SITE e-Newsletter January 2011 Issue 22 A Happy New Year to our readers from all at SITE. We hope you had a good time over the festive period and are looking forward to 2011. The eNewsletter will keep you up-to-date with the latest developments, news, technology and forthcoming events related to people with sight loss. If you know of any colleagues who would like to receive the eNewsletter please feel free to forward it to them and encourage them to subscribe. If you have any comments, issues you wish to raise or contributions please contact us - contact details at the end of the e-Newsletter. In this issue: 1. News Round Up 2. Books, Games and Apps. 3. Technology 4. Events Diary 1. News Round Up ++Take A Bite Out of Apple Accessing Apple products. SITE can now offer A one to one course showing the powerful, easy to use, and free access features of the Apple range of products. Get your hands on an iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and MacBook. The great thing about Apple access is that it is built-in and provided as standard at no extra cost. The 1 day session presents the full range of access features for blind and partially sighted people. You can choose to try out the speech features of Voiceover or focus more on magnification. These personal hands on sessions are limited so book early. Cost£75 Bookings: To book contact John Turley on 0770 236 2105 or e-mail johnturley@sitescotland.org ++RNIB Scotland's Learning and Development Centre Glasgow We hear that the new Employment and Learning Centre will hopefully be open in Partick at the end of January.   This is a significant investment from RNIB Scotland and will bring a much-needed training resource to complement the services already on offer in Edinburgh. Further details will follow. ++Cells measure brightness to see the light A type of light-sensitive cell in the eye that helps the brain to measure brightness is described recently in a study part-funded by the Wellcome Trust. The cells, which work alongside the rod and cone cells in the eyes, may be particularly important for people with certain forms of blindness. It is hoped that the findings from studies in mice will lead to a new understanding of how we perceive the world and, eventually, might lead to technical applications in artificial lighting, visual display unit and television screen design. Signals from the rod and cone cells in the eyes send information on movement, shape and colour to the brain via neurons that form the optic nerve. A Manchester team has found that 2 per cent of these neurons produce a light-sensitive protein known as melanopsin and play an integral part in measuring the brightness of the world around us. it was previously thought that these melanopsin cells were responsible for detecting light for subconscious responses to light, such as changing pupil size. However, the team found that melanopsin also helped regions of the brain involved in conscious perception to measure brightness, not only in normally sighted mice but also in those previously considered to be blind. Dr Brown, from Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences, said: "This reveals a new role for melanopsin in perceiving brightness and suggests that these cells could support vision even in people with advanced retinal degeneration. "Loss of rods and cones is a common cause of blindness, but people suffering these conditions often retain some light perception. The accepted explanation for such cases has been that they reflect incomplete rod and cone loss. We have shown that in mice with similar conditions, light responses can in fact rely on melanopsin." Now we are asking to what extent melanopsin could help the normally sighted to see, and what it might contribute to the blind and partially sighted. "So far, the results suggest that we rely upon melanopsin to perceive the difference in brightness between a foggy day in London and bright summer sunshine in Manchester. We need to know whether it also provides the spatial information we rely upon for more complex sorts of vision. "Our findings could change the way that we think about artificial lighting and may even improve the ability of computer displays or televisions to reproduce our perception of the real world. At the moment both of these technologies are designed only with rod and cone cells in mind." The study, in which Professor Lucas and Dr Brown collaborated with researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego and University College London's Institute of Ophthalmology, was published last month. ++City Council Announces Budget Shock Glasgow City Council will have to make a further £13.5 million in funding cuts this year as a result of a reduction to its budget allocation from the Scottish Government of 3.6%. These cuts are additional to the £43 million already anticipated. The Council Leader has reacted strongly to the decision, calling it a "dagger through the heart" for the city. ++More About Retinal Implants There has been recent speculation that retinal implants are about to become widely available, this follows news in November of successful tests in Germany by Retinal Implant AG and of Second Sight's application for their Argus device. It is important to recognise that these developments are still in their early days. The Retinal Implant AG devices are to be further tested in Oxford and London during 2011 and 2012. The Second Sight application for CE marking, if successful, will not mean that the Argus device becomes immediately available, though it is the first step in the company gaining approval to bring the product to market. ++Focus on Employability project The Focus On Employability project,a partnership involving RNIB Scotland and Glasgow City Council, has developed basic IT courses for people looking to take up opportunities at each of the 5 Local Regeneration Agencies in Glasgow. The project is working with these agencies to improve employment prospects for blind and partially sighted people. For further information contact Heather Barbara,Project Officer on0141 276 9800. ++$10m invested into Retinal Research at US University Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio has been awarded over $10m by the US National Eye Institute to fund research into potential therapies in basic research models of AMD, Stargardt disease, and retinitis pigmentosa. In an article at Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (http://tinyurl.com/29ns34a) Jonathan Lass M.D., professor and chair of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at CWR School of Medicine and director of the University Hospitals Eye Institute said this "... is the largest grant of its kind ever awarded to the university by the National Eye Institute, a tremendous achievement. ++Joint bursary to fund research into living with sight loss Thomas Pocklington Trust and The School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) at the University of Kent have announced a major joint three year research bursary into sight loss issues. The research will focus on the relationship between partially sighted individuals and the social and technological environment in which they live and work. Further details on the bursary are available on the SSPSSR website http://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/postgraduate/feesandfunds.html#thomas_pocklington_trust_sspssr_Bursary    2. Books, Games and APPs ++Downloadable Eyes Mobile phones do a lot more than send and receive calls in the 21st century. Visual search apps are trendy and are finally making cameras on mobile phones useful for the blind. So, it's now possible to use our phones to identify products at a grocery store or get information about a DVD by taking a snapshot of a movie poster. There is a visual search app for every mobile operating system. Android users have Google Goggles, there is oMoby for iPhone customers and now LookTel for Windows.   Visual search apps work similar to barcode readers in that they scan items and run a search to acquire product information. However, visual search apps do not run their search on a database, but instead the internet. Visual search apps can also recognise landmarks and paper currency, but it can be tricky for a blind person to get the shot right. LookTel offers an additional feature where one can remotely connect with someone else for sighted assistance. The blind person can send streaming video of their location and get help finding a bus stop or address with their phone. Although LookTel is the most blind-friendly of the three, some sighted assistance is needed to set up the app.   Low vision individuals seem to have the most success with visual search apps as some of them have enough vision to snap the shot properly. Even though visual search technology is still in its infancy, its definitely a low cost alternative to pricy and bulky barcode readers. Both Google Goggles and oMoby are free downloads. LookTel offers a few different packages - one even includes text scanning for access to print media. http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/, http://omoby.com/ and htttp://www.looktel.com. ++Guided Photo Pro If you are forever taking pictures of people with no heads, or missing the subject out of your snap altogether, this app will give you spoken directions to get the perfect shot. It's designed for taking a photo of yourself, so you’ll need to do the opposite of what the voice tells you when taking a picture of someone else. But if you know your left from your right it’s jolly useful. ++TouchTal For people with sight and hearing loss. Tap and swipe the screen using a modified Deafblind Manual alphabet and display the translated message or question for others to read. The developers are keen to point out that this app is in it’s infancy and the ability to text and email will be added shortly. ++Dasher for iPhone This app brings together text prediction, gesture based input and an innovative interface. Particularly handy for those of us who find using a touch screen difficult. Tilt and shake your phone to type messages, for instance. It's an alternative to a keyboard and you have to use it to appreciate its value. 3. Technology ++Ocean Blue and STMicroelectronics talk TV Ocean Blue Software and STMicroelectronics are demonstrating assistive technology during the CES event in Las Vegas, designed to help the blind better navigate digital TV interfaces. The software developer and chip manufacturer have incorporated an advanced user interface and text to speech solution for the US, European and Asian markets. The new generation of set-top boxes will be able to talk to their blind or partially-sighted owners – advising, via speech technology, the TV programming schedule, for example. The speed and verbosity of the voice can be adjusted for the individual user’s needs. Phase Two includes the introduction of voice activation technology to allow owners to issue simple commands to the set, such as “channel up”, “volume down”, etc. “The digital switchover has multiplied the number of channels to 40 plus, for UK consumers, making navigation very difficult for the visually impaired,” said Ken Helps, CEO of Ocean Blue Software. “This technology is a step forward to making digital TV accessible to all sectors of the community and it is gradually gaining momentum throughout the world.” Last October, BSkyB introduced the Sky Talker, a device that integrates with the standard Sky +receiver, vocalising the search and scan banner, programme synopsis information and Sky+ functionality such as play, pause and rewind. ++BookSense D S portable DAISY player. The BookSense D S portable DAISY player features a high quality O L E D screen which displays high contrast white text on a black background. Like the original BookSense T50X T this new model provides instant access to a wide variety of information and entertainment, including DAISY books, podcasts and digital music. It also has a text-to-speech (T T S) engine which enables a wide range of electronic documents to be easily accessible. The T T S engine is compatible with a range of file formats including H T M L, T X T and Microsoft Word documents. It is also a voice recorder with the option to record in either W A V or M P 3. It even has a handy time and date button which can be used even when it is switched off. It also has a built-in F M radio and 4G B built-in flash memory. Estimated launch date: February 2011 ++Kapten Plus voice activated G P S navigator. The Kapten Plus provides spoken turn by turn navigation for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Your route is determined by your mode of transport ensuring you take the best route. For example, when in pedestrian mode, you can take advantage of short cuts through parks and one way streets, and avoid motorways and other unsuitable routes. It has speech recognition built-in to enable you to control the Kapten Plus and enter addresses using your voice. It also has several U K cities' public transport systems pre-loaded including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow. The Kapten Plus can help you navigate through these systems with step by step instructions and estimated journey times. For example, if you are in London you can programme your departure and destination tube stations and it will give you the estimated journey time, which tube line to take and how many stops there are, where to change lines (if required) and how long it will take for each leg. Supplied within a silicone case to help protect it and provide tactile buttons using a combination of raised bumps and indented symbols. In addition to navigation, it has a built-in M P 3 player, F M radio and voice recorder. Priced £239.99 ex V A T ++Milestone Fame colour reader module. If you own a Milestone 312 or Milestone 212 D A I S Y player, you can now convert it into a talking colour detector with the Milestone Fame colour reader module. The module plugs directly into the top of the Milestone and automatically changes the mode to colour detection. As well as describing around 400 different colours, the Fame has three further useful features: Light detection - gives an audible tone to indicate the amount of light with low, deep tones to indicate dark and high tones for bright light. Pattern detection - move the lens across a pattern and Fame will give an audible representation of the pattern. Colour comparison - Fame can also detect if two colours are the same or different. Priced £168.51 ex V A T. 4. Events Diary 19 January - Vision for Equality: Working together for an inclusive society The 2011 Vision for Equality conference will focus on inclusion, participation and independence for people with sight loss. Cost: £125 per delegate (£65 special rate for voluntary sector) Book tickets online at http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/visionforequality Venue: Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, London Contact: Jackie Brookes Email: jackie.brookes@guidedogs.org.uk Phone: 0118 983 8243 20 January - Balancing Care, People and Technology inMeeting challenges and seizing opportunities in Telecare Ideas Shop with over 20 interactive exhibitors and workshops Focusing exclusively on Telecare and Telehealth The Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow Thursday 20th January 2011 9.30am-4.30pm This exclusive event offers a unique opportunity for delegates allowing them ample time to explore the world of Telecare. 24 January/21 March RNIB Scotland Positive Steps courses  Free, two-week training programmes for unemployed blind and partially sighted people over the age of 17. They aim to improve employment skills and help people into work. Courses are currently available starting on Monday 24 January and Monday 21 March 2011 in Edinburgh, with accommodation available.  For details, contact the Employment and Learning Centre on 0131 657 8200 or email ELC@rnib.org.uk 5 April Edinburgh/6 April Glasgow QAC Sight Village No information on venues at present. Visit http://sitescotland.org/ for the full listing of events. You can also download the newsletter, including back issues, from our website. SITE is a charity registered in Scotland. Charity No. SC 0366056. Registered address: SITE, Centre for Sensory Impaired people, 17 Gullane Street, Partick, Glasgow G11 6AH. Subscribe If you wish to subscribe to the SITE newsletter please send an e-mail to info@sitescotland.org with the word 'Subscribe' in the subject header. Unsubscribe If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter please send an e-mail to info@sitescotland.org and include the word 'Unsubscribe' in the subject header. Working together to develop opportunities for the visually impaired community ++Newsletter ends