Category: Geeks r Us
Hi all, I feel this not a geeky subject as I really wish I could have a look at one of these, and maybe even better to own one (if I could trust their relyability now) but, has anyone here seen or owned an optagon? (
I was fascinated by them when I was listening to a tape quite a while ago now, profiling blind school teachers and someone was saying she had one, so asked the ausie list I'm on and, here I am. I mean I have tried to do a bit of self-research on them and honestly didn't find a great deal of info.
there's a guy out here in sydney who still services them, as he introduced himself to me when I'd asked about perhaps getting my hands on one.
I plan to ask if I could see one on Friday (when I go to my old blindy school for music), but I'm hoping that someone in that generation could get back and tell us about your experience with them and perhaps if you still used it now?
I've heard quite a few ppl that use them say there's just nothing out like it today which sounds like I'd have to agree with. This is portable and can read handwriting.
(for those who don't know what I'm on about), I of course can't say much as I have never seen one thus far, but it's like a small box (I think) and there are finger dents where you place certain fingers, and there's a camera attached in some way which you can hold over a piece of writing (could even be handwriting) and your index finger feels vibrations as little tiny pins pop up to give you the shape of the piece of writing. So yes, obviously one would have to know how to write.
Apparently these optagons took a month's worth of training to be able to learn how to use them.
anyway, anyone here who would like to share any experience at all with them, I'd be very happy to hear from you on here.
Thanks,
I had a couple of weeks experience with that thing when I was 6 or 7. They are pretty cool, but yes, you have to first learn all the letters (I was sighted so I knew them) and even they it's both hard and slow to get used to the electronic vibrations and then dealing with hand writing, but it's really cool and it does enable you to read a piece of writing easily (if very slowly) after the training.
I think the concept is cool and your finger is going to tingle ligke crazy to begin with, it's very tickly (it's like a little box with an opening on one end, you stick your hand into it and put a finger on a raised thing in the middle where the letters can be felt one by one).
There are products on the way that will more or less replace this capability, I think Kurzweil is developing a set of virtual eyes that can be used for reading and also for navigation (attached to a laptop I think .. I wish I knew more about this because this sounds very cool) and there are also pen scanners that you can run over a piece of text and they translate it for you on the fly, again I wish they would make these things work directly with BraillNotes e.g. .. that way they'd be useful, now you have to carry a laptop around with you to get any of these devices to work.
cheers
-B
Hi guys,
so fine, I haven't posted on here yet, but I can't resist this thread... :-) I actually rescued an Optacon out of the rubble of the old CNIB building here in Toronto (all right, so it wasn't quite that dramatic, but it was to be left behind, so I took it). I've played with it a few times and amazingly it still works, even though it had a couple inches of dust on it, and had been kept company by cockroaches for a few decades, or so it looked. Rdfreak, it seems that you already have a pretty good understanding of how the Optacon works, but I would add to the description that in addition to the box you stick your finger into, the Optacon (or at least the model I have) has a detachable scanner about the size of a very thick pen that you slide across the page of writing. Whatever the scanner sees is translated into the famous vibrations :-).
I have to admit, I wasn't able to make out anything when using the Optacon, but that may have been a result of only trying for a couple of minutes... or of untrained fingers :-). Anyway, rdfreak, I don't think I'll be using my Optacon a lot, so if you want it, you can have it. The same goes for Wildebrew, of course, though I only have one.
Susanne
wow Susanne, that's a really generous offer! but only if you're sure you won't be using it again. Of course I can see what I can arrange at RVIB myself but they are getting rather stindgy so who knows. I am from Australia so shipping may be tricky to work out but I am sure it can be done in some goofy manner! I will get in touch with you privately.
Thanks again for your extremely generous offer.
cheers! :)