S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition, available from
S1: the 31st of December 2024. Yes, we're there already. I'm
S1: Stephen Jolly. Great to have you with us listening maybe
S1: through Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading
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S1: all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's
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S1: or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast.
S1: Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast. With me. Vision Australia's
S1: national access technology manager. Damo McMorrow. Damo, how's your Christmas
S1: New Year period going?
S2: Fantastic. Nice and relaxing. It's a good time of year.
S1: Well about time. You did a bit of work. Now then.
S1: So let's reflect on the year in technology, particularly access
S1: or assistive technology, and some very interesting developments in both
S1: hardware and software. I want to ask you first about
S1: what's been a great breakthrough, the Ray-Ban meta smart glasses.
S2: These are definitely high on my list of, you know,
S2: cool things for 2024. These are, for all intents and purposes,
S2: a conventional looking set of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and they come
S2: in a few different styles and shapes depending on the
S2: shape of your face and what have you. But they
S2: do have a I think it's a 12 or 13
S2: megapixel camera in the top of the left hand lens,
S2: and a small LED in the same spot on the
S2: right hand lens. The right arm of the glasses is
S2: a touchpad, and you can, by using your voice, access
S2: a whole bunch of AI based features so you can
S2: say things like, hey, meta, look and tell me what
S2: you see. Hey meta, look and read me this text.
S2: You can use them for things like clothes matching. So
S2: hey meta, what color is this shirt? You can use
S2: it for all sorts of different things. Look and tell
S2: me if there is any signage. And we've also now
S2: got access to both IRA and Be my Eyes through
S2: this device as well. So you can now use them
S2: as a hands free solution for those sort of visual
S2: interpreting services.
S1: You can even have a video call with a friend.
S2: Yeah, you can through messenger or WhatsApp. And you can
S2: also use them to record videos or take photos. So
S2: you can do that either by voice, or you can
S2: do it by pressing the little button on the top
S2: of the right hand arm. The nice thing is that
S2: it'll take the picture wherever you're looking. That is often
S2: easier than trying to position your iPhone camera.
S1: A very simple application might be you're in the vicinity
S1: of a building. You could ring a friend or partner
S1: and say, I think I'm at the building. Can you
S1: guide me into the reception desk?
S2: Yeah, absolutely. It works really well for that sort of situation.
S1: This is probably the surprise of the year, I suspect,
S1: because it sort of snuck up on us. It was
S1: a mainstream item which came out from meta. It was
S1: quickly realised that this had enormous application for the blind
S1: and low vision community around the world. And here we are.
S2: Absolutely. And because it's a mainstream item, it is at
S2: a sort of a consumer price point. You know, you're
S2: looking at sort of $450 for this, what is really
S2: quite amazing technology.
S1: Mhm. There are comparable devices doing similar things like Ark's vision.
S2: Yes. So the Ark's vision was officially released last year
S2: in the UK, but it wasn't available until around about
S2: September this year here in Australia. And they've made some
S2: significant improvements to the initial one that was released overseas.
S2: This is a essentially a bone conduction type headset where.
S2: So if you're familiar with the aftershocks type headphones, it's
S2: similar to that. The headband goes around the back of
S2: your head and the earpieces sit on your cheekbone. So
S2: just sort of forward of your ears. That way your
S2: ears are not covered and you can still judge your
S2: surroundings and that kind of thing. And on the right
S2: hand end of the unit is a camera module, which
S2: is sort of a small rectangular box with some buttons.
S2: And at the moment the device is only Android. They
S2: still haven't released the iPhone adapter for it, although I'm
S2: told that that's coming sort of any day now. But, um,
S2: it does pair to your phone with a cable, and
S2: you then run the vision app, and you can then
S2: control it using the buttons on the camera module. So
S2: it has a text recognition mode, a document mode, uh,
S2: it has a scene description mode. And it also has
S2: what they call ask, which is where you can scan
S2: a document and then ask questions about the document, like
S2: what's the cheapest thing on the menu? How much do
S2: I have to pay for this bill? When's the bill due?
S2: That sort of thing. So it is sort of doing
S2: some similar functions, but it does them in a slightly
S2: different way. And like all of these things, there are
S2: pros and cons. I think the document reading function in
S2: the R is definitely better, because the meta glass has
S2: always want to try and summarize things for you, rather
S2: than just reading the document, so that can be a
S2: little frustrating. But on the other hand, the meta glasses
S2: are lighter, smaller, and look like a conventional set of glasses.
S2: So if you're fashion conscious, you know that might be
S2: important to you. So it really depends on what you're
S2: trying to do as to which one of these wearables
S2: might actually suit you.
S3: Um.
S1: Going back to mainstream devices, zoom. A great breakthrough in
S1: the recording field?
S2: Yes, absolutely. So zoom have now released four recorders. Field
S2: recorder type devices that have built in accessibility. And this
S2: is actually quite a significant milestone, simply because it's a
S2: mainstream device that is accessible out of the box, and
S2: also that you actually have to opt out of the accessibility.
S2: So in other words, when you turn the recorder on,
S2: it comes up talking and says, if you don't want
S2: the accessibility, if you don't want the speech, press this button.
S2: Otherwise the accessibility stays on. Whereas with a lot of devices,
S2: you've got to navigate through ten levels of menu just
S2: to turn the accessibility feature on in the first place.
S2: So there's the zoom. H1 essentials is the sort of
S2: the most basic of these recorders. It just has a stereo, um,
S2: sort of x y type microphone pickup. And it's a
S2: very small unit. Then we've got the H2 Two essentials,
S2: which has two different types of external mics with different
S2: pickup patterns. And then there's the H4 essentials, which has, uh,
S2: the ability to connect two external microphones as well as
S2: using the internal ones. And then you've got the sort
S2: of the Rolls-Royce version, which is the H6 essentials, which
S2: can take four external microphone inputs, or you can use
S2: the the internals. So if you're recording a lot of
S2: interviews and, uh, you know, podcasts and those sorts of
S2: things where you want multiple microphones, then probably the H6
S2: essentials is the way to go. But just having these
S2: things accessible out of the box, you know, for for
S2: those of you that use a digital recorder, I mean,
S2: I use the H1 essentials a lot, I suppose a
S2: substitute for photographs. You know, I like to record soundscapes.
S2: I like to record, you know, Marion and I go
S2: somewhere on holiday, and there's a particular sound that I
S2: associate with that I like to record that and be
S2: able to review it as a, you know, as someone
S2: would photographs. But equally, if I go to a car
S2: show or an air show or something like that, you know,
S2: I can record the stuff that I'm hearing.
S1: And they double as an audio interface as well, separate
S1: from the recording function.
S2: Really great. Yeah, absolutely. So you can use them with
S2: your Mac or your PC or your iPhone or your
S2: Android phone to record phone interviews and those kinds of things.
S1: Let's go to Braille now, Braille displays. And I think
S1: the one that really attracted a lot of attention, particularly
S1: of Braille devotees, is the BT speak from Blazie technologies.
S2: Especially for those people who had a Braille and speak
S2: back in the 80s or 90s. So this is a
S2: little device that has a Perkins style Braille keyboard and
S2: speech out. It's about the same footprint as an iPhone 15,
S2: but it's probably as thick as two iPhones stacked on
S2: top of each other. So very small sort of thing
S2: you can carry in a jacket pocket or a man
S2: bag or a handbag and just quickly whip out and
S2: use as a note taker. But it's really come a
S2: long way this year. You know, from when it came
S2: out in sort of February, since then we've got things
S2: like a YouTube streaming application, a Google Drive integration. We've
S2: got a phone book that you can integrate with your
S2: Google Contacts. You've got the ability now to have the
S2: sort of vocalizer type voices, as opposed to just E-speak
S2: and Dectalk, which is what it came out with. So
S2: it's got a quite a rapid development cycle and is
S2: sort of coming ahead in in leaps and bounds. It's
S2: a really nice little device. But for those who remember
S2: the old Braylon speak, it's sort of a almost like
S2: a modern day Braylon speak, really.
S1: The long awaited orbit speak from orbit. Research is now
S1: out there in the field.
S2: Yes. Now, I have to admit that I haven't actually
S2: had my hands on one of these. It's sort of.
S2: I guess it's similar in concept. so Braille input speech output.
S2: It has a number of built in applications as well
S2: as I think being able to act as a terminal
S2: or a keyboard for your, you know, your iPhone or
S2: other other smart type devices. This one took quite a
S2: long time. It was first announced about two and a
S2: half years ago, so it took a long time, unfortunately,
S2: to sort of reach the market. And I think that
S2: probably the BT speak got the jump on them a
S2: little bit. It is, it is uh, a bit cheaper
S2: than the BT speak.
S1: We've got to talk about the world of tactile braille displays,
S1: and I think of the dot pad and the monarch.
S1: Those devices have really come well through their adolescence and
S1: early adulthood now aren't they? They're in the market.
S2: Oh yeah. Definitely. Definitely. We saw the launch of the
S2: monarch here in Australia a few months ago. And, you know,
S2: I think this is sort of going to be the
S2: next generation of Braille technology, really. You know, it will
S2: be possible with a multi-line display to read, books to
S2: display graphics. You know, all of those sorts of things. Unfortunately,
S2: they're still quite large and quite heavy, but it's just
S2: brilliant to be able to have that multi-line functionality so
S2: that you can look at tables and those sorts of things.
S2: And of course, being able to produce tactile graphics as
S2: well means that you could look at graphs, you could
S2: zoom into a picture, that kind of thing. So I
S2: think these things have got massive potential for the education market,
S2: particularly in those sort of science, technology, engineering and maths
S2: type subjects. Um, but even just for someone who is
S2: an avid reader or who works with long and complex documents, um,
S2: that multiline functionality is is going to be a game changer.
S2: I think they are expensive.
S1: We certainly need those who fund education and support of
S1: employers to come to the party with those devices.
S2: And I think as the technology improves and develops further,
S2: hopefully we'll start to see the price drop. You know,
S2: as tends to happen with new tech. It's always expensive
S2: at the start. And then as they become a little
S2: more accepted and a little more mainstream, that hopefully the
S2: cost will come down and there'll be more within reach
S2: of anybody that needs them.
S1: We have talked a lot during the year about the
S1: major software movement, shall we say, and that's AI, which
S1: has really developed from when we first heard about it
S1: about two years ago. The big thing has been, I think,
S1: the Apple intelligence.
S2: Yeah, that's definitely been a big one. And it's kind
S2: of a major refresh for Siri. So you can integrate
S2: it with ChatGPT, which is one of the other big
S2: sort of AI engines. You can use it to summarize emails, notifications,
S2: all sorts of things really, but I think I generally,
S2: you know, I mean, we talked about the meta glasses
S2: and the AI that's built into that. Uh, on last
S2: week's show, we talked about the voice mode or conversation
S2: mode in ChatGPT and what you can do with that.
S2: And there's things like the the Google Notebook LM feature
S2: as well, where you can generate a summary that almost
S2: sounds like a podcast with two people discussing the content.
S2: You know, it's really been a massive, uh, thing, I
S2: think AI in the last 12 months. We've also seen though,
S2: the video description that we talked about a few weeks
S2: ago on the show, through seeing AI and pixie Bot
S2: and being able to describe video content.
S1: And also with the accessibility of various software tools, we've
S1: got the Jaws companion, we've got Ask Miss Accessibility, Microsoft.
S1: They're making a difference, aren't they?
S2: Absolutely, yes. And there's, you know, Rim bot, which is
S2: designed for sort of tech support. Uh, so those things
S2: have been a massive game changer. And just in terms
S2: of being able to just quickly get the information that
S2: you need.
S1: A lot has happened in 2024, a lot to look
S1: forward to in 2 in 2025. Before we go, a
S1: reminder that you can find details of what we've been
S1: talking about in this and previous editions of the program
S1: by going to VA radio, dot org slash talking tech,
S1: VA radio, dot org slash talking tech, and to write
S1: to the program.
S2: You can email me Damo Damo dot McMorrow Mkmo r
S2: o w at Vision australia.org. And thank you everyone for
S2: your emails. And I just want to take the opportunity
S2: to wish you a very happy and prosperous 2025.
S1: And the same to you. Damo Damo McMorrow at Vision australia.org.
S1: This has been talking tech with me has been Vision
S1: Australia's national Access technology manager Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly.
S1: Have a great 2025 everyone. We'll see you then. Take care.
S1: We'll talk more tech next week. Bye.