Docking Maneuvers

 Tech  No Responses »
May 252012
 

Congratulations to the SpaceX team, whose Dragon capsule became the first privately owned vehicle to dock with the International Space Station. The day when “space trucker” is a viable career option can’t be too far in the future. Perhaps SpaceX can be persuaded to become one of the first official corporate sponsors of the oft-postponed zero-g deathmatch between me and Stephen Hawking. We thought we had a commitment from Google, but then Hawking had to go and make a snide tweet comparing Google+ to the emptiness of space. So much for British cordiality.

Hand To Mouth

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
May 242012
 

While mind-controlled robotic arms are undeniably cool (and just a teensy bit ominous), some of us gimps may not want to go through the trouble of getting our skulls cracked just so we can re-enact scenes from Over the Top. But we still want to be able to feed ourselves the occasional snack while catching up on Game of Thrones. Luckily, there’s a robotic arm that does just that without requiring the installation of any internal hardware. A team of Northeastern University engineering students have developed the iCRAFT, or eye Con­trolled Robotic Arm Feeding Tech­nology. The user simply gazes at a particular food choices on a screen and a robotic arm scoops up a mouthful of the desired selection and delivers it to the user’s mouth.  Here’s a video of the arm in action:

The iCRAFT’s serving sizes are a bit much for someone like me, but perhaps it could be programmed to feed me individual Junior Mints.

The Mind’s Grasp

 Disability, Tech  2 Responses »
May 162012
 

Research on brain-computer interfaces continues its steady march forward. The latest development reported by The Times focuses on a quadriplegic woman who can control a robotic arm via an implanted chip. She’s able to move the arm with enough fine control to take a sip of coffee through a drinking straw.

I can’t wait to begin my second career as a champion ultimate robot fighter. My twelve-foot combat bot, Mortimer, and I will make the rounds on the talk show circuit and engage in friendly sparring matches with the hosts. Fame and fortune will be mine until that fateful day when Mortimer punches a hole straight through an elderly Conan O’Brien’s chest cavity because I’m high on designer drugs.

Here’s video of the robotic arm in action:

Winning Converts

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
May 032012
 

The Atlantic Monthly Technology blog has a great post on how people who are blind have embraced the iPhone after initially dismissing it as an inaccessible slab of glass when it was first introduced. What changed? Apple made great strides in improving the accessibility of iOS and clever app designers exploited the hardware capabilities of each successive iPhone model. But some advocates worry that the blind are now becoming overly dependent on the technology:

Yet for all that technology has helped achieve, many in the blind community fear it might result in illiteracy in the generations to come.  “I think the technology that’s coming out right now is wonderful,” says Chalkias,”but I also think it’s dumbing us down because it’s making everything so easy. I have a lot of teens who have speech technology and they don’t know how to spell, and it’s horrifying to see that.

I’m hopeful that mobile computing will eventually be embraced by those of us with severe mobility impairments, but that day may not arrive for at least a few more years.

Snowbound

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Apr 242012
 

I’m not much of a winter sports enthusiast, but plenty of wheelchair users enjoy getting out and playing in the snow. Unfortunately, wheelchair tires don’t navigate the stuff very well. But a clever Swedish inventor has developed a simple ski attachment for wheelchairs. They aren’t for sale yet, but I look forward to the inevitable YouTube videos of wheelchair users wiping out on the slopes.

Terminal Youth

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Apr 172012
 

Someone had the clever idea to create a site reimagining Google as a BBS circa 1987, complete with ASCII art and modem screeches. BBSs were the precursors to the modern web. You dialed in to chat with other people, play simple text-based games, and read posts from fellow users. If the sysadmin liked you, you might even get access to the restricted prØn library. I seem to recall incurring the wrath of my parents after dialing long-distance to a Milwaukee BBS in my never-ending quest for dirty pictures.

Of course, nothing like Google existed back then. If it had, I probably would have bankrupted my family.

The Must-Have Geek Accessory Of 2015

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Apr 042012
 

I’m going to pile on with all the other bloggers pointing to The Times’ latest coverage of Google’s experimental augmented-reality eyeglasses. The article includes photos of quite chic-looking people wearing chic-looking metallic headbands that look like something out a Vernor Vinge novel. I’m not so crazy about Google’s idea for a voice interface for the eyewear (Siri can’t understand me worth a damn), but I would definitely consider purchasing something like this if I could use it during my daily commute to scan e-mail and the news. Perhaps the age of tablet computing will yield to the age of wearable computing sooner than we think.

Here’s a Google promotional video showing how such glasses could be used during an urban hipster’s typical day:

Guinea Pig

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Apr 032012
 

I often deride Stephen Hawking, my arch-nemesis, for being a bit of a publicity hound. “Stephen,” I say in between our zero-g  practice bouts aboard the Vomit Comet, “have you ever met a camera that you could say no to?” But Hawking’s position as the world’s most famous gimp might not be not be such a bad thing for the rest of us. If his testing of brain-computer interfaces allows me to one day browse my collection of fishnet-themed photography with just a few eye blinks, who am I to begrudge the man his stardom?

But that doesn’t excuse his constant trash-talking. The man recently questioned my parentage using language that would make Al Swearengen blush like a schoolgirl.

User #0000000001

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

Tonight got away from me, but I wanted to post this video of a man with a visual impairment using Google’s prototype autonomous car to get around town:

I’m always cautious about overhyping new technologies and I don’t expect to see fleets of robotic cars on the road for at least several more years, but the video does illustrate how valuable such vehicles could be to people with disabilities. Access to reliable transportation is a huge barrier for people living with all manner of impairments. Public transit and paratransit are certainly available to many, but do little to help people living in rural or exurban areas. The ability to get in a car and be safely driven to one’s destination of choice would be a life-altering experience to those of us who have always had to rely on human assistance.

Of course, whether such a car would be affordable to most people with disabilities is a question for another time.

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip.

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