New Blog

[Brian]

Hi, Everyone.

I started a new blog. If you want to check it out, you can find it here:

http://www.brianswebpagehome.com/blog

[Brian]

i look forward to following your musings Brian!

Thanks, LC.

[Brian]

I just made my blog available via Amazon Kindle. It should be available via subscription in 48-72 hours, if anyone likes it enough to carry it with you on your Kindle. I'd of course appreciate the support.

[Brian]

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]

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?

[Brian]

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?

It's something like that, Marie. Here's what WikiAnswers says about how Stephen Hawking communicates. (The quote is taken from Stephen Hawking's website):

"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"

I think the system Hawking uses is different because it relies on switches. The system I discuss on the blog is controlled directly by one's brain.