7 ms·

Launch HN: Sunu (YC S17) – Sonar wristband helping blind people navigate

199 points by marco_trujillo 9y ago

Hey HN! This is Marco, one of the founders of Sunu (http://www.sunu.io/ http://www.sunu.io/). We're building a sonar smartband that improves navigation for the visually impaired. Sunu band combines an ultrasonic transceiver, an inertial motion unit plus a haptic module powered by a bluetooth Arm processor. All this hardware together driven by years of observation and product thinking, over 20 years of experience of blind travel training from our advisor Daniel Kish (aka the real life Dare Devil) and research from the Blind Mobility Research Unit at Nottingham University In England, result in a simple device that gently informs the user of obstacles on their way: proximity, surface density, edges, openings and other information provided in real time. This enables the user to take the best navigation course with ease. It basically works like a new sense: feeling your surroundings at your wrist. I'm an inventor since I have memory (blame Dexter's Lab), and my best friend from childhood is deaf. I thank life to put these two on my way because early on I found my passion creating games and tools with my friend, which eventually lead me to study robotics, develop 7 assistive devices until this last one hit me to pursue something more. During a year long community service at an institution of blind children I had a life-changing experience which made me realize what I really wanted to do: create technology that serves the disabled community starting with a mobility device that helps the blind move freely. I'm happy to talk and share more. Don't forget to share, someone in your community may thank you for that!

howon92 9y ago
I love this!!
noir-york 9y ago
Brilliant! I wish you every success.
ludicast 9y ago
Great idea. Wish you all the luck in the world.
educar 9y ago
Apologies for the dumb question but what technologies do blind people use today?
- jrowley 9y ago
  The cane is a classic. Portable, no batteries, waterproof - identifies you to others that you are visually impaired.
  - fer_albertorio 9y ago
    That's true for blind travelers who use a white cane. But, most people who live with low vision, like myself, and are legally blind, tend to not use a white cane, simply because we want to 'blend in' and avoid the 'social stigma'.
- randomdrake 9y ago
  There's a lot out there, including products that are very similar to this one[1]. The category you may be looking to Google is "assistive technology."[2] For products for the blind, the most comprehensive list I could find was from the American Foundation for the Blind: http://www.afb.org/ProdBrowseTaskResults.aspx?TaskID=274&SpecID=26 http://www.afb.org/ProdBrowseTaskResults.aspx?TaskID=274&Spe... [1] - http://imerciv.com http://imerciv.com [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- rogerbinns 9y ago
  Not directly related, but screen readers are very interesting. It is amazing just how fast they can run, sounding unintelligible to most. There is an excellent demonstration in this youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92pM6hJG6Wo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92pM6hJG6Wo I wonder if feedback could also be given by such a quick spoken voice (eg describing the scene in front of you as you walk).
  - adnama 9y ago
    Please don't. The whole point of the device is to provide us an extra sense. Words aren't an extra sense - they're just a distraction. I'm always trying to avoid the sightling who insists on narrating the world for me. Please don't strap this annoying person to my wrist.
ciro_langone 9y ago
Hey! This is super cool, and I wish you the best. I don't know where you're based out of, but in Washington, D.C. is a school called Gallaudet University which you may want to reach out to. They are a school that that provides education for the hard of hearing, and I feel like they may be the most open to new technologies like this. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaudet_University
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Thanks for sharing, haven't heard of it. I see they teach to Deaf and Blind (and both) so definitively a fit. Thanks!
Raphmedia 9y ago
I'm getting an antivirus warning when accessing your site : "Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools blocked this page The page is blocked by Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools Cloud (Malware). Access from your browser has been blocked."
avip 9y ago
Interested to hear more about the tech - how this differs from existing products? Is there a reason this product does not exist (if it does - what makes yours better?) The IP on this kind of things goes +25Y back.
- graeham 9y ago
  In some ways 25 years is an ideal amount of time - means that key patents recently expired. A similar factor lead to the explosion of consumer 3D printers about 5 years ago.
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Sure, main difference from previous products are: - Form factor: prior devices couldn't get this small, most devices were heavy, obtrusive (mostly hand held), noisy and not precise (haptic actuators weren't miniaturized and optimized as today are). Making it wearable allows the user to rely on it only when they need it and in way that doesn't stick out or represent a hard task for them to do. - Connectivity: probable the most powerful factor, none of the previous was a connected device isolating the device for future improvements and fixing the way it works for most of the users. Visually Impaired come in different variants so people have very different navigation challenges depending on the condition behind their impairment (e.g. some have light perception, some have minimum peripheral vision or only central vision, etc), so customization is key. Connectivity permits the device to be prescribed as the user needs besides from allowing us to gather data and enhance the technology constantly so it becomes each time more useful. In general previous products had a "once fit all" approach in an inconvenient design. There still a few of these devices out there but with low user adoption.
  - kaybe 9y ago
    What does 'connectivity' entail? The way you put it sounds potentially highly intrusive.
rogerbinns 9y ago
What is the angle/spread of the sensor? eg if you point directly in front of you, then at 2 metres away how wide and tall does it detect things? In the video you can see someone duck out of the way of an overhanging branch. I'm curious how much they had to move the sensor to figure that out.
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Sure, range and sensitivity can be adjusted from the App, maximum ratings are 5 meters and 35° angle at the sound cone. So at two meters you would be able to detect head level obstacles with no problem. To improve the receptivity you can also slightly bend your elbow to give a little angle to your forearm and aim the band slightly up, that will catch even the ceiling of your room, fortunately the IMU permits us to understand the position you are aiming and trim the sound cone only to cover areas that represent a hazard, trying to drag attention of the user only with needed.
ENadyr 9y ago
Interesting that you are going for a limited direct to consumer model for your orders. Is this something YC is recommending as means of showing traction? I remember Thalmic (W13) going for a similar approach, though in their case it was a pre order campaign.
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  We are also exploring other specialized channels with good response so far: - Sunu band is currently being prescribe at NECO Center for Eye Care in Boston as it is proving to be a catalizer in the rehab process of patients who lost their sight. - We are about to start trials with O&Ms (Orientation and Mobility Specialists) from the board of AERBVI (Asociation for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired) to prove the effectiveness of the product to be a complimentary mobility aid and a maximizer in the process of developing O&M skills.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bramd 9y ago
Congrats on your launch. As a potential blind user, I've some questions. How can I reach you? Your email doesn't seem to be listed in your profile.
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Thanks for note I'll update my profile. My email is marco@sunu.io you can also find about us at sunu.io
ss09 9y ago
Awesome stuff! Many best wishes.
- fer_albertorio 9y ago
  Thank you.
abelfiori 9y ago
Hi Marco, as founder of Flicktek I would like to propose our tech in case you want to add more functionalities and interaction to your device, check what we do at flicktek.com!
indescions_2017 9y ago
Congrats! This is awesome and the best startup idea I've heard in months. Rooting for you guys and wishing you much success :)
rockmeamedee 9y ago
Just curious, since your clients are visually impaired people, what steps did you take to make your website accessible? It seems to be from a pre-made template, did you check the template ahead of time? Do you have visually impaired engineers, or do you do things like go through it with a screen reader/iOS VoiceOver every so often?
- liveoneggs 9y ago
  is it accessible? http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Thanks for asking. We did tried to find accessible templates to screen readers with no luck. So we picked a template we liked and turn it accessible. How? we found good resources (like https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibility https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibil...), download most used screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver, Windows Eyes) did our homework and bounced it with some blind friends to make sure.
  - mikekchar 9y ago
    I'm curious why you didn't go the other direction: build an accessible web page and then try to make it attractive to sighted people. No need for a template -- just straight HTML with black text on a white background. I'm not trying to be facetious here. I'm genuinely curious if there are market pressures that make a "good looking" website higher priority than an accessible one -- for example a need to look impressive to stake holders who are not visually impaired. "We didn't think of that" would be an OK response :-). I'm just curious about the challenges for a startup in this kind of market and where one might have to make surprising compromises.
    - mholmes680 9y ago
      not OP, but i think the overall challenge is cheaply coming up with a not-cheap product than can apply to the largest section of the limited market. Its expensive to advance the tech here, for a limited economic benefit to the company trying to advance the tech. As the brother to a visually impaired person, I found the website fine. If only you could ship by his August 1 birthday! :)
mojomark 9y ago
I'm not knocking this initiative, I hope it is very successful and helps the blind. However... About 10 years ago I sat down with the folks at the Maryland School for the Blind (1) to demo a similar mini LIDAR based design with haptic feedback. They thanked me for coming in and promptly brought in a box of similar devices and contraptions and dumped them on the desk. They told me these devices were fine, but really they were happy using canes. What came next blew my mind. They told me what they really wanted/needed was a way for a blind person to use AutoCAD so that bling people who wanted to work as engineers or architects could do so. Obviously, that's an exponentially tougher challenge, but certainly not not doable. 1. http://www.marylandschoolfortheblind.org http://www.marylandschoolfortheblind.org
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Thanks for sharing. We have heard this too, in fact many visually impaired I've talked to are skeptical initially. Can't blame them since after many attempts to develop an Electronic Travel Aids (ETA) there was not a good product people love. It is also true that many blind people feel comfortable with their condition, specially if the have good echolocation skills. That doesn't mean they won't appreciate a good product when it arrives, but more like they embraced the problem as part of their lives and aren't looking for a mobility solution (that's usually the case for people who born blind or have been living blind for over 20 years). But that's not the case for the vast majority, people losing sight or people who recently lost it are actively looking solutions. Is matter of digging and finding, there is a lot of variants when it comes to disabilities, definitively a hard puzzle to solve (I've been connecting pieces for over 3 years) but very rewarding.
  - mbrookes 9y ago
    "many visually impaired I've talked to" This says it all really.
    - mbrookes 9y ago
      Apparently insensitive language is ok, but questioning it is not? HN, you've lost your way.
elmar 9y ago
Really interesting project, do you envision the usage of this technology on other use cases like for example robot navigation?
maneesh 9y ago
Marco! This is Maneesh from Pavlok (pavlok.com)! We met on Skype, and your co-founder worked with me at MassChallenge. Congrats on your success -- I hope I can help!
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Hi Maneesh, good to find you here! your wearable is stunning too, we should catch up soon. Cheers
- codegladiator 9y ago
  The top banner at your site says "Only days left" ....
shanselman 9y ago
Super useful, but with respect, your page is an accessibility mess. So much so that I can't really show it to my blind friends. http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ Don't just buy a template. If you care, do the work.
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Thanks for the straight feedback and sharing the accessibility tool. Agree we have to work the accessibility for Low Vision (constrasts, rezicing, colors). For now it seems to be working very well for people using screen readers. We are also enhancing it on the go with feedback from people who find new things. Thanks
dpflan 9y ago
This is very cool; thanks for sharing. I remember listening to an Invisibilia episode entitled "How to Become Batman" [1]. It mentioned that blind children grow up and can learn to use echolocation, generating clicking sounds, to explore and to understand their surroundings. But the clicking is not socially acceptable, so many times the child is forced to eschew this technique. I am curious about this technique, what parts of the brain are involved in that, and how to improve upon or supplement or complement this technology to assist the visually impaired by somehow hooking into the similar neuro-pathways used in the echolocation technique. What're your thoughts on this? Have you had children us your device yet? ::Reference(s):: [1] http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-become-batman http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-bec...
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Great feedback. It is proven (Adelson E. & Fraiberg, 1974) that sighted children need directed reaching (approaching, touching, feeling) to connect the visual system to movement. The same happens for echolocation, the user needs to "confirm" what he is hearing by touching it in order to establish a relationship between sound and space. Unfortunately, as you mention, many children are being limited by their parents in the process of developing this association, ultimately blocking the activation of the visual cortex and depraving the kid to develop spatial perception (which is fundamental to develop other skills). We have tried the device with kids, although it takes a time to train them, when they understand what they are feeling they start to run everywere to explore the sensation. The band has worked so far as a catalizer of exploration, but we are also in the process of developing scientific data with our current partnerships to prove that this device can accelerate the time it takes for a blind person to develop echolocation skills as well as to remove initial barriers in the process of learning the skill (fear).
- faceplanted 9y ago
  Would it be possible to have headphones, bone conduction or otherwise, something they can still hear normal sounds through at least, which could convert an ultrasound "click" played by a speaker into a human audible "click" so they could use this in place of the audible clicking of human echolocation? So a high frequency speaker on their head plays the sound, and the headphones convert the returning reflected sound in the correct frequency range into a lower frequency and the brain does the rest. Seem like if we can have active noise cancelling headphones removing sound frequencies, we can have a headphone with microphones converting a frequency.
tabeth 9y ago
Heh, in college a friend and I wanted to make make an "echolocation" headband that would allow blind people to "see" after watching the video of the young man who possessed this ability [1]. Unfortunately, neither of us had the hardware expertise to make such a thing despite buying a Lego Mindstorm and the accompanying ultrasound sensor [2]. Best of luck to you all! The difficult thing we found was teaching blind people how to use it. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI [2] https://shop.lego.com/en-US/EV3-Ultrasonic-Sensor-45504 https://shop.lego.com/en-US/EV3-Ultrasonic-Sensor-45504
a_c 9y ago
A tangential thought, would the ultrasound bring discomfort to pets?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
azhenley 9y ago
This is awesome! I have always had an interest in this stuff. I recently saw a presentation at CHI'17 where they used a device that applies temperature changes to the skin to help people navigate [1]. [1] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3025965 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3025965
- marco_trujillo 9y ago
  Awesome! thanks for sharing.
Naushad 9y ago
All good... but as someone else said. The accessibility for the webpage needs a proper fix.

howon92 9y ago

I love this!!

noir-york 9y ago

Brilliant! I wish you every success.

ludicast 9y ago

Great idea. Wish you all the luck in the world.

educar 9y ago

Apologies for the dumb question but what technologies do blind people use today?

jrowley 9y ago
The cane is a classic. Portable, no batteries, waterproof - identifies you to others that you are visually impaired.
- fer_albertorio 9y ago
  That's true for blind travelers who use a white cane. But, most people who live with low vision, like myself, and are legally blind, tend to not use a white cane, simply because we want to 'blend in' and avoid the 'social stigma'.
randomdrake 9y ago
There's a lot out there, including products that are very similar to this one[1]. The category you may be looking to Google is "assistive technology."[2] For products for the blind, the most comprehensive list I could find was from the American Foundation for the Blind: http://www.afb.org/ProdBrowseTaskResults.aspx?TaskID=274&SpecID=26 http://www.afb.org/ProdBrowseTaskResults.aspx?TaskID=274&Spe... [1] - http://imerciv.com http://imerciv.com [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
rogerbinns 9y ago
Not directly related, but screen readers are very interesting. It is amazing just how fast they can run, sounding unintelligible to most. There is an excellent demonstration in this youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92pM6hJG6Wo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92pM6hJG6Wo I wonder if feedback could also be given by such a quick spoken voice (eg describing the scene in front of you as you walk).
- adnama 9y ago
  Please don't. The whole point of the device is to provide us an extra sense. Words aren't an extra sense - they're just a distraction. I'm always trying to avoid the sightling who insists on narrating the world for me. Please don't strap this annoying person to my wrist.

ciro_langone 9y ago

Hey! This is super cool, and I wish you the best. I don't know where you're based out of, but in Washington, D.C. is a school called Gallaudet University which you may want to reach out to. They are a school that that provides education for the hard of hearing, and I feel like they may be the most open to new technologies like this. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaudet_University

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Thanks for sharing, haven't heard of it. I see they teach to Deaf and Blind (and both) so definitively a fit. Thanks!

Raphmedia 9y ago

I'm getting an antivirus warning when accessing your site : "Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools blocked this page The page is blocked by Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools Cloud (Malware). Access from your browser has been blocked."

avip 9y ago

Interested to hear more about the tech - how this differs from existing products? Is there a reason this product does not exist (if it does - what makes yours better?) The IP on this kind of things goes +25Y back.

graeham 9y ago
In some ways 25 years is an ideal amount of time - means that key patents recently expired. A similar factor lead to the explosion of consumer 3D printers about 5 years ago.
marco_trujillo 9y ago
Sure, main difference from previous products are: - Form factor: prior devices couldn't get this small, most devices were heavy, obtrusive (mostly hand held), noisy and not precise (haptic actuators weren't miniaturized and optimized as today are). Making it wearable allows the user to rely on it only when they need it and in way that doesn't stick out or represent a hard task for them to do. - Connectivity: probable the most powerful factor, none of the previous was a connected device isolating the device for future improvements and fixing the way it works for most of the users. Visually Impaired come in different variants so people have very different navigation challenges depending on the condition behind their impairment (e.g. some have light perception, some have minimum peripheral vision or only central vision, etc), so customization is key. Connectivity permits the device to be prescribed as the user needs besides from allowing us to gather data and enhance the technology constantly so it becomes each time more useful. In general previous products had a "once fit all" approach in an inconvenient design. There still a few of these devices out there but with low user adoption.
- kaybe 9y ago
  What does 'connectivity' entail? The way you put it sounds potentially highly intrusive.

rogerbinns 9y ago

What is the angle/spread of the sensor? eg if you point directly in front of you, then at 2 metres away how wide and tall does it detect things? In the video you can see someone duck out of the way of an overhanging branch. I'm curious how much they had to move the sensor to figure that out.

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Sure, range and sensitivity can be adjusted from the App, maximum ratings are 5 meters and 35° angle at the sound cone. So at two meters you would be able to detect head level obstacles with no problem. To improve the receptivity you can also slightly bend your elbow to give a little angle to your forearm and aim the band slightly up, that will catch even the ceiling of your room, fortunately the IMU permits us to understand the position you are aiming and trim the sound cone only to cover areas that represent a hazard, trying to drag attention of the user only with needed.

ENadyr 9y ago

Interesting that you are going for a limited direct to consumer model for your orders. Is this something YC is recommending as means of showing traction? I remember Thalmic (W13) going for a similar approach, though in their case it was a pre order campaign.

marco_trujillo 9y ago
We are also exploring other specialized channels with good response so far: - Sunu band is currently being prescribe at NECO Center for Eye Care in Boston as it is proving to be a catalizer in the rehab process of patients who lost their sight. - We are about to start trials with O&Ms (Orientation and Mobility Specialists) from the board of AERBVI (Asociation for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired) to prove the effectiveness of the product to be a complimentary mobility aid and a maximizer in the process of developing O&M skills.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

bramd 9y ago

Congrats on your launch. As a potential blind user, I've some questions. How can I reach you? Your email doesn't seem to be listed in your profile.

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Thanks for note I'll update my profile. My email is marco@sunu.io you can also find about us at sunu.io

ss09 9y ago

Awesome stuff! Many best wishes.

fer_albertorio 9y ago
Thank you.

abelfiori 9y ago

Hi Marco, as founder of Flicktek I would like to propose our tech in case you want to add more functionalities and interaction to your device, check what we do at flicktek.com!

indescions_2017 9y ago

Congrats! This is awesome and the best startup idea I've heard in months. Rooting for you guys and wishing you much success :)

rockmeamedee 9y ago

Just curious, since your clients are visually impaired people, what steps did you take to make your website accessible? It seems to be from a pre-made template, did you check the template ahead of time? Do you have visually impaired engineers, or do you do things like go through it with a screen reader/iOS VoiceOver every so often?

liveoneggs 9y ago
is it accessible? http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/
marco_trujillo 9y ago
Thanks for asking. We did tried to find accessible templates to screen readers with no luck. So we picked a template we liked and turn it accessible. How? we found good resources (like https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibility https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibil...), download most used screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver, Windows Eyes) did our homework and bounced it with some blind friends to make sure.
- mikekchar 9y ago
  I'm curious why you didn't go the other direction: build an accessible web page and then try to make it attractive to sighted people. No need for a template -- just straight HTML with black text on a white background. I'm not trying to be facetious here. I'm genuinely curious if there are market pressures that make a "good looking" website higher priority than an accessible one -- for example a need to look impressive to stake holders who are not visually impaired. "We didn't think of that" would be an OK response :-). I'm just curious about the challenges for a startup in this kind of market and where one might have to make surprising compromises.
  - mholmes680 9y ago
    not OP, but i think the overall challenge is cheaply coming up with a not-cheap product than can apply to the largest section of the limited market. Its expensive to advance the tech here, for a limited economic benefit to the company trying to advance the tech. As the brother to a visually impaired person, I found the website fine. If only you could ship by his August 1 birthday! :)

mojomark 9y ago

I'm not knocking this initiative, I hope it is very successful and helps the blind. However... About 10 years ago I sat down with the folks at the Maryland School for the Blind (1) to demo a similar mini LIDAR based design with haptic feedback. They thanked me for coming in and promptly brought in a box of similar devices and contraptions and dumped them on the desk. They told me these devices were fine, but really they were happy using canes. What came next blew my mind. They told me what they really wanted/needed was a way for a blind person to use AutoCAD so that bling people who wanted to work as engineers or architects could do so. Obviously, that's an exponentially tougher challenge, but certainly not not doable. 1. http://www.marylandschoolfortheblind.org http://www.marylandschoolfortheblind.org

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Thanks for sharing. We have heard this too, in fact many visually impaired I've talked to are skeptical initially. Can't blame them since after many attempts to develop an Electronic Travel Aids (ETA) there was not a good product people love. It is also true that many blind people feel comfortable with their condition, specially if the have good echolocation skills. That doesn't mean they won't appreciate a good product when it arrives, but more like they embraced the problem as part of their lives and aren't looking for a mobility solution (that's usually the case for people who born blind or have been living blind for over 20 years). But that's not the case for the vast majority, people losing sight or people who recently lost it are actively looking solutions. Is matter of digging and finding, there is a lot of variants when it comes to disabilities, definitively a hard puzzle to solve (I've been connecting pieces for over 3 years) but very rewarding.
- mbrookes 9y ago
  "many visually impaired I've talked to" This says it all really.
  - mbrookes 9y ago
    Apparently insensitive language is ok, but questioning it is not? HN, you've lost your way.

elmar 9y ago

Really interesting project, do you envision the usage of this technology on other use cases like for example robot navigation?

maneesh 9y ago

Marco! This is Maneesh from Pavlok (pavlok.com)! We met on Skype, and your co-founder worked with me at MassChallenge. Congrats on your success -- I hope I can help!

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Hi Maneesh, good to find you here! your wearable is stunning too, we should catch up soon. Cheers
codegladiator 9y ago
The top banner at your site says "Only days left" ....

shanselman 9y ago

Super useful, but with respect, your page is an accessibility mess. So much so that I can't really show it to my blind friends. http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ http://wave.webaim.org/report#/http://www.sunu.io/ Don't just buy a template. If you care, do the work.

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Thanks for the straight feedback and sharing the accessibility tool. Agree we have to work the accessibility for Low Vision (constrasts, rezicing, colors). For now it seems to be working very well for people using screen readers. We are also enhancing it on the go with feedback from people who find new things. Thanks

dpflan 9y ago

This is very cool; thanks for sharing. I remember listening to an Invisibilia episode entitled "How to Become Batman" [1]. It mentioned that blind children grow up and can learn to use echolocation, generating clicking sounds, to explore and to understand their surroundings. But the clicking is not socially acceptable, so many times the child is forced to eschew this technique. I am curious about this technique, what parts of the brain are involved in that, and how to improve upon or supplement or complement this technology to assist the visually impaired by somehow hooking into the similar neuro-pathways used in the echolocation technique. What're your thoughts on this? Have you had children us your device yet? ::Reference(s):: [1] http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-become-batman http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-bec...

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Great feedback. It is proven (Adelson E. & Fraiberg, 1974) that sighted children need directed reaching (approaching, touching, feeling) to connect the visual system to movement. The same happens for echolocation, the user needs to "confirm" what he is hearing by touching it in order to establish a relationship between sound and space. Unfortunately, as you mention, many children are being limited by their parents in the process of developing this association, ultimately blocking the activation of the visual cortex and depraving the kid to develop spatial perception (which is fundamental to develop other skills). We have tried the device with kids, although it takes a time to train them, when they understand what they are feeling they start to run everywere to explore the sensation. The band has worked so far as a catalizer of exploration, but we are also in the process of developing scientific data with our current partnerships to prove that this device can accelerate the time it takes for a blind person to develop echolocation skills as well as to remove initial barriers in the process of learning the skill (fear).
faceplanted 9y ago
Would it be possible to have headphones, bone conduction or otherwise, something they can still hear normal sounds through at least, which could convert an ultrasound "click" played by a speaker into a human audible "click" so they could use this in place of the audible clicking of human echolocation? So a high frequency speaker on their head plays the sound, and the headphones convert the returning reflected sound in the correct frequency range into a lower frequency and the brain does the rest. Seem like if we can have active noise cancelling headphones removing sound frequencies, we can have a headphone with microphones converting a frequency.

tabeth 9y ago

Heh, in college a friend and I wanted to make make an "echolocation" headband that would allow blind people to "see" after watching the video of the young man who possessed this ability [1]. Unfortunately, neither of us had the hardware expertise to make such a thing despite buying a Lego Mindstorm and the accompanying ultrasound sensor [2]. Best of luck to you all! The difficult thing we found was teaching blind people how to use it. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI [2] https://shop.lego.com/en-US/EV3-Ultrasonic-Sensor-45504 https://shop.lego.com/en-US/EV3-Ultrasonic-Sensor-45504

a_c 9y ago

A tangential thought, would the ultrasound bring discomfort to pets?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

azhenley 9y ago

This is awesome! I have always had an interest in this stuff. I recently saw a presentation at CHI'17 where they used a device that applies temperature changes to the skin to help people navigate [1]. [1] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3025965 http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3025965

marco_trujillo 9y ago
Awesome! thanks for sharing.

Naushad 9y ago

All good... but as someone else said. The accessibility for the webpage needs a proper fix.