Ultrasonic glove
boosts independence for visually impaired
Posted by Vivien Chang on May 18, 2015 at 10:30 in Blind & Visually Impaired Back to Blind & Visually Impaired Discussions Around two million people in United Kingdom are living with some form of visual impairment. As well as using traditional walking sticks or guide dogs, there is now a new design called the Sensei Glove that could benefit blind and partially sighted people to determine their distance from certain object. One of the main advantages of the Sensei Glove is users don’t have to undergo a lot of training before using the product. The Sensei Glove has an ultrasonic sensor that generates various levels of sound to alert the wearer to solid obstacles in his or her surroundings, which is quite similar to a car’s parker sensor. The ultrasonic sensor is on the back of the glove, and it relies on battery to enable it to emit different levels of sounds to differentiate distance of objects. The vibrations get stronger or weaker depending on the wearer’s proximity to the object being detected, and this allows for safe navigation. The Sensei Glove was designed by students Raivat Luthura and Serkan Oztas, who won first prize in the inaugural Entrepreneurship and Business Competition run by Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) at The University of Nottingham and Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF). The team is also now working on furthering the design of the glove into a fully marketable product. The main challenge they face is the size of the attachment, thus making a microprocessor smaller and lighter is the direction of the development, which also means the product will be more aesthetically pleasing. A prototype will be developed and refined for presentation to both charities and the NHS, with the hope of moving onto mass production eventually

Manx Blind Welfare Society is inviting teams to join its acoustic shooting day, being held as part of Vision Awareness Week 2015.

Teams will have a chance to learn about the sport, and have a go, during the event at Corrin Court in Onchan on September 19.

Designed for the visually impaired, but open to all, acoustic shooting involves the use of adapted rifles fitted with special sights, which measure the level of light reflected from the target and convert it into sound.

Participants wear headphones to hear the sound, which becomes more frequent the closer they are to the target.

The society was registered as a rifle club last year, when acoustic shooting was introduced to the Isle of Man.

Manx Blind Welfare Society shooting coordinator Dave Wilson said: ‘Acoustic shooting is a popular pursuit for our members. We often hold shooting events and welcome teams from all over the island.

‘On September 19 we are inviting teams to come along and have a go. We already have several teams signed up, but we’d welcome more. Entry is absolutely free and we provide all the equipment.

‘Last year we had a competition among the teams and our visually impaired shooters took victory after beating the police’s firearms team. It was great fun.’

People are being challenged to think about how easily they would be able to get around the Island if they were to lose their sight.

The Manx Blind Welfare Society will mark Vision Awareness Week next month – as part of that it’s holding the “Walk My Way” event on September 20th.

The blindfolded guided walk along Douglas Promenade will help people to experience what it’s like to walk with obstructed vision and how to help others do the same.

Debbie Thompson from the charity says it’s important to break some myths around vision problems which currently affect over 600 people here to varying degrees:

WALK MY WAY

A walk to raise vision awareness

SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2015

2pm till 5pm

Starting at the War Memorial on Douglas Promenade

Manx Blind Welfare Society will host Vision Awareness Week on 14th– 20^th September 2015.

Throughout Vision Awareness Week there will be a series of public

events Island-wide and “Walk My Way” will be held on Sunday 20th September. The

aim of “Walk My Way” is to significantly raise public awareness of the challenges

faced by blind and visually impaired people living in the Isle of Man. Walking is a

wonderful form of exercise for anyone but it can be a much greater challenge for

people who are blind or have a visual impairment, as they have a very different view

of the world around them. We hope that everyone who takes part will gain a better

understanding.

Manx Blind Welfare Society also hopes to highlight the vital work done locally to

assist people living with visual impairment. We aim to promote the importance of

good eye health to minimise the risk of visual impairment. We also aim to support

people with sight loss to live their lives free of discrimination and to provide services

to enhance the inclusion and independence of blind and visually impaired people

living in the Isle of Man.

Manx Blind Welfare Society, Corrin Court, Heywood Avenue, Onchan, Isle of Man,

IM3 3AP

Manx Blind Welfare Society looks after the interests of approximately 600 people

with serious sight loss on the Isle of Man. Established in 1936, it provides a

comprehensive range of services and support, including a talking book library, a

recording studio providing a weekly news service, computer training room, a

specialist equipment room and a dining and social room. Apart from a subsidised

charge for lunches, all services are provided for free. The Society is financially

independent of Government relying entirely on fundraising, donations and legacies

for its services.

SmartVision by KAPSYS

replaces several dedicated devices : mobile phone, digital magnifier,                       NFC tag programmer/reader, voice-controlled FM radio, voice-controlled music and audio book players…

STATE-OF-THE-ART ACCESSIBILITY

Designed to be accessible to anyone with low or impaired vision, SmartVision by KAPSYS features a “hybrid” user-interface so you can control it via its touchscreen, the integrated keypad or even through an impressive voice interface that reacts to natural language. Just use it the way you choose…
SmartVision by KAPSYS also supports a set of simple accessibility gestures to easily control its main functions with predefined finger moves.
Should you prefer to control your device with voice, the integrated voice recognition module allows you to easily browse the menus.

WHAT MAKES SMARTVISION BY KAPSYS SO SPECIAL?

SmartVision by KAPSYS is a feature-rich ultra-accessible smartphone packed with innovative features dedicated to people with low vision or visual impairment.

+ At last, a state-of-the-art smartphone accessible to visually impaired users thanks to a unique “hybrid” user-interface (touchscreen, keypad and voice commands)

+ Greatly supports people with low vision in everyday life thanks to its integrated vision enhancement toolbox with video magnifier, its automatic identification/recognition functions and the smart mobility assistant

+ All-in-one portable solution, saving space and money: cuts down the number of specialized devices to carry around

+ Feel comfortable and safe with the remote assistance mode and the emergency button

 

ALL-IN-SMART

SmartVision by KAPSYS combines the best of the Android world with innovative applications specifically created by KAPSYS to support people with low or impaired vision in everyday life.
Whether for enhancing vision, identifying objects or for smart and fully voice-assisted navigation, SmartVision by KAPSYS gives you more than a standard smartphone.

With so many embedded sophisticated features, SmartVision by KAPSYS is a great all-in-one pocket-sized solution that will easily replace the range of equipment generally needed by people with low or impaired vision.

VISION ENHANCEMENT

• Video magnifier (with different contrast filters)
• User-interface with large characters and icons

 

RECOGNITION ASSISTANT

• Optical character recognition with voice transcription (text-to-speech)
• Object identification using NFC tags
• NFC tag reading & programming

 

MOBILITY ASSISTANT

• 100% voice-assisted pedestrian and car navigation with large direction symbols
• Text or voice destination entry (using natural language)
• Free navigation (with voice description of the environment)
• Compass navigation
• A to B itinerary learning

Itinerary recording, map discovery, personal POI recording and management

Aspire Consultancy

Tel ; 01904 762788                                        

 [email protected]

www.aspire-consultancy.co.uk

Boxed Braille sense +32 £1500 or near offer.

as new blaze EZ still boxed. £395 or near offer.

The following used equipment is in stock.

Pacmate Omni QX420
£799.00

Freedom Scientific 20 cell braille display
£399.00

Index Basic S single sided Braille embosser
£500

Index Basic D double sided Braille embosser
£750

Index Everest double sided Braille embosser
£995

Hims Braille Sense +32 with Sense Nav GPS option
£1500