Author Archives: pidek9

Tablet for blind people

Reading Time: 2 minutes

bitlab

Nowadays multi-touch screens are used in majority of devices and the trend seems to be growing. Unfortunately it looks like the technology forgot about big group of people  who cannot see the displayed content.  In Poland there is about 90 thousand people struggling with blindness and about 315 millions of people with this disability all over the world. What is more the problem is predicted to grow. People who use Braille is about 150 millions of people. In general we are generation that is less likely to read things so instead there is more and more videos, pictures and iconographic. Fortunately there is a company that is developing technology which allows blind people use tablets.

BLITAB® is the World’s first tactile tablet for blind and visually impaired people. It is a  Braille device for reading and writing that displays one whole page Braille text, without any mechanical elements. We can compare it to an e-book which displays small physical bubbles. They rise and fall on demand, in a result one whole page can be read and can be written via Braille Perkins Keyboard. This is the first time that users can have an overview of a whole document.

I believe that the idea is great and I do not understand why blind and visually impaired  people had to wait for such a long time for this solution. It is already possible to sign up to pre-order. I hope that this solution will work soon and that more companies will think about peoples’ disabilities and improving their everyday life.

 

Sources:

http://blitab.com/

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/blitab-world-s-first-tablet-for-blind-people#/story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN2QfdvdQiA

Tagged , , ,

Obligatory drone registration

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

droneregistrationproblems (1)

When drones appeared on the market there were many ideas how it can be used. Everyone can buy a drone today so there is huge variety of potential use of this product. Some ideas are very noble like saving people’s lives delivering first aid kit and other medicines to help people. Other ideas are very interesting logistic solution for example Amazon Prime Air which is a future service that will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less using small drones. Drones can be useful while taking photos, live video transmissions during events eg. concerts, for archeological purposes and many more. Imagination is the limit while using the drones, but as it is becoming more and more popular governments are trying to create some restrictions to it.

Few days ago Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that require all private owners of unmanned aircraft weighing over 250 grams to register them with the Federal Air Transport Agency. From 21st of December registration of drones is obligatory in United States of America. People will be able to make it through the internet, registration cost is $ 5. Those who bought the drones before that date have to be registered within 60 days. After that point, drones will have to be registered before their first flight. Each flying vehicle subject to registration will receive a special number, which has to be painted in a visible place. Regulations concerning the registration of drones can reduce the risk of plane crashes. In the last two years in the United States reported 240 cases of approaching these vehicles on a dangerous distance from airliners. In more than 50 cases, the distance was less than 15 meters. What is also interesting the register is going to be public so everyone can easily find the owner in case of any accident or problem.

In my opinion this solution should be implemented worldwide because drones can cause some problems and can be used as spying machines. Many civil users are checking for example what is the neighbor doing and validate his privacy. This little tool in the hands of the wrong people can result in a lot of trouble so it is good to at least have possibility to find the owner.

 

Sources:

https://www.rt.com/politics/327536-russian-introduces-obligatory-registration-of/

http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/14/news/companies/faa-drone-registration/index.html

Tagged , , ,

self-destructing messages on Facebook

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today I would like to share with you the new Facebook option which may soon be introduced. Facebook Messenger is testing a new option which allows people to send messages that vanish in an hour. It is available in France now and it is still not confirmed if the option will be available in other countries.  Facebook is trying to convince us that their messenger is the best place to communicate and is giving us a set of tools to improve this experience. Obviously this feature reminds Snapchat idea of disappearing content. Is Facebook trying to imitate Snapchat because Evan Spiegel refused selling it? Maybe.

For me it is more interesting why people would like to hide their messages, because I don’t mind keeping my conversations with friends saved. Usually it is even better to have possibility to check what exactly they asked us about, or what time and where you were supposed to meet. However I understand that some people treat conversations very personal and may feel safe if nobody can read it. Therefore I would like to show you how it looks like now:

enhanced-mid-25136-1447353649-9enhanced-mid-22834-1447353760-1

 

It means that the text will disappear but the message frame will still be there… I think that if somebody would like the conversation to dissapear he can just delete it instead of leaving the evidence of chatting but without real content… What is your opinion about it? Do you think it can be useful? Would you improve something here?

Turning meals into a fun game

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Those who have a child know that feeding it can turn into a real war. Those who does not, could probably hear this drama in a restaurants or friends’ houses etc.  In Argentina they decided to do something about it and came up with a weapon for these eating tragedies. They combined the reluctance to meals with unconditional love for games and what they received was this:

yumit-5

Yumit, an interactive plate designed  by Wunderman, that convinces kids to consume by converting what they eat into virtual energy that can be used for upgrades and extras on mobile games. Meals are weighed in real time, with an inbuilt sensor detecting how much food the child is eating. The more the kid will eat, the more ‘virtual energy’ it will receive, and then can use this energy in games. The plate has a LED display that keeps children informed of how many fun games they’ve unlocked, which turns the boring routine of eating into fun experience. The sets will be available in different colours. What is also important, you can wash it in a dishwasher.

The invention could be pretty powerful if it was integrated into popular games but in this moment there are not many games that the child could play using extra points from eating.

I am wondering if the children will really enjoy eating spinach which they hate, to get some points. Maybe producers are not aware that kids are really intelligent and they will understand pretty fast that they just have to remove food from the plate which does not really mean they will put it in their mouth… Parents control will be still inevitable, and arguments about the virtual points can become a new reality.

The Yumit plate is not on sales yet but you can make a pre-order on their website http://www.yumit.io/ if you really believe that this can work with your kid.

Sources:

http://www.yumit.io/

http://www.springwise.com/smartplate-lets-kids-earn-virtual-currency-eating/

http://www.wired.com/2015/09/an-interactive-plate-that-turns-your-kids-meal-into-a-game/

WOVE – DIGITAL GOES MATERIAL

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We are living in the world of displays. People already have a lot of devices that brings  information to them but it seems that it is still not enough. There are already smartphones, tablets, tv screens, smartwatches, displays in public communication, at hairdressers etc. However this is only the beginnig, because Polyera introduced a prototype of Wove Band with flexible multi-touch screen.

Sales of the first edition is expected in mid-2016. The Wove operating system, Wove OS, is based on Android’s operating system and connects to smartphone by Bluetooth. There is still no information how much it will cost, but probably it will be less than the cheapest Apple Watch option.

 

wove pic

Polyera claims that Wove is just the beginning: “Over the next few years, we will enable the products that people have long wished for, and many they have not yet imagined: where devices are no longer hard, heavy, and cold, but soft, ambient, and organic–where the forms they take and the roles they play become more natural and more human. We’re excited to take you on this journey.” The company is working on a variety of flexible electronics components, such as flexible OLED displays, flexible sensors etc.

It seems that the digital revolution is coming. The main slogan of Wove is ‘digital goes material’ and if it actually does we will soon be facing revolution of digital products. It is already comfortable to have a smartphone or tablet, but it requires this little attention not to be folded or dropped etc. Imagine that now you don’t have to worry about this.

Today it is just the Wove Band, but this technology can be transferred to many products which we use every day. Let’s imagine a bag that women take almost everywhere. Soon it could be a bag and a tablet the same time. What about changing a colour of it? Even clothes could become a display. I am just not sure if I am excited about it or terrified. Will it save our time or still it from us? Anyway, let’s enjoy our current devices because they may soon become antiques.

 

Sources of information:

http://www.polyera.com/

http://www.wove.com/

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/16/meet-wove-an-e-ink-touchscreen-computer-that-wraps-around-your-arm/

Tagged , , ,