I still have problems with this approach because someone who has trouble
understanding how to hold and use a camera will surely not benefit from
this and many blind people cannot grasp this intuitively so would require
a lot of coaching.  The best to hope for is a good interface between the
support person and the computer and a verbal explanation to questions of
the physical situation.  I do think though that the camera could be a part
of this.


On Wed, 12 Apr 2000, Martin Tibor wrote:

_The main benefit of the webcam that I see is that is a continuous flow of
_information. Moving video just has so much more information over a still
_image. You can move the camera around while talking with the other person on
_the phone. For example you could point the camera at the back of your
_computer and move it up and down to determine if the cabling looked correct.
_If you bang yourself you can use the video camera to ask someone over the
_internet what the injury looks like interactively. Although video banding
_when viewing a monitor is evident the problem is not so great that one would
_have much difficulty reading text with a webcam over the internet for a
_quick tech support issue. The neat thing about the webcam is that it
_provides a constant stream of data that the individual on the other side of
_the telephone can direct. The still camera is still a video camera and has
_many of the same issues as the webcam however it grabs only a single image.
_Improved resolution and progressive scanning are clear benefits of a digital
_camera. I have a feeling that a webcam can open up a lot of possibilities
_for moving sight into areas of darkness. They are cheap and you can get the
_benefits of someone's vision remotely and without much of an intrusion or
_inconvenience on either parties part.
_
_Marty Tibor
_Synapse
_Speech Recognition and Adaptive Technology
_3095 Kerner Blvd., Suite S, San Rafael, CA  94901
_toll-free 888-285-9988
_http://www.synapseadaptive.com
_-------
_40 page accessible text formatted catalog
_http://www.synapseadaptive.com/txt/synapse1999.txt
_-------
_40 page Adobe Acrobat format catalog
_http://www.synapseadaptive.com/pdf/Synapse40p.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat
_Reader ver. 4)
_-------
_http://www.naturalspeak.com
_Providers of adaptive and assistive technology solutions.
_-------
_http://www.unixspeech.com
_UNIX, mainframe and Mac speech recognition
_-------
_Speech recognition technical assistance
_Synapse hosts the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Unofficial Information Pages
_http://www.synapseadaptive.com/joel/default.htm
_
_-----Original Message-----
_From: VICUG-L: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
_[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Peter Meijer
_Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 4:01 AM
_To: [log in to unmask]
_Subject: Re: Webcam offers cheap eyes over the internet
_
_
_Yes Marty, what you propose will more or less work. However,
_in pointing the camera to the screen there will be the issue
_of low video resolution, possible video banding due to camera
_and screen not running synchronized, and there is the issue
_of setting lens focus properly.
_
_Of course there is much more that a blind person can nowadays
_do with a PC camera, as described in detail on the web page
_
_   Seeing with Sound - The vOICe Learning Edition
_   http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm
_
_The software as described there makes it very easy for blind
_users to send a snapshot from their camera as a binary e-mail
_attachment, by simply pointing the PC camera to anything of
_interest and pressing Control M to enter the e-mail address
_of the recipient in the pop-up dialog. The e-mail with the
_snapshot attachments (a BMP image file plus a WAV soundscape
_file) is then created automatically. This procedure is indeed
_less interactive than using something like Netmeeting, but it
_is also much less of a hassle to set up and use in combination
_with a regular screen reader.
_
_To send a downsized snapshot of your overall screen content,
_you do not even need a camera: in using The vOICe Learning
_Edition software, just press Shift F9 for full screen capture,
_and then continue with the above procedure using Control M
_to enter the desired recipient and optionally add a small
_note. This will also avoid the above-mentioned problems with
_video banding and lens focus. If a detailed snapshot with
_some readable bitmap text would be needed by a sighted
_recipient, the mouse area capture option under function key
_F9 may be useful. Again, one can now send this small area of
_the screen, positioned around the mouse pointer, via the
_Control M procedure. Mouse pointer position in this mode can
_be controlled with the arrow keys. Further support in this
_area is planned for future software releases.
_
_Best wishes,
_
_Peter Meijer
_
_
_The vOICe Mail - Send live camera snapshots to your (blind) friends
_http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/voicemail.htm
_
_Seeing with Sound - The vOICe
_http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/
_=
_
_
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[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
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[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
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