First peek at a pico-projector
We’ve been posting on pico-projectors for a while, those tiny projectors planned to replace or supplement the screens on mobile products. Now one has actually reached the market, a media player. The relevant concerns? People with impaired dexterity may not be able to hold these products well enough for convenient use. And will the projected image be bright enough? This one is rated at 9 lux (for a 53 inch image), which is less than a footcandle — the brightness of a surface illuminated by a single candle held a foot away. A smaller image may be bright enough to use, depending on ambient lighting conditions. We’d be less worried if we knew there had been some attempt to factor in the needs of users with relevant disabilities.
PMP: Sunvision PMPP, World First Media Player With Pico-Projector
British graffiti
We hadn’t heard anything from our buddies Suck UK in ages, so we’re happy to report that they’ve now come up with a line of glow-in-the-dark spray paint. Originally designed for taggers, we can see it also being implemented for in-house (in-hotel, in-dorm…) use by anyone with low vision just trying to find their way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Gizmodo: Glow-in-the-dark graffiti makes street art ravetastic
Viewing cells with cells
A bioengineering professor at UC-Berkeley has developed microscope attachments for cell phones, one with 5x power and the other with 60x power. The original use is for performing medical work in remote areas, but we could see the 5x lens also used as an inexpensive ($75) add-on that turns phones into portable CCTVs for magnifying small amounts of text.
Head light
Yes, yes, yes, we noticed how it’s being marketed. But there’s nothing to say that a small, hands-free light source with a flexible neck couldn’t be useful in other ways for people with dexterity disabilities and/or low vision.
iPhone becomes iSee?
Brando has come out with a $20 6x telephoto lens for the iPhone camera. Hmm, wonder if it would double as an unobtrusive low-vision aid for myopics who need a little boost to figure out if that’s our lunch date 50 paces away…
Red Ferret: Apple iPhone Telescope Lens - snap sharper further faster
Picture perfection
The SanDisk Photo Album does everything you’d expect of a cutting-edge storage device–and something charmingly retro: it attaches to your TV so that you can display photos in a large format. We could see this being particularly great for seniors who can’t see small displays and don’t want to have to invest in a computer just to be able to see digital snapshots.
PC or not PC
The long-awaited trend is already happening in Japan: far fewer people are using “old-fashioned” computers, preferring instead to use products that combine some or all aspects of computer use with other functions, such as smart phones. Will there be concerted, consistent thought given to accessible peripherals? Best case, there could be design revolutions spurred by confluence between the needs of people with disabilities who, say, can’t use teensy or virtual buttons…and the needs of people “without” disabilities who can’t use them either.