S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: April the 1st, 2025. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have
S1: you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated
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S1: There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you
S1: need to do is search for the two words talking tech.
S1: And Danica will come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just
S1: after it's been produced. Another option is to ask your
S1: Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia radio
S1: talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast with me.
S1: Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damien McMorrow. Damo, are
S1: you just about settled back to normal now after your
S1: Sea sun adventure?
S2: I think so. I'm still excited about a lot of
S2: the people that I met and the things that I saw,
S2: but I'm over the jet lag now, so that's that's nice.
S2: I'm starting to feel vaguely human again.
S1: So it's not quite a distant memory yet.
S2: Not yet. No, no.
S3: Well, let's talk.
S1: About more of what you discovered later in the program.
S1: But to start, just to alert everyone to the fact
S1: that Apple are releasing another batch of their software updates
S1: this week, some of you may already have it. So
S1: we're the iOS 18.4 and the corresponding increments for their
S1: other devices, including Mac OS and demo. We're not going
S1: to see the enhancements to Siri that people were anticipating,
S1: because Apple said they'd be bringing them to us. The
S1: AI enhancements, which certainly will come maybe next year sometime.
S1: There have been a lot of improvements in Siri, though
S1: over recent months, haven't there?
S2: Yeah there have. Yeah. It's a shame that they've sort of, um,
S2: delayed further rollouts of that, but it's definitely a big
S2: improvement on what it was.
S1: Um, I believe that, uh, with the 18.4, Siri will
S1: be available from more areas, such as the lock screen
S1: and the control center. So look out for those and
S1: play around a bit, and you might find some useful improvements. Uh,
S1: also an interesting feature for prioritizing notifications is going to
S1: be refined a bit more, so that'll be good.
S2: Definitely, definitely. There's nothing more annoying than being bombarded by those.
S1: So that's iOS 18.4 and other Apple software coming to
S1: your machine sometime this week. Now demo. Let's go back
S1: to see son. And you did see some interesting stuff
S1: in the area of low vision. And I guess a
S1: way to describe it would be distance cameras. Tell us
S1: about that.
S2: Yes. So there was a couple of devices that interested me.
S2: One was a device called the Magnebot. If anyone remembers
S2: the old bot Ebert that hymns used to make. It's
S2: kind of a similar idea, but a lot smaller. So
S2: the idea of this one is it's a motorized camera,
S2: so you can tilt it up and down left and right,
S2: and it connects wirelessly to a tablet. So something like
S2: an iPad. And the idea is that you could put
S2: it in a place where it's got a good view
S2: of what's happening. So, you know, for example, in a
S2: classroom situation, you might sit it on the teacher's desk
S2: looking straight at the board. The student can then sit
S2: wherever they want to or need to in the room,
S2: and they can drive the camera from their iPad so
S2: they get the image on the screen and they can
S2: zoom in and out and all of that sort of thing,
S2: but they can also pan it around. So if the
S2: teacher was doing something on the board and then, you know,
S2: let's say, for example, if it was a science lesson
S2: and they were doing a practical demonstration, you could direct
S2: the camera to what was happening at the front of
S2: the room and be able to observe that. So that
S2: was one of them. The other one was the snow pad,
S2: which is a similar idea, but it's a manually operated camera.
S2: So the student would have the camera next to them
S2: and they can sort of move it around. But it's
S2: a good distance camera, and it's nice to see a
S2: couple of options in that space, because it's something that's
S2: been missing for a while. I think in the education
S2: area is having a good distance solution. You know, there
S2: are things like the CCTV type magnifiers where the camera
S2: on an arm. So, you know, I'm thinking things like
S2: the Onix from Vespero, the Acrobat, those sorts of devices,
S2: but they're not really portable for a high school student.
S2: They're okay for early primary where you want something that
S2: just fires up and works, and there aren't too many
S2: buttons for little hands to fiddle with. But, you know,
S2: they are like carrying a heavy monitor around so they
S2: don't lend themselves to someone who needs to move from
S2: room to room. Whereas both of these devices would allow
S2: you to have your distance magnification solution in your backpack.
S1: We have moved a long way from the kid that
S1: can't see very well, having to sit right up the
S1: front of the room and stress and strain to find
S1: out what's on the board.
S2: That's right. Yeah. And which is really good to see.
S2: And a lot of these things, you have the ability to,
S2: to capture photos and do OCR and that sort of thing.
S2: As I've said before, it's really important, I think these
S2: days because we have so many options. It's so important
S2: for kids to have that concept of the technology toolbox
S2: and having a couple of different tools at your disposal
S2: so that when your eyes aren't cooperating or something's hard
S2: to see, you've got other ways of accessing it. And
S2: I think we're we're getting there in that way.
S1: So just remind us again of these devices, the magnebot.
S2: The magnebot is one of them and the other is
S2: the snow pad from Zmax.
S1: They're both from Zmax.
S2: Oh, no. Sorry. The Magnebot is from Tri-City.
S1: Right. So we'll do that again.
S2: Yeah.
S1: So just remind us of those two devices again. The magnebot?
S2: Yeah. The magnebot from try site and the snow pad
S2: from Sumacs.
S1: Okay, now let's move into the area of Braille displays.
S1: We talked about those last week, and there's a new
S1: kind of, uh, haptic technology.
S2: Yes, there's a company called New Haptics, and they've developed
S2: a braille display which operates, uh, using air to operate
S2: the pins, the Braille cells. So normally your traditional braille
S2: cell is operated with a sort of a piezoelectric type arrangement.
S2: I'm not exactly sure the ink cells that are used
S2: in the dot pad and the monarch, they are a
S2: different technology again, but this one, it's a fairly large
S2: sort of multi-line display. So it's a desktop device rather
S2: than something portable. It comes with a little air pump
S2: that sits under the table and that operates the pins.
S2: It's interesting that we're starting to see, I think, different
S2: ways of producing multi-line braille. You know, it'll be interesting
S2: to see kind of which technology wins out. But the
S2: problem with the the piezo electric cells and a lot
S2: of the others is the high cost. And I think
S2: this particular device, it's it is still I think prototype.
S2: But it's nice that people are trying to find more
S2: affordable ways of producing multi-line braille and experimenting with different technologies.
S1: Yes. And you just wonder what there's going to be in, say,
S1: five years time, don't you?
S2: Oh, you absolutely do. Yeah. As I said, this device
S2: is a, um, a desktop type unit. I think they're
S2: sort of targeting perhaps the developer slash coder market or
S2: someone that doesn't need to carry their braille display around.
S2: It's an interesting concept, and the Braille itself actually feels
S2: very nice.
S1: So this one's on the way. It's still at prototype stage.
S2: That's right. Yes.
S1: From new haptics.
S2: New haptics. Yep.
S1: Let's go back to getting around or orientation and mobility.
S1: As they say in the trade a product from. Make sense?
S2: Yes. This one was an interesting one to experiment with.
S2: The product consists of a chest harness in which you
S2: install your iPhone, and then there are two variants of
S2: the other component. One is sort of a little handheld
S2: wand type thing, and the other is one that attaches
S2: to a long cane. And the idea is that the
S2: camera in your phone detects obstacles, but it also uses
S2: the GPS in your phone to record routes and those
S2: kinds of things. And the little wand device, essentially like
S2: a cylinder that you hold in your hand. And there's
S2: a little groove that you put one finger into and
S2: that groove kind of pivots. So the idea is that
S2: when you need to make a turn, the little indicator
S2: that your finger sits in pivots around and tells you
S2: how much you need to turn. So, you know, whether
S2: it's a, you know, a hard left or whether it's
S2: just a gradual kind of Via what it also does
S2: though if you record a route, it will let you
S2: know if you're veering on a, say, a road crossing.
S2: So if you start to veer to the left, the
S2: little indicator under your finger will sort of push to
S2: the right to tell you which way you need to
S2: go and by how much in order to correct your course.
S2: And there is another version of it that attaches to
S2: the grip of a a long cane. In that instance,
S2: your thumb sits in the groove and you can then
S2: receive the the feedback from the the application that way.
S2: So good for pre-recording routes but also good for obstacle
S2: avoidance and that type of thing. So it was quite
S2: an interesting one. And and the little trial that I
S2: had with it was actually quite impressive.
S1: What stage is it at?
S2: Uh, I think this one still also at prototype. They
S2: are still kind of refining it, but I think they're
S2: hoping to have it available sometime in the next couple
S2: of months. I don't think it's far off.
S1: Um, it's very interesting, isn't it, that we're seeing a
S1: number of these devices that are what I think of
S1: as guidance devices, sort of nudging you in the right direction.
S2: And it is interesting. I mean, I think that there's
S2: still no substitute for good orientation and mobility skills, but
S2: I think having some of these secondary aides available, perhaps,
S2: you know, for some people it gives them a little
S2: more confidence or it helps them to if if something
S2: has gone wrong, helps them to sort of troubleshoot and,
S2: and correct course and that kind of thing. So, uh,
S2: you know, I think it's, it's going to be an
S2: interesting space to watch over the next couple of years.
S1: The AI world moves quickly along, and there's an interesting
S1: web based product in a search. Tell us about that one.
S2: Yes. So this is designed to provide an accessible shopping experience.
S2: It essentially makes its money, I think, by the online
S2: retailers that work with the platform paying to use it.
S2: So there's no cost to the end user if you like,
S2: but the idea is that it uses AI to guide
S2: you to particular products. So it has a couple of
S2: ways you can do it. You can do it through
S2: a web browser, and it's all nice and accessible, but
S2: it also has a phone based option as well where
S2: you can talk to essentially an AI robot type thing
S2: and say, you know, I'm interested in headphones and it
S2: will give you some options or ask you some questions
S2: to narrow down your search, and then it will allow
S2: you to go right through to the sort of checkout process.
S2: So for people who maybe don't want to or can't
S2: get out and about and go shopping with a support worker,
S2: but there may be a little bit nervous about using
S2: things like eBay or Amazon and then finding, you know,
S2: going to an online store and finding that it's all
S2: great until you get to the checkout and then it
S2: becomes inaccessible. This gives people a couple of different ways
S2: to accessibly shop. And for someone who's non-technical, having that
S2: phone sort of voice guided way of doing it as well,
S2: I think is actually pretty impressive.
S1: I suspect there are more situations than we realize where
S1: we ring up and have an interaction with a being
S1: at the end of the phone who is not actually
S1: a human, but an AI tool.
S2: Yeah, I think it's getting that way. Definitely. The thing
S2: is that it's the quality of the speech now is
S2: so good that it does almost sound like you're dealing
S2: with a person, doesn't it?
S1: Mhm. It certainly does. So this one is called Inner Search.
S1: Um and it's available in Australia, the UK, the United
S1: States and Canada.
S2: The other thing interesting thing about Inner Search is that
S2: I think over time things like flights and accommodation and
S2: those sorts of things will be added to it as well.
S1: That will be really good. And uh, particularly if they
S1: can for us. I think of when you book travel
S1: and you need to include an assistance dog, a guide
S1: dog or whatever, to be able to do that sort
S1: of automatically would be very good too, because that seems
S1: to really slow up the process.
S2: Oh it does. It's so tedious. Uh, and you and you,
S2: you invariably get the silly questions. I think my favorite
S2: was why you want to travel with this dog. I
S2: didn't really know what to say, so I said, because
S2: it's got lovely fluffy ears.
S1: An excellent answer. Before we go, let's remind everyone that
S1: you can find details of this and previous editions of
S1: the program by going to VA. Radio.com. Radio.com. And to
S1: write to the program.
S2: You can email me.
S1: At. This has been talking tech with me has been
S1: Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damien McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolley.
S1: Stay safe and we'll talk more tech next week.
S4: See you.