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Communicating with Handicapped Loved Ones?
Trx asks: "Many of us regularly exchange digital images from our loved ones, but the disabled are often left on the dark side of this digital divide. My dad is quadriplegic, and I've been looking into ways I might outfit his room with an automated download of images to his television. Have any Slashdot users attempt something of this sort? He lives in an assisted living facility, with personal telephone/cable lines. He has special response buttons for control of television channels and phone. Due to high staff-turnover, training-in staff to help him download emails or images hasn't worked out. I am stationed overseas, and can only get back once every 6 months if I'm lucky, so low-maintenance is key. WebTV would be an option if it didn't require mouse or keyboard. We've also considered investing in a laptop DVD player, and mailing disks. Any suggestions?"
Now if you wanted to give him some controll (forward, back, pause, etc) that could be much trickier. The best I can think of off the top of my head (and this wouldn't be too easy) would be to set it up with a microphone and teach it to listen for whistles or some such. One quick whistle is stop, two is forward, etc. Or you could use different pitches (A is stop, B is forward, etc). That would be easy to controll once he got the hang of it and would require no controll device, wouldn't have to be rigged into the ones currently provided, etc.
Of course that assumes he knows how to whisle. He does know how to whistle doesn't he? He just puts his lips together and... sorry, couldn't resist.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
You mention a laptop with DVD player. An easier solution is simply a DVD player. Creating a DVD or VCD with a sequence of still images is very easy. With the correct indexing it is easy to go forward and back between images. Google for it.
Another simple solution is to have your digital pictures printed out and delivered. There are many shops that do this. It is inexpensive. The big advantage is that there is nothing to break. Also no staff need special training (ditto for a dvd player). There is also an added bonus in that your father can easily display photos that he likes.
Without this information (and possibly more) it's kinda hard to say what would be best for you and your father. One thing you might want to look into is the new Mac mini since you can easily add S-video output to his TV and Mac OS X requires a lot less upkeep than Windows.
--Paul
Plain old 3x5 pictures are probably the best way to go. Many places can develop 3x5 pictures from both 35mm and digital sources. Sure, postage may be a little more, but there's nothing to break, requires no training, and he can easily have some staff member simply sit at his bed-side and flip through them for him.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
I don't know if it's feasable in his situation, but the Mac line has a decent voice recognition, and with training can be set up to respond fairly accurately to simple commands. It also allow scripting to add more commands, and works with the e-mail and web browser for most basic functions. Perhaps you should look into that?
You can have it fast, accurate, or pretty. Pick any 2.
MediaMVP is a device that hooks up to your computer via ethernet, and hooks to the TV via SVideo. It can play MP3s, show still photos, and play MPEG1 and MPEG2 movies.
Since he can control a TV using a remote control type device, then he should be able to control this using a remote control.
I can think of a couple of solutions. For example: You get a cheap desktop or laptop computer. You use it for nothing but your father electronic picture downloader. You turn it on, and it automatically runs a web browser with a script that does a slideshow of all the photos on a particular web site. (A little serial port or IrDA hacking could maybe interface the slideshow with your father's existing gadgetry; otherwise you can just put the whole thing on a timer.) The web site belongs to you, and you just upload new photos to it whenever you want your father to see them. With a little work, you could also add audio files for narratives and background music.
That's just one idea -- a little brainstorming would produce a couple more. If you lack the expertise to do the necessary software hacking, I'm sure you could find some volunteer labor. (I'd be pleased to offer my own skills.) The same goes for hardware hacking, though for that you'd need somebody on the scene.
You could create a webpage that refreshes itself every couple of minutes or so and displays full size photos chosen at random from a folder on the site. Plenty of prefab scripts out there that can do that. Just set up a laptop in his room and all the orderlies need to do is open Firefox with your photo page set as the default home page. You could also use this to send him message s by just editing the page. he wouldn't need to do anything as long as he has a dedicated phone line that can be online all the time. If he doesn't and can only be on sporadically, then just type up some simple instructions on how to double click the "Internet" button and then double click the "Firefox" button so the orderlies can get him signed on and tape it to the desk where the machine sits.
I dunno...maybe something like that.
k
This too, will end.
See, for example, http://www.tightvnc.com/: "TightVNC is a free remote control software package derived from the popular VNC software. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer."
In the 1980's I worked on 'adaptive devices' for the handicapped. Many of the suggestions I see here are great, but I know there is 'old tech' out there that will help. There was, and may still be, an outfit in Stout-Meninomee (sp) Wisconson that published "Closing the Gap', a journal dedicated to the handicapped and adaptive tech. If you look around, there are many specialized devices that will allow a quadraplegic to operate a PC- puff switches, eye trackers, nod switches, voice activated controls, and the like. You might be suprised at how well a trained dictation program coupled with a set of scripts can run a menu. I have to believe that if we could do it with a Apple ][ and 48k of RAM, it's still do-able . I would suggest that you stay away from the bleeding edge, and stick with the less sexy but bulletproof stuff.
First off, all of what I say requires training/money because frankly, the effort has to be there on the half of the disabled regardless. If he doesn't care to learn how to use a computer, ignore this post. Is he able to get any sort of financial assistance in the way of grants etc? You might want to check out this overprice monitor.
I got to testdrive one of their monitors at a London convention that follows your pupils regardless of head movement and it's nothing short of amazing (including the £12000 price tag).
You have to be able to press a switch/button to prevent eye pauses from initiating a mouseclick.
Otherwise, look into a clickity-clack keyboard. I'm over in the UK (and work at a special needs school) and we use Inclusive Technology quite a bit.
There are other options around as well, maybe a Stephen-Hawking style pc from Sensory Software. Expect that to come with a £6000 pricetag though.
The amount of money that gets charged for special needs is horrendous... $150 for a keyboard that lets u plug in a switch for an enter key...
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