Las Vegas (AFP) – Roberta Wilson-Garrett looked at the glove while keeping her right hand steady and smiled.
Published on: 01/10/2024 – 4:15 p.m.Amended: 01/10/2024 – 4:14 p.m.
3 minutes
For the moment, the tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease affecting his muscle control were at bay.
She could do things that others take for granted, like writing with a pen or holding a cup of coffee without spilling it.
The respite shared by the Canadian at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas came thanks to a GyroGlove.
“It changed my life,” Wilson-Garrett said, describing how GyroGlove stopped the tremors that make seemingly simple tasks like getting dressed a challenge.
GyroGear has built the world’s most advanced hand stabilizer, with strategic partners including Chinese technology group Foxconn, according to founder Dr Faii Ong.
The key to the GyroGlove is an attached gyroscope the size of a hockey puck but with a disk inside that spins faster than a jet engine turbine, according to Ong.
“This glove is made in the same factory that makes your MacBook Pros,” Ong said, referring to Foxconn as a supplier to Silicon Valley superstar Apple.
The plan is to miniaturize the gyroscope with future iterations of the glove.
“We want to shift the focus away from the disease and back to the fact that we are talking about human life,” Ong said.
“That’s what technology should do; it’s more important to get back to focusing on ourselves as people and understanding how we can actually improve people’s lives.”
Guide dog gadget
Massachusetts-based GyroGear was among a group of companies at CES seeking to use technology to improve the lives of people with disabilities or disabilities.
Startups like Glidance and stalwarts like Amazon were among the companies clustered in a section of the Venetian hotel and casino showcasing technology intended to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Glidance founder Amos Miller, who lost his sight early in life, introduced a compact two-wheeled device that acts as a sort of guide dog for blind walkers.
Glide can be given a destination and lead the way for someone holding its handle, or be easily pushed along obstacles by detecting and guiding users along safe routes.
“You just have to walk and the wheels will turn,” Miller told AFP while demonstrating the device.
“I can tell him where to go if I want, but he will resist my urge to run into anything.”
The Seattle-based startup plans to launch a beta program for Glide later this year and make it as easy to buy as a smartphone.
Another Seattle startup, OneCourt, has created what looks like a toy-sized replica of an American football field that converts real-time updates from a sports match into vibrations.
Visually impaired sports fans can place their hands on the fake field to feel the action taking place in a game.
The device can work with a range of sports including tennis, hockey and American football.
“We are excited to make live sports more accessible to people with visual impairments,” said Jerred Mace, Managing Director of OneCourt.
“Basically, it’s about trying to bring people closer to the action.”
Vibrations on the device provide insight into factors such as how fast a ball or puck is moving, where players are on the court and how they maneuver.
Mace hopes the yet-to-be-released device will be made available through partnerships with teams or leagues, and can be used for free by visually impaired fans at games.
Innovations on display at CES included technology-rich glasses for the blind from Lumen that let wearers know where it’s safe to walk, even while avoiding puddles.
There were glasses with frames that doubled as hearing aids as well as glasses to compensate for visual impairments or even dyslexia.
Offerings from Israel-based Orcam included handheld scanners that read and even translate text for students with learning disabilities or young immigrants simply learning English.
“Accessibility is the best use of technology,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Techsponential.
© 2024 AFP
Gn tech
