Bit of advice needed- help restore a grannys sight

BFDCH.

My gran is pretty blind, she's got a combination of glaucoma and macular degeneration, she can see blurred outlines of people and not much else.

she lives down the country, doesn't get a lot of visitors, can't go out and now can't read. her mind is fine, but she's basically trapped in her house and only able to listen to the TV/Radio.

I was going to make her something to help her read, using a camera and a wooden frame attached to a small table. she could place a book on the table and the camera would be connected to the TV.
Then I found this- http://www.geddesreader.com/

I bought it for her, she could read a bit but it was tough going. her hand was shaky and she's not too comfortable with technology.
An additional problem I noticed was that when we found a font size that she was comfortable with, you could only focus on one word at a time and needed to move it accross the pageline by line

I think I need a way to make whole paragraphs visible to her.

Have you any idea's as to what type of camera I should use to do this?
What do you think the best way of doing this would be.
Her TV is a new flatpannel and is at least 32", probably bigger.


I got the inspiration to do this again from the picture in the life hacks thread of the camera phone stuck in the plastic contraption- so thanks for posting that

Capt'n Midnight

wow that is very expensive for a PAL TV camera

does she like audio books ?

one lovely feature of cassette tapes is they continue from where you left off

have you considered scanning in / downloading and then using a text to speech program - more to see it it works , getting ease of use is more difficult

if the TV has VGA or DVI input , try a webcam on a laptop - you are hoping for better resolution, and features in the webcam app to sharpen / contrast etc to make the picture clearer

for good devices depth of focus is improved with brighter light

yeah it would be nice if the device would scroll down at a readable speed , but that would depend on it being able to show a full line of text at a time

maybe put wheels on the frame so constant distance ?



you can get ocr pens - but most are daft money for a usb connection compared to the 4GB of ram and would record hand writing of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livescribe

could you borrow a projector to see if bigger is better ?

Thoie

No idea if this would work at all, but if she could manage a Kindle app on a PC/laptop, and hook that up to a projector, you could project the Kindle book onto a wall.

The problem with that is would she be able to manage operating the laptop in order to actually open the book? Windows has some limited functionality for people with reduced/no vision.

An actual Kindle has variable font size, but at the largest size you're only getting a few words per "page". If you're going down that route, I'd advise against a touch screen - if her hands are a little shaky, it would drive her crazy, as even without shaky hands you sometimes turn 2 pages by mistake. The non-touch screen versions require a more deliberate press to turn the page.

Thoie

This (http://www.maculardegeneration-reader.com/eazyreader) is a bit similar to the thing you already bought, but looks like it might be more stable, and easier to move across the page with shaky hands. You may still have the magnification problem though.

Capt'n Midnight

wow - $129 for what is essentially a home security camera without the IR LED's or waterproofing or housing :eek:

I must get into this whole fleece people with disabilities racket


many cameras have a video output to TV , try with a glass or small flower pot


depends on how much she reads

BFDCH.

She doesn't like audio books, she's been given plenty in the past, I think she preferred actual reading to the story behind it. She also like puzzles,cross words were her favourite.

Do you think one of these would work? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_keywords_4?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A172511%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A2882942011%5Cc5091817011&bbn=172511&ie=UTF8&qid=1342264329&rnid=2882914011

If I attached it to a wooden frame then attached that to a table and plugged it into the tv?

The ideal solution would read a line then fit it in large font to the tv screen, so that she didn't need to move anything.

Maybe a kindle would work for that and be better than a contraption. I presume you can adjust the font size as much as you want on a kindle.... Can they be hooked up to a tv? Iveneverseen or used one.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

wow that is very expensive for a PAL TV camera

does she like audio books ?

one lovely feature of cassette tapes is they continue from where you left off

have you considered scanning in / downloading and then using a text to speech program - more to see it it works , getting ease of use is more difficult

if the TV has VGA or DVI input , try a webcam on a laptop - you are hoping for better resolution, and features in the webcam app to sharpen / contrast etc to make the picture clearer

for good devices depth of focus is improved with brighter light

yeah it would be nice if the device would scroll down at a readable speed , but that would depend on it being able to show a full line of text at a time

maybe put wheels on the frame so constant distance ?



you can get ocr pens - but most are daft money for a usb connection compared to the 4GB of ram and would record hand writing of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livescribe

could you borrow a projector to see if bigger is better ?

BFDCH.

Thoie wrote: »

This (http://www.maculardegeneration-reader.com/eazyreader) is a bit similar to the thing you already bought, but looks like it might be more stable, and easier to move across the page with shaky hands. You may still have the magnification problem though.

It looks the same as the geddis but probably less fidgety and I reckon you're right about the magnification problem too.

If a kindle does what I think it does then it may be the way to go.....

She's 89, my only worry is that technology will scAre her.

Thoie

I've attached two "font sizes" from a Kindle here. The first is more normal font size, the second is the largest size, just so you can get an idea of the difference.

I've never seen any way of directly connecting the Kindle to display on an external device. Another problem with the Kindle is that the font size might be fine while she's reading a book, but I don't think you can enlarge the main menu, where you select your next book from, so I can see that someone might have to "start" each new book for her, which is a bit useless.

I suspect Kindle app on a laptop/PC, hooked up to the telly or a projector might be a better idea. Any old computer would do as that's all you'd be putting on it- you could strip the desktop down so that the only button to press is the Kindle app button.

It wouldn't even need an internet connection, though if one was available, you could remote in to help her if needed.

Capt'n Midnight

BFDCH. wrote: »

She's 89, my only worry is that technology will scAre her.

more brainstorming - on the off chance something might give you an idea

Plan B

Instead of just making things bigger, change the font too. Not point in being big and fuzzy when it can be closer , crisper and with better contrast.

Verdana is fairly easy to read


moon font is not used that much, but it may be easier to learn / use than Braille - not as much pre printed material out there though. Pre-printed Braille uses contractions so may take a while to learn them
http://www.moonliteracy.org.uk/font.htm

Braille readers (OCR to dot matrix) is very expensive BUT there are already devices with ferrofluid displays so expect this technology to drop in price


also go through these for more ideas / stuff that works
http://www.ncbi.ie/ - might be worth contacting them to see if any resources are available
http://www.rnib.org.uk



general tip - cheap and cheerful way to get Braille is to use a Braille font and print it out backwards on heavy paper and then put the page on a soft surface and use a pen to push the dots out. if you can see the dots through the paper you don't need to print backwards. http://braillefont.com/


I take it a very large magnifying glass isn't any use , you could mount an old fresnel lens on a stand ?


other stuff, a better radio - so can get foreign channels especially if She has languages
Long Wave - BBC Radio 4 on 198 is a bit like the curate's egg. At it's best it's just amazing brain food. Just a minute, Science & technology stuff, A book at bedtime. Some of the RTE1 stuff is good too.



Is there enough light to read - brighter means smaller pupil and so deeper focus ? Simple fix to add more light if she finds it easier to read near the window or outside on an overcast day.

BFDCH.

Thanks for posting those pics, the second one Is what would be most likely to work. I went round to peats and they said the same thing, ya can't hook it up to anoTher display.
They suggested a tablet, but reckon a pc might be the better option. I'm sure I could get a really cheap one and make it simple to use with a 32" display.

Thoie wrote: »

I've attached two "font sizes" from a Kindle here. The first is more normal font size, the second is the largest size, just so you can get an idea of the difference.

I've never seen any way of directly connecting the Kindle to display on an external device. Another problem with the Kindle is that the font size might be fine while she's reading a book, but I don't think you can enlarge the main menu, where you select your next book from, so I can see that someone might have to "start" each new book for her, which is a bit useless.

I suspect Kindle app on a laptop/PC, hooked up to the telly or a projector might be a better idea. Any old computer would do as that's all you'd be putting on it- you could strip the desktop down so that the only button to press is the Kindle app button.

It wouldn't even need an internet connection, though if one was available, you could remote in to help her if needed.

zg3409

http://www.ncbi.ie/

Is the main crowd in Ireland with experience of partially sighted. Apparently they have loads of gadgets for helping with people with partial sight loss.

They can do assesments, training and show available products. The proper devices may be expensive but they can advise the grants available.

A DIY custom solution may be better but no point re-inventing the wheel if an off the shelf option is available from the experts. There must be others in the same position.

Doc Farrell

This might seem like an obvious idea but I sometimes use a thin A4 sized magnifying glass, you can pick one up online for a tenner?
You could buy her two in case she sits on one, as I have done!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/a4-magnifying-glass/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=a4%20magnifying%20glass&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aa4%20magnifying%20glass&page=1

Chet T16

Android mini pc (mk802) + kindle app?

I've just set it up on my tv to have a look at it looks like it would be ideal with a bit of keyboard setting up. I'll post pics later

Chet T16

Ok, kindle app on android:

White on black text:



Black on white:



Sepia too which is easy on the eyes, this is the smallest font:



Biggest font:



And there is a two column view too:

kirving

With the likes of an Android Tablet or iPad, she could get the papers, and online news/video everyday. A bit expensive maybe though.