Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in response to Deborah Kendrick's March article, Advocating for Yourself in an Emergency Medical Situation: Advice for People with Visual Impairments.
Another one knocked out of the park. Very useful and provocative. Congrats, Deborah.
Best Regards,
David F
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in regard to Jamie Pauls' March article, CAPTCHA Be Gone from Accessible Apps Removes Another Barrier to Accessibility.
This software was a great help to me when I completed my tax returns this past January. Audio CAPTCHAs were available when I logged into the online tax preparation process, but at the end, when I was required to get past a CAPTCHA before e-filing, the audio version didn't work. I signed into CAPTCHA Be Gone, and I could solve the CAPTCHA to complete the e-filing process.
The article didn't mention that if you use a Braille display, CAPTCHA Be Gone works very well in braille. I'm deaf on one side, and using braille with speech in the background is a real bonus.
Sincerely,
Mary Emerson
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
My son has ocular albinism and is legally blind. He does not qualify for eSight eyewear since his vision is not considered bad enough. I suspect he could benefit from eSight greatly but it's too expensive since he's been unemployed for a long time.
I worked in IT for many years and tried to hack together something based on Google cardboard VR and an LG V10 cell phone, which has a very high-resolution screen. Although I lack the expertise to demonstrate anything nearly as good as eSight, I'm convinced that there has to be an alternative to paying $15,000 which is nearly as good. The most expensive VR headsets are well under $1,000.
I'm afraid that it will take another 5 to 10 years before anything affordable is available. Are you aware of anyone developing an alternative to eSight that costs $3,000 or less? Any help is appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Donald Smith
Response from AccessWorld Associate, Aaron Preece:
Hello Donald,
At the moment, the closest product to eSight that is available for purchase, that I am aware of, is the NuEyes product. It can be purchased at a lower price than eSight glasses but it is still above the price point you requested at $5,995 and $6,195 for the NuEyes Easy and the NuEyes Pro, respectively. The device is a head-mounted display that includes a camera on the front and a pair of LCD displays for the lenses. It is possible to magnify surroundings and adjust color and contrast. The glasses also allow users to perform optical character recognition using the camera and stream television and movies directly to the lenses. The difference between the Easy and Pro is that the Pro also includes a full Android tablet interface that can be displayed on the lenses and interacted with. The Pro is expected to be released this upcoming summer and the Easy is currently available for purchase.
The IrisVision uses a VR headset paired with a smartphone to allow a user to magnify certain parts of an image without magnifying others so that they can see items that they have difficulty viewing. The site states low cost, but I have not been able to find an exact?stated price at the time of this writing.
There was a product in development called Smart Specs, which used augmented reality glasses that could magnify images but also simplify the items being viewed and outline objects. I have found several news articles on this product and found their website though at the time of this writing all the links to more information about the device produce 404 errors, so it is unclear if this project is still in development.
I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Aaron Preece
