Did I say all of this, attempting to discourage a new Optacon? Not
really. But I think it might be worth to keep those things in mind as
well, when reckoning who will be potential usergroups, and for what
tasks. Failing to realize the factual situation, might in turn lead to
the invention of an Optacon that did not meet the modern needs, hence
would overturn the whole project even before it got started.
On 8/13/2020 1:53 AM, Pamela Drake wrote:
When the Optacon was invented, that’s all there was! The world of print orto view the list archives, go to:
“ink-,print” as it was called on the title page of commercially produced
Braille books, was a total mystery to those of us who could not see well
enough to read. I remember nearly jumping for joy almost literally when I
read the phrase, in all caps, “Tom has the ice.” Remember that? For those who
don’t, it was one, if not the first simple but full sentence of the original
training material from TSI, Telesensory Systems, Inc.
As David Has so eloquently stated, it is a different world today. Also, much
more emphasis is being placed on what is known as STEM. There is more
interest in bringing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics placed
on what is known as STEM. We even have an achronym for the combination of
these concepts. People today do not see the need for a new modality for
either study or casual reading that does not involve these concepts.
Of course I will miss the day that the last of my three series R Optacons and
one Optacon to can no longer perform, but my life will not end without them.
Even with services like Aira and Be My Eyes, we have access to all the
information, perhaps without the joy of discovery we knew. as David and
others have said, we don’t miss what we never had. I was blinded at four
months of age just as my vision was developing. I am told that I was picking
out patterns on a couch the night before the auto accident, but I neither
remember nor miss it.
This is why I think many of us are beginning to except the realization that a
new Optacon is far, far in the future, if at all. let us treasure the ones we
have for now, and when possible,find others which are languishing somewhere
in storage closets or top shelves.
On Aug 12, 2020, at 2:07 PM, David <trailerdavid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In the rain forrest of Brazil, you will find native populations who
never have seen or touched a cellphone. They likely have seen, and at
least might have heard an airplane riding the sky above their heads.
They still do things the same old way, that their grandparents did, and
might be rather happy doing so.
I personally have met people from the mid-West of North-America, who are
in their 50s or 60s, and who never seen the Ocean, realtime. Attempting
to tell them about the enjoyment of feeling the salty smell of the sea
air in your nostriles, ended up in them looking more like a question
mark. They have always been enjoying their life in the deep woods, or
out on the Prairies. They did not even like the taste of lobster or
shrimps, but did they go hungry for that reason?
Point I am trying to make out, is that unless you have learned that your
way of handling things proves to be insufficient, you will not be
missing anything. How could you miss something you never had? And what
does that have to do with the Optacon, and the potential need for an
updated version?
For those of us who grew up in a time, when everything was done the
manual way, it might seem obvious. And, yes, I do realize that even
across one and same continent, there might be many local differences -
just as much as individual personal needs and preferences may differ
greatly. Still, I think it might be worth to remind ourselves of our
age. We are not young, and our preferences might sometimes linger in the
past way of doing things. I do regret the fact that a youngster of today
do not have the chance of reading a graphical layout of a diagram or the
like. I do so, because I know how much it meant to me, the day I got my
Optacon, and could start to benefit from simple electronic diagrams.
Yet, I ran all my electronic education, without any Optacon, and so can
testify to the fact, that it is doable with no access to such a device.
What's more, the kind of diagrams we used to have in the 80's, were
rather simple, compared to the highly complexed ones nowaday. As people
in general have moved into the computerized way of presenting their
stuff, they also have got far more sofisticated ways of doing it. In the
old days, they used a pen and paper, meaning that a lot of times, the
shaping of the symbols carried more or less the whole meaning of the
diagram. Today, shapes are only a tiny bit of the story. Colors, shades
and layers of pictures on top of each other - they all have become such
importance, that people hardly know how to read simple shapes any longer.
Or, if you want to try it out, have a look at the catalog from a
mail-order shop. In the old days, there would be text near the picture,
leaving you a lot of info about the product. And now? Ask one of your
sighted friends to tell you about the product, specially one of the
younger generation. They likely won't tell you much other than what is
on the picture.
Allright, as I stated, things differ from one place to the other. But
let me give you a glance of the daily living over here, and you see how
much has moved into the digital world, leaving the Optacon more in the
background. As I do, may you try to put on the shoes of a teenager of
today, who grew up in a world where every child owns her own cellphone,
tablet and computer; and where everything is presented on big screens,
and with flashing, glossy icons.
Sure, I am aware that the Americans still use a pay cheque for many
transactions. Promise you, It will be more like three decades since I
last held such a thing in my hand locally. Our bills come directly to
our internet banking, and all I have to do is to log in and confirm it,
or put it on automatic payment if I want to bypass that step.
Cash is almost out, as a mean of paying. Most payments are done
electronically, with Paypal or similar services. Or, in the store,
people use credit cards or mobil services like GooglePay, or ApplePay.
Communication from public services, is by far done via electronic
services, like SMS, Email or other electronic means - meaning that I can
read them directly through my computer or mobil device. Takes a bit to
lern, and sure poses loads of challenges for an old guy, but eliminates
the many challenges of dealing with paperwork, scanners and so forth.
When you apply for a job, they ask you to send in your personal history,
certificates and all that stuff. But they also want you to present
yourself through a video. Many employers hardly flip through your
papers, mainly just concentrating on the video presentation you made,
even to the extent the reason you got the job, was not due to your
qualifications, but rather due to you bringing the best video. And
school? Well some of them have gone more or less completely digital.
That is, they do not leave the first graders with a pencil in their hand
any longer, just an IPad. In one radio interview of a couple of 11-year
old kids, the one boy expressed himself like this:
"It is so much easier with the IPad, when writing English. Did you
forget how to spell a word, you just start typing, and then choose the
right word from the drop-down list that comes up."
Sure, he thought it to be so much more nice. Just as certainly, you an I
are asking: "What happend to the art of writing?"
In my schooldays, they told us to write an essay or article a few times
a year, for the teacher to see if we mastered the writing. what do they
do now? Call for a Powerpoint presentation.
Some 20 years ago, a student told me, that not only was she instructed
how many pages her exam thesis had to be, but they even dictated which
font and size should be used for the print. Even the margins on all four
edges were predefined. Well, did Korona make things go even more digital
in a rapidity that you would have been dreaming of, in the old days?
Most certinly it did. With home officing and Zoom meetings, Skype
schooling and other digital communications, you hardly will have much
need for an optacon. Noone aged under 30, will ever have touched a
typewriter, only knowing what kind of equipment it is, due to them
seeing it in old movies.
More an more appliances are turning into washing, vacuuming, cooking and
cleaning robots. More often they are controlled through menus, many
times with touch panels or screens. Many of them are no longer
accessible with the current Optacon models, either due to the touch
screen being activated when attempting to read, or the fact that the
display is such deeply mounted, that the Optacon lense won't pick up
anything from it. Or, they are flashing the text so much as to make it
unreadable. Well, be lucky if it even displays any text. Many a time, it
may only show up symbols, that are hard to distinguish.
What then about medicine? Well, for the most part, all prescribed
medicine has the name and the size of the tablets Brailled on them,
directly from the packing facility of the manufacturer. Of course, your
doctors instructions on usage and dosis will only be printed on a
sticker. But they often are on your prescription as well; and the
prescription went all electronic a handful years ago. Log yourself in,
and read exactly what your doctor has written. For non-prescription
medicine, they still are far behind when comes to Brailling. And sure,
there are many a blind person who cannot benefit from Braille. But then
again, if you don't use Braille, probably you would not be able to
benefit from an Optacon; though that might be quite individual.
This is the daily living of many people today. And in light of that, I
am not sure if it all is due to bad will, or lack of interest, that
noone seem to take on the high investment in developing and marketing a
new Optacon device. As the everyday living for many turns more digital,
other - and sometimes far bigger - issues arises when comes to
accessibility. It is unthinkable for you to depend on an Optacon, to
operate your cellphone, ain't it? And what would you prefer, if you were
to choose from a computer that loaded a screen reader right when turning
it on, or having to use an Optacon to attempt installing the Operativ
System and then the screen reader. Don't we all benefit from the fact
that all cellphones of today comes with the feature of holding two
fingers on the screen first time turning it on, and the speech will come
up and help us install and setup our new device? Perhaps our efforts
then would be better spent, on making things more accessible, than on
inventing yet another tool to try bypassing inaccessible pieces of
equipment.
Yes, I do regret that no new Optacon is on the horizon. And I could give
a thousand good reasons, where nothing would compare to such a device.
Yet, the ones growing up today, never had the same needs, and likely
never will either. Convincing them that they need something they never
needed before, and for which they might already have workarounds well
established - I see that could be quite a task to take on. And
especially if the new device you give them, would have a lerning curve
of anything more than ten minutes. Smiles.
David
On 8/11/2020 5:00 PM, dan.tevelde@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:to view the list archives, go to:
Noel,
Sadly I have to agree with you. The most recent device I'm aware of which
people though had potential was the Dot Watch. This product has four
Braille cells so I suppose someone could use their fingertips to read
Braille. The device is available but there have been numerous complaints
about the quality of the Braille cells. I won't get into that discussion
here that's a topic for other mailing lists.
Another more serious issue I see is that as far as I know no organization of
the blind or organization which serves the blind has any interest in
developing a new optacon. A number of years ago there was an article about
the optacon in the ACB Braille Forum. The author made a case for a new
optacon and that was where the discussion ended. Freedom Scientific wasn't
interest in continuing Deane Blazie's work. I don't know if APH would be
interested but I doubt it.
When reading recent social media posts about graphics displays none of them
mentioned the need for a fingertip display. That would be an additional
challenge to persuade blind people that a fingertip display would be
valuable. I don't have a solution. The only hope I can see is that if
actuators become really cheap then I could see someone taking a risk in
developing a new optacon.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Noel Runyan
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 10:51 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: New Optacon
Dan,
Sorry to disappoint you, but the technology for Optacon-type tactile
displays is not currently showing much potential for near-term improvement.
The current thrust of most tactile reading technology is focused on braille
and tactile graphics displays, and this part of the field is making progress
with several new products and patents or patent applications.
The technology for fingertip tactile image displays is not currently able
to produce (in the near-term) dynamic tactile image displays that could be
significantly better, reliable, and less expensive than the 50 year-old
piezo electronic reed tech that was used in the Optacon 1 and 2.
The technology that seems most promising for appropriate tactile image
displays is the recently developed 4D printing techniques for building fine
arrays of EAP (Electro Active Polymer) structures that may be able to
rapidly vibrate pins of a tactile image displays. MEMS (Micro Mechanical
Electronic Machine) fabrication techniques is another method of fabricating
arrays of EAP vibrators, and some MEM researchers were beginning to
investigate using MEM tech to make an Optacon array; however, the Covid-19
pandemic has stalled or maybe even totally killed the most hopeful of that
work.
I (and I suspect several others) will be happy to let this list know if and
when any tactile image technology proves to be viable for use on a new
Optacon.
Cordially,
Noel
At 06:31 AM 8/10/2020, dan.tevelde@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi Noel,happen to other Braille display manufacturers.
I'm a bit surprised about the results finding a tactile array which
would work. I know you mentioned that the technology used by Orbit
Research isn't suitable. I participate in their monthly Zoom calls.
Has anyone approached Orbit Research to see if they are interested?
With all the research and implementation of haptic technology I would
think that someone could come up with a suitable tactile array. I
recently read that the American Printing House for the Blind is
soliciting a proposal for the development of a graphics display. Could
they be persuaded that a new optacon might have some value?
I agree with you that for now we should concentrate on repairing
existing optacons. I guess if worse came to worse, someone could
fabricate new optacons based on the present design instead of
developing a new type of optacon. I would think the challenge would be
getting parts. Getting parts would be a challenge for any new device
as well. Humanware is introducing a new Braille display because they
say they can't get parts for their current models. I suppose this could
These are just my thoughts.getting everybody's'
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of Noel Runyan
Sent: Sunday, August 9, 2020 7:08 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: New Optacon
Dan et al,
There have ben several researchers, other than Charles Pond, who have
been working on developing tactile array systems for a possible new
Optacon device. Lavan Fernando and others have built actual hardware
systems to test the actuators. However, there do not appear to be any
current display projects that are showing enough promise to be worth
hopes up. Until there is a truly promising tactile array technologyshould be avoided.
demonstrated and vetted by others in the tactile actuator research
field, it would be foolish to start ramping up hopes and fund raising
efforts towards a complete Optacon III development project.
At the current time, I think the best use of our time and resources is
best invested in gathering together all the unused Optacons and support
equipment such as cameras.
Cordially,
Noel
-
Noel H. Runyan
-
At 12:44 PM 8/9/2020, Dan.tevelde@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I think there are several reasons why we are not seeing a new optacon.other OCR application incorrectly interprets tabular data.
So far, Charles Pond has been the only person as far as I know who
has reported on prototyping a new optacon. If others on the list
have been involved in a project, I don't know about it. In order to
develop a new optacon we need the following items.
The easiest item would be developing some promotional videos. The
videos I have seen on YouTube are out of date. We need new videos
demonstrating the optacon in terms of tasks which no other device can
do. I'm not qualified to make such a video. I lost my optacon
skills because I didn't have access to a device. It would be great
if someone making the videos would compare the optacon with some
currently-available technology in such as way that the person
watching or listening to the video would understand what makes the
optacon unique. One approach might be comparing the optacon to an
OCR application like KNFB Reader. Find an example where KNFB Reader
or some
started.
The next steps would be to create social media accounts on Facebook,
Twitter, and LinkedIn. People are using social media rather than
mailing lists to get information. The word optacon would get lots of
search results through search engine optimization. I see numerous
job leads and connection requests on LinkedIn every day. IF there
are people in this group who are savvy with social media then they
can get
The other items we need are formal documents containing use cases and
user data for the current optacon, a possible specification for a new
optacon, and a formal business plan. A couple of years ago I tested
a hardware device which was a type of mouse to provide tactile
feedback and allow the user to interact with a computer. I thought
the device had potential. The company failed because they had no
formal documentation of how their technology worked or a formal
business plan to request funds for producing the device. The
president of the company thought he could succeed by begging for
money. The project failed for a variety of reasons and I don't
expect anything more from the company unless they determine what they
want to accomplish. I mention the failure as an object lesson in what
to:to:
So this is the situation we are in. It would be a tall order to
develop a new optacon but I don't think it would be impossible. It
takes an organized group of people to develop a business plan.
Dan
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