Hi Ann,

I agree with you about the immediate dismissal of an invention being
un-constructive.  However you wrote:

Here's a practical application for you.  I was
sitting on a bus in November next to a woman who is deaf.  I could
sign, barely.  But she signed too fast for me.  I couldn't read her
signed finger spelling at all.  What would have happened if she'd had
a glove that hooked to a computer with speech output?  I would have
been able to understand her and our halting conversation would have
been a lot better.

Ross writes:

This application of the glove is not practical.  You are assuming people
who are deaf will carry a computer equipped with voice output.  I am
reminded of the money reader I was given from the Canadian Government.  It
was novel at first, but I kept leaving it behind because I had to much
other equipment to carry; it did not work on all bills; and the method I
developed for discerning money worked quite well without carrying extra
equipment.  It would be much easier for the person who is deaf to write out
the sentences and then receive a written response from you.  This method
has been used for many, many years.  All this is not to say the glove does
not have technological value in the future.  With some thinking for awhile,
I am sure parts of the technology can be used in something that would be
practical.

Without going into a lot of detail, I have come up with ideas for the use
of those mechanical puppets, including the idea of learning to control
robots in a hazardous material, manufacturing facility.
Ross Eadie
Voice:  (204) 339-5287