Can technology make a hearing-centric world more accessible?

Most humans live in a hearing-centric world, which means that the needs and preferences of people who are deaf or people who have some form of hearing loss are often overlooked. But some people are trying to change that — and they're using technology to do it.

On this week's episode of Top Shelf, you'll see how Gallaudet University researchers are using motion capture technology and interactive apps to ensure that children who are deaf are exposed to language at an early age. Then, you'll meet the owner of Digital Media Services — a company that does closed captioning for Hulu, Netflix, and even Nicki Minaj music videos. Finally, you'll get a glimpse at the changes taking place in the world of hearing aids.

A WORLD THAT'S TRULY ACCESSIBLE IS ONE THAT'S ADAPTABLE — AND INCLUSIVE

A world that's truly accessible is one that's adaptable — and inclusive. We aren't there yet, but it's still pretty amazing to see what can happen when technology and human creativity come together.

New smartwatch displays texts in braille

BY RONALD CHAVEZ

A new smartwatch could allow vision impaired smartphone users to check their messages without having to play them out loud.

The Dot is a tiny wearable with perforated holes featuring magnets and pins inside that rise to form the content of messages in braille, making them much easier to read for the vision-impaired. So when a user receives a text message, corresponding dots pop up in braille and he or she can run their finger along the watch to read the text.

SEE ALSO: The award-winning Apple feature you've never seen: VoiceOver

The device comes from a Korean startup of the same name looking to make new technology more accessible.

Often times, visually-impaired people rely on a smartphone's speaker to read messages out loud, but the method is not very private and could disturb others in public. However, the smartwatch allows visually-impaired users to read their texts discretely.

“Until now, if you got a message on iOS from your girlfriend, for example, you had to listen to Siri read it to you in that voice, which is impersonal,” Dot CEO Eric Ju Yoon Kim toldTech in Asia. “Wouldn’t you rather read it yourself and hear your girlfriend’s voice saying it in your head?”

Aside from text messages, the wearable also relays directions and can serve as an alarm. Of course, it tells the time too. There are other helpful features such as haptic engine to buzz on a user's wrist when a new message is received.

There's another big improvement with this device over existing tech: cost. A portable computer that can relay messages in braille can cost up to $3,000, while the Dot will retail for $300 when it launches in December. It will sync up with both iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth.

Hands-free wheelchair prototype 'Ogo' built in Kapiti shed of dismantled Segway

Otaki inventor Kevin Halsall shows off the Ogo, a hands-free electric wheelchair made from a rebuilt Segway.

A Segway rebuilt into a hands-free wheelchair with a top speed of 20kmh is on the verge of mass production.

The Ogo, built in an Otaki shed by Kevin Halsall has reached its third prototype, and with a few more tweaks will be ready for sale - with the help of investor support.

There is only one Ogo in existence - a hand-built fibreglass prototype, which would only need a few more tweaks before being production-ready.

Joel Maxwell

Kevin Halsall on his Ogo - a hands-free electric wheelchair created from a rebuilt Segway.

Halsall built the first version of the Ogo four years ago with his mate Marcus Thompson, who is a paraplegic, in mind.

It started when Halsall first hopped on a Segway.

"The first thing I thought was 'if I didn't have my legs this would be the perfect thing I'd be adapting'."

In its first version he borrowed a Segway and added a bolt-on seat, but "it needed to go a stage further", he said.

"The steering and the sensing of it needed to be refined more, and the only way I could do that was getting into the guts of the Segway."

That meant he had to buy his own Segway, costing about $14,000, which he could strip apart.

Halsall's work left only the "bare bones" of the Segway, with a new patented moving seat control installed.

Mastering a Segway can be a challenge - the devices operated by leaning on the handlebars to steer, and transferring weight back and forwards for accelerating and breaking.

The moving seat made the acceleration and braking more responsive to movements from the rider's core muscles, he said.

His mate Thompson used the device to mow his lawns, and trialled it at his work as a teacher at Otaki College.

Halsall said the doing things like picking up items and moving round while holding them, and mowing lawns, sounded mundane to most people.

"But when you're in a wheelchair you just can't do it."

Thompson got a buzz out of mowing his lawns, Halsall said, because as a paraplegic he previously relied on others to do work like that.

The Ogo comes with additional wide wheels that allow it to become "an off-road monster", he said.

Halsall said in ideal conditions the Segway powering the Ogo had a range of about 40 kilometres, but with everyday use would travel about 30km.

"Marcus, he's had it going from his home to the school, all day at the school, in the classroom environment, then back home again."

Halsall said the machine itself was perfectly safe but its high speed and control challenges created a "danger element".

This, he said, was part of the attraction.

"Nothing is really exciting unless it's got a bit of an element of danger."

Halsall, a plastic products designer, built the Ogo in his shed on his property in Otaki.

The Ogo is a finalist in the Innovate awards covering the region, competing against 10 other inventions in the finals at the end of August.

It is part of a bid to generate interest in the device from angel investors, alongside a potential run for crowdfunding.

He said he was still looking for someone with business and commercialisation expertise to launch the product globally.

His goal is to start manufacturing the Ogo and then create new electronic products for people with disabilities.

"The scale of the manufacturing side of things can be scaled-up as it grows. The more the better."

 - Stuff

Nike designed a sneaker for people with disabilities

Whether it be in clothing or footwear products, Nike is known for never being afraid to experiment with new technologies. The latest example is the company's new Zoom Soldier 8, a gorgeous shoe that was designed for people facing disabilities -- such as amputees and those who have suffered a stroke or cerebral palsy. With the sneaker's Flyease tech, which features an unusual zipper mechanism that ties around the heel, Nike's made it easier for the disabled community to tie their shoes. Instead of having to use both hands to accomplish this task, something that may not be possible or easy for some, Flyease simplifies this by letting them rely on one hand to open or close the shoe.

Nike Flyease press images  http://www.engadget.com/gallery/nike-flyease-press-images/

As Fast Company reports, Nike began development of the zipping system seven years ago; CEO Mark Parker made a special request to Senior Director of Athlete Innovation, Tobie Hatfield, after an employee had a stroke and lost movement on his right hand. Despite Flyease being launched, though, Nike tells Fast Company that it will continue to research and improve the new mechanism. "We know we can continue to make improvements," he said, "but we wanted to give access to those who need this sooner than later."

But let's hope that when the Soldier 8 Flyease launches, on July 16th, it ends up on the feet of people who could actually benefit from wearing the shoe. Here's Nike's main problem: resellers like to buy their sneakers and then post them on eBay at double, triple and sometimes quadruple the retail price -- which is bad news for everyone.

Supermom designs superhero hearing aids for kids

UK mother Sarah Ivermee is a definite contender for supermom status.

Ivermee's son Freddie suffers from hearing loss in one ear and deafness in the other. To help him hear throughout the day, he wears a cochlear implant, an electronic device that sends sound signals to the brain.

SEE ALSO: Photographer puts Marvel superheroes in not-so-super situations

Wearing hearing aids can be hard for young children, but that's where Ivermee comes in. When a friend mentioned that her daughter felt self-conscious about wearing her aids to school, Ivermee suggested adding nail stickers for a little flair.

Now, Ivermee manages Lugs, a line of fun, colorful aids that kids will feel cool wearing — because let's face it, who wouldn't choose Spider-Man or Minions over plain blue?

IMAGE: MYLUGS

IMAGE: MYLUGS

TC Makers: Kinova Robotics Gives The Disabled A Helping Hand

Montreal-based Kinova Robotics was founded in part because of one man – the founder’s uncle, Jaco, a disabled inventor who created a manipulator for his wheelchair out of a hot dog pincher, some microswitches, and some complex electronics. This early attempt, while primitive, was the basis for a whole series of amazing – and amazingly useful – robotic arms.

Kinova’s CEO Charles Deguire took TC Makers around his small factory outside of the city where he and his team are building robotic arms as fast as they can. The arms fit onto standard wheelchairs and allow folks to feed themselves, manipulate objects, and live an independent life. Currently the team sells arms all around the world and currently over 150 users in the Netherlands are feeding themselves using Jaco.

The arms are lightweight and low cost and they are creating the entire modular system in their factory. They can build about five robots per day and are currently working on a new model to keep things lighter. Researchers are also using the system for research into machine learning and robotics.

Kinova is an amazing company doing something amazing: it gives a helping hand to people who are disabled in an amazing way.

This Incredible Wheelchair Can Climb Stairs Like a Tank

Wheel Chair climbing upstairs

Technology has been making wheelchairs more convenient and easier to use, but this crazy amazing model that actually scales staircases is a metaphorical mic drop.

This prototype, called the Scalevo, has rubber, tank-like treads mounted to the bottom of the chair. The user approaches a set of steps backwards with his or her back facing the steps. The treads sprout out, lifting the chair up at an angle, allowing it to crawl up the steps. The user is kept level at all times. The headlight-and-taillight-equipped chair has two extra sets of wheels that pop out at the last step to provide smoother transition back to flat ground.

It began as a student project last summer, and now ten electrical engineering and industrial design students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Zurich University of the Arts are working on it. They say the Segway was an inspiration. I guess there’s a first time for everything.

The team wants it ready by next year’s Cybathlon, a race for people with physical disabilities that use assisting robotic tech, like exoskeletons and electrically stimulated muscles.