AT, where we are and where we are going (maybe)

By September next year, I will have worked a full decade as an assistive technology specialist for an Independent Living Center.  The first generation iPad sitting silently in my drawer was once the darling of the tech world; it is now old enough to attend grade school.  It still feels like yesterday when I was still obsessed over which voice engines produce the most human sounding voice, when there is already commercially available companion robots and artificial intelligence those are capable of not only understanding vocal commands, but physically altering the environments of one’s surrounding. Technology evolves faster today than it has ever been at any point in human history.  We are fortunate to live in a time when tomorrow not only promises new technologies, but delivers them like clockwork.  Today, so much assistive technologies have been incorporated into mainstream consumer electronics it’s become almost impossible to tell what constitutes an assistive technology device.  I personally have a very broad and expensive view of what constitutes assistive technologies. Here is my list of favourite assistive devices.

Self-Driving Car:

No, I have not had the pleasure of being inside the ultimate dream of every eighties kids. Remember the KITT from the Knight-rider?  With Google, Uber, Nissan, and Tesla, all developing prototypes, I truly believe I will sit in one in my lifetime, alongside my robotic companion. 

Accessible Smartphone and Tablet Computer, Smart Speakers and Echo Show. 

Remember The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams? When I was reading this delightful title all those years ago, I had absolutely no idea he was writing about a Smartphone, and the Galaxy was a Samsung.  Seriously though, these high-end smartphones equipped with ultra-high resolution cameras and over four gigabytes of RAM can perform feats used to have to be done by bulky dedicated device at a friction of the cost, things such as Word processing, Spreadsheets,  OCR,  Text-to-Speech and Voice Recognition.   Echo Show is basically something plucked right out of the eighties Star Trek Movies.   A computer with a seven inch display entirely operated using voice commands. 

Electronic Magnifies with OCR and text to speech.

If you do not wish to deal with Computers or technological learning curb, but still need a high-performant magnifier, then a stand along CCTV with upward +-20x magnification capability, high contrast option and OCR text to speech functionality, then there are a range of electronic magnifiers available for you to choose. While a High-End Smartphone camera normally has native digital zoom of between 4x to 8x; these babies can magnify things to the upward of between 15x to 25x.  The size, shapes and functions may vary, depends on your preference and needs; but broadly speaking, these are:

Desktop CCTV with +-17” display, HD Output that may or may not come with OCR and text to speech.   The example of these is Enhanced Vision’s Merlin Elite, these magnifiers typically set your wallet back about between $2500 and $4000.

Handheld Magnifier, these do the same thing as the above-mentioned desktop magnifiers, they typically come in somewhere between 3.5” to 10”, some have OCR text to speech capabilities.   The example of these are:

Zoomax’s M5, M5 Plus HD, Snow 10 Pro.

Freedom Scientific’s Ruby

The handheld magnifiers will set you back for about between $500 and $1000

Wearable electronic magnifier:

These things takes the concept of portability to the next level, why not just mount a camera and a display on your head, along with a headphone the OCR text to speech goodies? Oh, Google Glass, how I mourned your passing. L

The example of these head-mounting contraptions are:

Jordy by Enhanced Vision

Cyber Eyez by CyberTimez

Revo-Sight by Zoomax.

These cyborg looking contraptions costs anywhere between $2400 and $10000.

Amazon delivery services, Uber etc.

The ultimate low tech AT (sending people to do errand) just got a high-tech boost, with Amazon Prime Now, you can have something delivered to you within the hour. (I tried it at CSUN when my headphone broke and I ordered a new one to be sent to my hotel room.)

You can also buy food using Amazon Fresh.

So, here we go, these are the AT device(s)/services that I love and look forward to love. How about you? What technology do you love or are anxiously expecting?