Dot watch

Useful digital technology for the disabled

Innovation has long reached a helping hand for people with disabilities: impaired speech, vision or movement.

This article discusses assistive technologies for people with disabilities, which, for example, help people who are hearing impaired participate in group conversations, and people with tremors help themselves eat. These useful apps and advanced gadgets make everyday life easier..

1. Dot Watch

• Site: dotincorp.com
• Application for IOS and Android

This is a Braille smartwatch for the visually impaired, which synchronizes with the phone. The gadget was developed by the South Korean brand Dot Incorporation and went on sale in 2017. It provides tactile information, allows you to set a timer or stopwatch and always be in touch with loved ones. Each text message that arrives on a smartphone is instantly translated into Braille and sent to Dot Watch. When a person receives a call, the watch vibrates and displays the name of the caller.
The working hours of the watch are simple: the relief-point active cells on the aluminum case are advanced by a motor that powers a lithium battery (the charge lasts for seven days). The speed of the demonstration of words or numbers is from 1 to 1,000 iterations per second.

They say that among the first owners of a smart device is Stevie Wonder.

2. Talkitt

Talkitt

An innovative mobile application (known back in 2016) was developed by the Israeli company Voiceitt. It is intended for people with speech and language disorders for communication purposes. The program translates an incomprehensible pronunciation into spoken correct speech so that you can understand the thoughts and words of the interlocutor.

It is noteworthy that the program works in any language: the machine learning algorithm first analyzes the user’s speech (after asking for a few standard phrases), creates a personal dictionary for him, and then begins to recognize words that he displays in an audio track or text (similar to Siri). Sorry, Talkitt is still in beta..

3. Open Sesame

• Site: sesame-enable.com
• Application for Android

This is a mobile application that allows you to switch to full control of the smartphone with voice and gestures. Reading minimal movements with limbs or the head through the front camera, it recognizes the face and words of its owner, helping to move the cursor, open and use programs.

This development is from Israel, invented six years ago. Oded Ben Dov (game developer) and Gior Livni (paralyzed electrical engineer) are the creators of this technology for the disabled. They worked on complex software, using Google’s Nexus 5 as a hardware platform. Interestingly, the original idea and principle of action were taken from the gaming industry, where gesture analysis is very popular when playing games on consoles. The gadget runs on Android and captures activity at a distance of 40-60 cm.

4. UNI

Uni

• Site: motionsavvy.com

A unique gesture translator facilitates communication for people with hearing and speech problems. The device uses a large database for quick translation of hand language into audio format. Also, the technology allows you to perceive replicas from the interlocutor, converting them into text on the screen. The developers of the project were the Rochester Institute of Technology Design and Programming, as well as the MotionSavvy brand from California.

Today, Uni is not just a program, but also a special tablet with a case. Sensors pick up what a person is showing with his hands at the moment, and then process it into a voice message. For extended use of the device, you can download foreign dictionaries to communicate abroad. Unfortunately, the project is not yet completely ready. Work on it continues, as the program must learn to read and recognize various slangs, dialects and accents.

5. Finger Reader

This is a convenient tool for reading text from scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The device was created for two purposes: on the one hand, to help visually impaired people perceive text information in paper or electronic books, and on the other, to translate the language.

An unusual gadget connects to computers and smartphones and is worn on the finger, and it was made on a 3D printer. You need to drag your finger across the body of the text, line by line, and then a miniature camera will scan the data and instantly voice everything that it detects. Using vibrations, Finger Reader can notify visually impaired readers that they are at the beginning of a line or should move to the next line.

6. Be My Eyes

• Site: bemyeyes.com
• Applications for IOS and Android

A non-profit application with the literal name “Be My Eyes” is aimed at people with visual problems and is designed to rid them of everyday troubles through live video. The program works on the principle of online communication: you need to indicate whether you are a volunteer or are in search of an assistant. After, register.

Requests from visually impaired people come in different ways: from detecting road signs to tips on choosing goods on the shelves. Volunteers receive video calls from users from different countries and act in accordance with the request of the interlocutor. The Be My Eyes project has registered several tens of thousands of people. The program runs on different platforms and was made by the Danish software development studio – Robocat. Hans Jorgen Wiberg, creator of this technology for the visually impaired, is himself a person with similar difficulties.

7. AVA

AVA

• Site: ava.me
• Application for IOS and Android

To replace hearing aids, a group of four students (from Berkeley and San Francisco) developed a unique mobile application. The program allows you to establish communication, converting speech into text information on the screen.

The invention, under the name AVA, is sensitive to real-time human speech. Even in group conversations, she is able to isolate the replica of all participants and indicate their phrases on the display in different colors (as in the classic chats of modern instant messengers). Thus, with the identification of interlocutors should not be difficult.

It is noteworthy that each of the creators of the program has hearing problems, but the nature of the disease is different for everyone. Therefore, young scientists managed to create a truly universal application.

8. Liftware

• Site: liftware.com

This is a special pen device that stabilizes cutlery. It is intended for the normal nutrition process of people with Parkinson’s disease. You can attach a nozzle – a fork or a spoon to such a handle to reduce their jitter by 70% and eliminate the risk of spills. In the starter kit there is a charger, the holder itself and a nozzle-spoon, you can also order a carrying case. The dishes from the set are washed as usual, and the handle is rubbed.

9. Dexteria

• Site: dexteria.net

Under this common name is a whole series of useful applications from the developer of Binary Labs. Programs designed to develop children’s motor skills and restore motor function in people after a stroke.

Downloading applications on any platform, you can at first take them for ordinary fun games. But in fact, a series of exercises are offered to train the upper limbs and develop dexterity, strength and control. Each registered user can also track their personal progress..