Hi, Everyone.
I started a new blog. If you want to check it out, you can find it here:
http://www.brianswebpagehome.com/blog
lady cop wrote:i look forward to following your musings Brian!![]()
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Brian wrote:Hi, Everyone.
I posted another blog entry today:
http://www.brianswebpagehome.com/blog/?p=42
This one is about devices controlled directly by the user's brain. I discuss an artificial arm with articulating fingers by Touch Bionics, and a device which allows people with "locked-in syndrome" to communicate using sensors attached to a cap which can detect where on an alphabet board a user is looking to spell out sentences.
Check it out.
Marie5656 wrote:Brian wrote:Hi, Everyone.
I posted another blog entry today:
http://www.brianswebpagehome.com/blog/?p=42
This one is about devices controlled directly by the user's brain. I discuss an artificial arm with articulating fingers by Touch Bionics, and a device which allows people with "locked-in syndrome" to communicate using sensors attached to a cap which can detect where on an alphabet board a user is looking to spell out sentences.
Check it out.
Is this something on the order of what Stephen Hawking uses for his voice synthesizer?
WikiAnswers wrote:"In 1980, we changed to a system of community and private nurses, who came in for an hour or two in the morning and evening. This lasted until I caught pneumonia in 1985. I had to have a tracheotomy operation. After this, I had to have 24 hour nursing care. This was made possible by grants from several foundations.
Before the operation, my speech had been getting more slurred, so that only a few people who knew me well, could understand me. But at least I could communicate. I wrote scientific papers by dictating to a secretary, and I gave seminars through an interpreter, who repeated my words more clearly. However, the tracheotomy operation removed my ability to speak altogether. For a time, the only way I could communicate was to spell out words letter by letter, by raising my eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card. It is pretty difficult to carry on a conversation like that, let alone write a scientific paper. However, a computer expert in California, called Walt Woltosz, heard of my plight. He sent me a computer program he had written, called Equalizer. This allowed me to select words from a series of menus on the screen, by pressing a switch in my hand. The program could also be controlled by a switch, operated by head or eye movement. When I have built up what I want to say, I can send it to a speech synthesizer. At first, I just ran the Equalizer program on a desk top computer.
However David Mason, of Cambridge Adaptive Communication, fitted a small portable computer and a speech synthesizer to my wheel chair. This system allowed me to communicate much better than I could before. I can manage up to 15 words a minute. I can either speak what I have written, or save it to disk. I can then print it out, or call it back and speak it sentence by sentence. Using this system, I have written a book, and dozens of scientific papers. I have also given many scientific and popular talks. They have all been well received. I think that is in a large part due to the quality of the speech synthesiser, which is made by Speech Plus. One's voice is very important. If you have a slurred voice, people are likely to treat you as mentally deficient: Does he take sugar? This synthesiser is by far the best I have heard, because it varies the intonation, and doesn't speak like a Dalek. The only trouble is that it gives me an American accent"
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