3 ms·

Wouldn't that be better served by a notch on the ring that rotates as time goes? An inner ring could do minutes and small/large bumps can help identify the time

Wouldn't that be better served by a notch on the ring that rotates as time goes? An inner ring could do minutes and small/large bumps can help identify the time down to the closest 5 minute increment The machinery to translate scalar time into discrete bump movement is going to be complicate, fragile and costly, while rotating a ring instead of the single arms is feasible, has been done already and only need tactile feedback for feeling the relative positioning. Edit: there http://www.perkinsproducts.org/store/748-thickbox_default/bradley-classic-mesh-watch.jpg http://www.perkinsproducts.org/store/748-thickbox_default/br... Just add a second ring and you're basically done.

dagw 10y ago
There is a second ring on the watch the runs along the edge. If you look at the 2 o'clock position you'll see the second ball.
kruffin 10y ago
What you've said can and does work for telling time, but from watching a few of their videos it looks like the watch part of this device is a secondary function. It connects to your phone and will display the caller's name or text messages like other smart watches, but in braille. I can't read braille, so don't know how effective that is with the limited space. It would be interesting to hear from a blind person what their current state of electronic connectedness is since this type of device is supposed to improve the parity between blind and non-blind individuals. One of the cooler things mentioned in one of the videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpl81WmFSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpl81WmFSo) was that they developed their own magnetic actuators that are a 10th of the cost (if you believe the marketing) of existing ones. I haven't verified any of those claims, but if true does mean their braille tablet could be an affordable reality.

3 ms·

Wouldn't that be better served by a notch on the ring that rotates as time goes? An inner ring could do minutes and small/large bumps can help identify the time

by LoSboccacc 10y ago

dagw 10y ago
There is a second ring on the watch the runs along the edge. If you look at the 2 o'clock position you'll see the second ball.
kruffin 10y ago
What you've said can and does work for telling time, but from watching a few of their videos it looks like the watch part of this device is a secondary function. It connects to your phone and will display the caller's name or text messages like other smart watches, but in braille. I can't read braille, so don't know how effective that is with the limited space. It would be interesting to hear from a blind person what their current state of electronic connectedness is since this type of device is supposed to improve the parity between blind and non-blind individuals. One of the cooler things mentioned in one of the videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpl81WmFSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpl81WmFSo) was that they developed their own magnetic actuators that are a 10th of the cost (if you believe the marketing) of existing ones. I haven't verified any of those claims, but if true does mean their braille tablet could be an affordable reality.