[Cyborg] Thimble: A Bluetooth Braille Smart-Finger

[Adam]

  Sent to you by Adam via Google Reader: Thimble: A Bluetooth Braille
Smart-Finger via Gadget Lab by Charlie Sorrel on 12/27/10



Thimble is a Bluetooth finger-glove that hooks up to your smartphone
and works as a Braille display. By pulsing Braille shapes onto the
fingertip via an “electro-tactile grid array”, all kinds of messages
can be conveyed to the user.

But that’s not all. The concept design, by Erik Hedberg and Zack
Bennet, also has a camera inside to scan words in the real world and
transcribe them into Braille, along with a microphone for voice
control. Thus the user can ask where they are, the phone will provide
the location via GPS and the Thimble will read out the answer. Here’s a
slow-moving video showing how it would work.



The phone, in this case, is an iPhone, as iOS already has great
accessibility features for the sight-impaired, and already works just
fine with existing Braille displays. Hedberg and Bennet are “working on
a patent”, and as the product is actually fairly straightforward, we’re
hoping to see real, working versions in the future.

Thimble – There’s a Thing for That [Vimeo via DVICE]

See Also:


- Braille
- Hydraulics Could Enable Fullscreen Braille Display
- Award-Winning Braille Bracelet Looks Good, Feels Even Better …
- Video: iPhone 4 Native Support for Braille Displays
- Braille Cellphone Could Allow SMS For The Blind
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