F u n c t i o n a l i t y

I had a chance today to meet with Zach at the TG office. I was able to expereince the device provide feedback on veering (only). The system worked, if very imperfectly. The belt mounted Wii could reliably detect when I veered and: make a statement for which way to move, and ring a bell when I returned to the middle of the course.

There was a bias to one side, with the feedback kicking in at a wider point from midline, but Zach said that's an easy fix. The feedback wording is still not coming from the user interface screen (so it's always one word, and sometimes wrong), and we could not narrow the tolerance for veering with an input field on the screen, but I know these features are coming. I seriously suggest that the bell sound (which is just like the classic bell at a hotel desk) be replaced with something friendly and encouraging.

It was remarkable to just have the basic thing, in all of its aspects, work.

Gene's excellent adventure in the Bronx

I was warmly welcomed at the Institute in the Bronx this morning. First I met with Tina (the school computer teacher and TG liaison) and eventually with 4 of the five O&M specialists. It was nice to see Jim Waters again (he’s been around the profession for decades and has done some work with deafblind travelers), and the other younger COMS.

They were all very interested in the project. I reviewed a bit of the history and theory for the project, reviewed the physical space, and then went out on the campus to see the prospective subjects travel with their canes.

Great news – we have 16 very good potential subjects. Tina will contact Ellen regarding how to proceed: contact all 16 households, or start with eight and see how it goes. They anticipate a very high positive response rate (because of the stipend).

There are some of the issues that you will see followed up upon:

- they need instructions on how the prepare the room, where the lights will be affixed, and what needs to be removed from the room

- many of the COMS want to be present when their students participate.

- I explained that during the project we are not officially asking for the specialists feedback on the device (the IRB would consider them subject which would complicate things) but that we will eventually and outside the experiment protocol love to hear their ideas.

These kids all seems to have the capacity to tap a cane and maintain forward movement, so I think we will be fine. They are all at least 6 and as old as fifth grade takes them.

It was so nice to sit around with these colleagues and talk about the project. It was obvious that they were all excited.

Visit to NYISE

Today Ellen, Grace and I went to the New York Institute for Special Education to check out sites for the upcoming user trials there. We considered two spaces: along one wall of the big gym, and in the basement rec room of one of the dorms. These are pictured above The basement room is a fairly large rectangular space with small windows high up along one wall. The ceiling height is 9'.  The gym is a very large space with 30' ceilings, except under the running track that runs all the way around the gym, where the ceiling is 11'.  We chose the rec room, because it is not used much, and there's not much natural light, which we are worried could interfere with the camera's ability to see the IR LEDs on the track clearly.

We also decided that it would be easier in this case to mount the track directly to the ceiling instead of using poles. There is an existing pipe to which we can mount the track, using special clips, but the same clips could also be used to mount a track to a sheetrock or acoustical tile ceiling.  I am inserting a sketch of what I have in mind here.  Grace will 3D print some so that we can try it.  A clip will be glued to the end of each of 8 four-foot long sections of track. That clip will be screwed to the ceiling or tied to a pipe. Then, the next piece will be hung up in the same way, until all 8 sections are hung up. I think that this would work for almost any room or hallway, as long as the space is long and wide enough. For tying the clips to a pipe or other existing ceiling structure, we are putting slots through which you can place plastic wire ties for easy temporary installations. A wire will come out of one end of the track and run to the computer, which could be mounted to the wall or on a table.