Attendees of INDATA’s next full-day training session are in for a treat, as it will be something of a fashion show. From rings and watches to eyeglasses and more, the INDATA team and its guest presenters will demonstrate wearable accessories that make the world more accessible to people with disabilities.
“Wearable assistive technology dates all the way back to the 13th century with the advent of rivet spectacles in northern Italy,” said Easterseals Crossroads’ Director of Assistive Technology Josh Anderson. “It’s amazing to think of how far wearables have come — from helping people read medieval texts to controlling their electric wheelchairs. INDATA looks forward to showing people a wide variety of wearable devices and capabilities.”
The free full-day training, “Wearable Assistive Technology,” will take place at 4740 Kingsway Dr. on Wednesday, August 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern. It will also be streamed live via Zoom and can be accessed at www.eastersealstech.com/live.
A Sneak Peek at INDATA’s Wearable Catalog
After a brief trip through the history of wearables, Anderson and Demo & Loan Lead Blake Allee will introduce attendees to the following accessories, which represent just a small sample of what will be on display during the training.
Ray-Ban Meta Glasses: Like a gadget you’d see in a James Bond movie, these look like a typical pair of glasses, but they’re incredibly high-tech. Through a built-in camera and speaker, users can take high-quality photos and videos or livestream their point of view. Through a simple voice command, blind or low-vision users can use the integrated service Be My Eyes, and a sighted volunteer can then see through the glasses’ built-in camera and provide real-time assistance, with audio relayed through the glasses’ open-ear speakers. (This would be considered a form of “remote support” — another topic the training session will explore.)
Whether it’s reading a restaurant menu, navigating a city street, or identifying objects in a store, users can receive immediate support from Be My Eyes without needing to use their smartphone. Several versions of the Ray-Ban Glasses are available in INDATA’s online lending library here.
Lotus Ring: For a long time, getting up in the middle of the night was a big ordeal for Apple engineer Dhaval Patel, as he was born with twisted knees and requires climbing onto crutches to move around. To avoid the hassle, he established a routine of flipping off the wall switch for his lights before going to bed. But he forgot one night, and because he was too physically tired to get back up, he slept — poorly — with the lights on.
Now, with the Lotus Ring he invented, Patel can simply point toward the lights and click them off by pressing a small button on this fashionable piece of modern jewelry.
Using magnetic covers that snap onto any existing wall switch, the Lotus Ring kit makes any space accessible within seconds by connecting to the switch via infrared — the same way a remote connects to a TV. No need for an internet connection. The ring controls anything a wall switch controls — lights, fans, TVs, a garbage disposal, etc.
As Anderson says in the video demonstration above, “(This technology) is made so that anyone in a home can access the switch, not just the individual with the ring. Anyone can come right up and just hit the button (on the magnetic cover).”
Find the Lotus Ring in INDATA’s lending library here.
Dot Watch: Wearable like any typical watch, the Dot stands out with its face, which has perforated holes featuring magnets and pins inside that rise to form braille text messages. It’s able to do this by linking to any Bluetooth device and translating text from messaging apps into tactile braille dots.
Dot Inc. CEO Eric Ju Yoon Kim explained the magic of this watch to Tech in Asia: “Until now, if you got a message on iOS from your girlfriend, for example, you had to listen to Siri read it to you in that voice, which is impersonal. Wouldn’t you rather read it yourself and hear your girlfriend’s voice saying it in your head?”
The day’s training session will conclude with an exploration of two headsets for people with vision impairment — eSight Go and Vision Buddy.
eSight Go glasses feature a small, high-speed high-definition camera that captures everything in front of you in real time. The headset uses advanced algorithms to enhance clarity, contrast and magnification (up to 24x). It then projects the enhanced footage onto two high-resolution screens (one per eye) for full binocular vision. Unlike fully immersive virtual reality headsets, the eSight Go glasses preserve the user’s natural peripheral vision, which is vital for maintaining balance and safety while moving.
The Vision Buddy headset brings crystal-clear quality to everything in sight — and not just through enhanced visuals. For example, when the user is looking at a pill bottle, the headset can digitally scan the text and read it aloud to them.
The Vision Buddy helped INDATA consumer Bob Butler (pictured below with Allee) view sports games more clearly and see the score and time clock, which allowed him to watch the NBA playoffs. He was also able to wear the device to a Bruce Springsteen concert, and he could see the stage with a level of clarity he’d never experienced before.
These are just a few of the wearables you can expect to see at next week’s training. Register now so you don’t miss out.
Ray-Ban Meta Glasses image courtesy of INDATA.
Lotus Ring image courtesy of INDATA.
Dot Watch image courtesy of Dot Inc.
Vision Buddy image courtesy of INDATA.
