5 ms·

Ask HN: Any deaf or blind hackers?

• jcr 12y ago
  There's a vast spectrum of various vision and hearing impairments. The severity of each possible impairment is also variable, and often a single person faces multiple types/severities of impairments. The end result is a lot of variables, too many combinations, and the need to customize solutions on a per-person basis. All health issues are extremely sensitive subjects, and the language used can be extremely important. Words like "deaf," "blind," and "disabled" are tough, really tough. They're tough to admit, tough to say, and tough to hear. I know people who insist on calling themselves "Hard of Hearing" (typically abbreviated "HoH") or "Hearing Impaired" rather than being called "deaf" --which they consider offensive. Others are really easy-going about the terms used, so yes, this is yet another variable. And again, some are willing to speak publicly about it, while others prefer to just quietly pretend to normal on the Internet like everyone else. You really need to add your email address to the 'about' section of your HN profile since many would only discuss it with you privately. As for ideas, I have more than a few. Some are hardware. Some are software. But none of them seem profitable from a business perspective. Accessibility is subject to the same market forces as everything else in the world. Given the dizzying number of possible combinations of types of impairments with many requiring customized solutions as well as the comparatively small number of disabled people, providing accessibility is often ignored. Even HN itself has major accessibility issues that prevent some people from using the site. Free ideas are generally worth what you pay for them, but here's one; a pin grid display. Imagine every pixel on a normal display as a pin that can be raised or lowered. You could "see" the screen with your fingertips. It would be a world's first. You'd make pictures accessible to the blind, along with text, fonts, and formatting (layout/design). With enough hardware, software, and mechanical engineering prowess, a pin grid display may now be possible to do, but it would be difficult. Just getting the raising and lowering of tightly packed pins right would take a lot of effort, but the idea can be expanded to include vibration, temperature, and possibly other tactile feedback. This is long enough for now, but yes, my email address is in my profile.
• Jemaclus 12y ago
  I'm hearing impaired (not deaf) and I'm also a very experienced software engineer. The tools at my disposal allow me to do a very good job, so that's not really a problem. What really sucks is the whole communication thing. I work with a number of people whose first language is not English, and some of them have very, very strong accents. It's nearly impossible for me to carry a conversation with them because of it. It gets better over time, but the first few weeks/months are a nightmare. Here are some tech ideas that I would love to see come to fruition: * Google Glass (or some similar device) with speech-to-text recognition for real-time subtitles. Main problem: Speech-to-text isn't advanced enough, and I probably get more out of reading lips than reading incorrect words. Also doesn't work too well with strong accents. * Better hearing aid integrations. My hearing aid currently has a bluetooth attachment, which makes talking on the phone and listening to music 1000x easier. Previously, I'd have to hold my phone up to my hearing aid. Imagine this: someone speaks into a microphone, and the sound comes out of a speaker, then goes into another microphone, then comes out of another speaker and hits my ear drums. And that second microphone makes no differentiation between sounds from that first speaker or ambient noise. In other words, it's really, really hard to talk on the phone. Now with my Bluetooth device, your voice speaks into your microphone and comes directly out of my speaker -- I can even mute the microphone on my hearing aid, so that all I hear is the phone call. Very cool. More things along this line would be awesome. * Along the lines above, some tiny, cheap (read: replaceable) microphones/devices that I could just hand to my friends/girlfriend/family and have them clip onto their shirts or something that would send directly to my Bluetooth, enabling me to hear better in loud environments like restaurants and so on. Main problem: probably not cheap. * Hearing aids that run off body heat. I don't even know if this is possible, but I have to change my hearing aid battery about once every 7-10 days. Sometimes it dies in a terrible place, like in an interview or a meeting or while I'm on a phone call or out on a run. In those cases, it's difficult to find time to change the battery -- assuming I even have a battery with me! And trust me, keeping a pack of batteries on you is a pain in the royal ass. Main problem: probably not even possible with current technology * You know how they have those polarized glasses where something is invisible to the general public until you put on the glasses? Those. For subtitles. I can't watch TV without subtitles -- I honestly don't know how you hearing people do it. My friends and family are very understanding, but strangers and new acquaintances often make fun of me for having subtitles on (unless I point out the hearing loss thing, which I don't like to do with people I don't know). And even for my friends and family, many of them find subtitles to be distracting. When I'm not around, they turn them off. I would love to be able to just pop on a pair of glasses and watch TV with subtitles without my friends or family having to see them. I'm aware that some movie theaters have these mirrored glasses with subtitles behind them, but that won't work in, say, a bar or my friend's house. Main problem: getting TVs to adopt the tech * Some fun way to get someone to repeat themselves without saying "What?" over and over and over again. Seriously, it gets old, and eventually I just nod and smile and say "Oh yeah, totally," even though I have no idea what I just agreed to. This has come back to bite me in the ass many, many times. Main problem: I haven't figured this out in 32 years of existence. * Something that gives a tactile response when someone says my name, preferably with some hint as to the direction. I'm completely deaf in one ear and I have a profound hearing loss in the other. Unfortunately, this means I don't have stereo sound -- I can't tell the direction of sound! I'd love a device that would buzz when someone says my name and give a hint as to the direction the sound came from so that I can turn to find them. Most times I just look around until I see someone looking at me. This has backfired many, many times. Main problem: If I can't hear my own name, how would a device? I dunno. * Waterproof hearing aids. I love, love, love to swim... but I have to do it while I'm effectively deaf. Very frustrating. Main problem: waterproofing hearing aids would be done already if it was easy. I'm sure I could think of others, but those are the ones that I can think of right now. I'd love to hear what other people think about these ideas. Good luck.