Primp up the volume!
No one buys a laptop or netbook for audio quality, but lots of people use their portable devices for audio-intensive apps like playing music, watching movies, and talking on VoIP. Now people with mild to moderate hearing loss can improve their audio with a USB device. The X-Tube DTS looks like an old electronic tube, and glows blue when operating. Beyond the classy optics are some impressive acoustics: simulated surround sound, better frequency response, and on-screen sliders for bass enhancement and “voice clarification”. As always, your mileage may vary, but the review at the link below is pretty positive, except for suggesting that you use better headphones than the bundled ones. Only $45 dollars once it arrives.
Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?
We get periodic calls about auto-turn off technologies that can help elders and others who forget that they’ve left an appliance running. Meet the Roly Poly Iron, which automatically tips itself into a vertical position as soon as it’s no longer being pressed down. The designer claims it’s easier on the hands, too. Another nifty concept (for now) from our buddies at Yanko Design.
Body surfing
What if there were a surface with varying acoustic qualities, so that it could be combined with a set of projected keyboards and menus–tap on a different part of the surface, and the projector would know which keyboard/menu to bring up? Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft realized there is such a surface, readily available: the human arm and hand. Their prototype, Skinput, consists of an acoustic detector and a pico projector built into an armband. They already know that it will work for arms in motion, but we’re curious to know if it’ll work for a range of arms–short, long, atrophied, bariatric, juvenile, elderly, and so on. If it does, it could be a great accommodation for people with limited range of motion.
New Scientist: Body acoustics can turn your arm into a touchscreen
A wonderous bird is the Pelikon
The Pelikon MorphPad can light up different sections of a mobile device’s keyboard based on the active function–just the numbers for telephony, just the control keys for a game. Should be useful for people with low vision, as well as providing cuing to people with cognitive disabilities. Take that, Optimus!
Magnetic poetry
The next step in telephony: magnetic rings that can be used to perform a variety of functions using gestures without requiring any contact. The MagiTact app will work with phones that have built-in compasses. Not released yet, but we’ll look forward to it.
MagiTact hands-free phone control makes multitouch seem absolute
And so to bed
There are two observations from a New York Times report on the Las Vegas Market furniture show that have potential implications for people with mobility/dexterity disabilities. One is that the public at large is choosing to do more computing in the bedroom, which may well result in more design options and greater comfort becoming available to computer users who have to work from bed. The other is a promising solution to an often pressing problem: how do you get your partner to stop snoring if you don’t have enough gross motor function to nudge them? The answer is the button on a remote that temporarily inclines their side of the bed, tilting them so the cacophony goes away. If the button can be activated with minimal pressure, it could be a relationship saver.
Put cork in it
We find much to like about Corky, a prototype mouse that’s a splendid example of convergence between universal and green design. Cork is generally considered to be non-allergenic, so it’ll be beneficial to folks with various environmental illnesses. In addition, it’s both wireless and self-charging–no batteries to dispose and no rechargers to fumble with. Our main quibble is that it’s the same ol’ not-particularly-friendly mouse shape–but once the basic technology is available, we feel pretty confident that ergonomics will follow.