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
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40 page Adobe Acrobat format catalog
http://www.synapseadaptive.com/pdf/Synapse40p.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat
Reader ver. 4)
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http://www.naturalspeak.com
Providers of adaptive and assistive technology solutions.
-------
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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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