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Stanford's 6Dot seeks to become an Apple for the Blind

61 points by jacoblyles 15y ago

sp332 15y ago
Isn't it odd that the six dots in the logo are not in Braille configuration (two columns of three dots)?
- koenigdavidmj 15y ago
  Looks like the older Perkins Brailler ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_Brailler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_Brailler ) has the same layout.
compumike 15y ago
You can also see the team's early work from their initial concept and design in 2008 as part of a "Product Engineering Process" class: http://designed.mit.edu/gallery/view-2008-DOTit.html http://designed.mit.edu/gallery/view-2008-DOTit.html
xbryanx 15y ago
I applaud this group for innovating in the stagnant world of assistive devices. I'm curious to see how their work progresses in a world where braille literacy rates are on the decline and where braille readers are the minority of the US blind population: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille_literacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille_literacy
jacoblyles 15y ago
Don't forget to check out their kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/6dot/6dot-braille-labeler-a-sight-for-sore-eyes/ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/6dot/6dot-braille-labele...
peteretep 15y ago
It would seem remiss for a story with such a headline to not have a comment that points out that Apple do a pretty good job of being Apple for the blind... Here's just one random article in that vein: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/09/association-for-the-blind-pleased-with-new-ipod-nano.ars http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/09/association-for-th...
- lotiinthehouse 15y ago
  Apple has definitely done a good job in accessibility. I think the article may be trying to draw a parallel between the way that Apple has done so much to design beautiful products that enable us to be more productive, efficient, etc. and the work that 6dot appears to be doing specifically for the blind community. If 6dot really does what they claim, perhaps they will transform the way blind people experience the world in the same way that Apple has changed all our lives. Yay for accessibility at Apple! And let's get moving, Google!
calloc 15y ago
I had a classmate in college that was blind and all he had was his Apple laptop with VoiceOver enabled. He said that using it felt like he could see it, he described it in exactly those words as well. He said he could see the user interface and it made sense, he was able to take notes and overall used a computer much like other people in the class. before getting the MacBook my class mate had tried to use Windows based machines and found that they did not work nearly as well and that the voice over stuff in Windows was primitive.

61 points by jacoblyles 15y ago

sp332 15y ago

Isn't it odd that the six dots in the logo are not in Braille configuration (two columns of three dots)?

koenigdavidmj 15y ago
Looks like the older Perkins Brailler ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_Brailler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_Brailler ) has the same layout.

compumike 15y ago

You can also see the team's early work from their initial concept and design in 2008 as part of a "Product Engineering Process" class: http://designed.mit.edu/gallery/view-2008-DOTit.html http://designed.mit.edu/gallery/view-2008-DOTit.html

xbryanx 15y ago

I applaud this group for innovating in the stagnant world of assistive devices. I'm curious to see how their work progresses in a world where braille literacy rates are on the decline and where braille readers are the minority of the US blind population: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille_literacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille_literacy

jacoblyles 15y ago

Don't forget to check out their kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/6dot/6dot-braille-labeler-a-sight-for-sore-eyes/ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/6dot/6dot-braille-labele...

peteretep 15y ago

It would seem remiss for a story with such a headline to not have a comment that points out that Apple do a pretty good job of being Apple for the blind... Here's just one random article in that vein: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/09/association-for-the-blind-pleased-with-new-ipod-nano.ars http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/09/association-for-th...

lotiinthehouse 15y ago
Apple has definitely done a good job in accessibility. I think the article may be trying to draw a parallel between the way that Apple has done so much to design beautiful products that enable us to be more productive, efficient, etc. and the work that 6dot appears to be doing specifically for the blind community. If 6dot really does what they claim, perhaps they will transform the way blind people experience the world in the same way that Apple has changed all our lives. Yay for accessibility at Apple! And let's get moving, Google!

calloc 15y ago

I had a classmate in college that was blind and all he had was his Apple laptop with VoiceOver enabled. He said that using it felt like he could see it, he described it in exactly those words as well. He said he could see the user interface and it made sense, he was able to take notes and overall used a computer much like other people in the class. before getting the MacBook my class mate had tried to use Windows based machines and found that they did not work nearly as well and that the voice over stuff in Windows was primitive.