http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has designed a new aircraft lavatory called BrailleWise, giving visially impaired people greater independence and comfort when using toilets on airplanes. http://phys.org/news279180799.html Technology Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:13:43 EST news279180799 Beyond canes and seeing-eye dogs, there is always room for more technology ideas to help the visually impaired ease up daily tasks that go beyond just walking and navigating sidewalks safely. MIT researchers have come up with a novel way for the visually impaired to independently identify objects and learn more about them. “EyeRing is a wearable intuitive interface that allows a person to point at an object to see or hear more information about it,” say the researchers. Their EyeRing is actually a system made up of ring, smartphone, and earpiece. http://phys.org/news263954848.html Technology Sun, 12 Aug 2012 04:50:01 EST news263954848 It’s easy to see that University of Cincinnati design students Alex Broerman and Ashley Ma are on to something with their new design and prototype for a prescription-medicine pill bottle that better serves the needs of the blind and visually impaired by means of a simple and inexpensive innovation. http://phys.org/news256804453.html Technology Mon, 21 May 2012 07:34:31 EST news256804453 Whether it's a bar chart showing the debt of European countries, or a graph indicating the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, graphics are a powerful communications tool that many of us take for granted. http://phys.org/news252146615.html Technology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:43:50 EST news252146615 Imagine if smartphone and tablet users could text a note under the table during a meeting without anyone being the wiser. Mobile gadget users might also be enabled to text while walking, watching TV or socializing without taking their eyes off what they're doing. http://phys.org/news248713555.html Technology Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:06:24 EST news248713555 As the proportion of senior citizens grows, their special needs are gaining momentum. Human eyesight, for example, weakens with age. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been developing new NFC-based applications that make life easier for the visually impaired. A group of affected persons recently tested an innovative, speech-based item identification system and new "talking" packaging for medicine and food. Solutions that link products and digital product info are becoming ever more common. They offer a range of possibilities for both the normal-sighted and the visually impaired. Food packaging, for example, can include links to information relevant to the individual customer, from the origins of the product to ecological aspects and possible allergy risks. http://phys.org/news248005723.html Technology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:28:59 EST news248005723 (PhysOrg.com) -- Despite amazing advances in computers and cameras, people with serious visual impairments are often aided with the most basic technology imaginable: a cane. http://phys.org/news240601314.html Technology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:42:23 EST news240601314 For the visually impaired, navigating city streets or neighborhoods has constant challenges. And most such people still must rely on a very rudimentary technology -- a simple cane -- to help them make their way through a complex world. http://phys.org/news225564675.html Technology Wed, 25 May 2011 17:52:02 EST news225564675 Research on an electric wheelchair that can sense it's environment and transmit information to a person who is visually impaired, has been tested at Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. Daniel Innala Ahlmark, a prospective graduate student in the research project, and himself visually impaired, dared to make the first public test. http://phys.org/news224859342.html Technology Tue, 17 May 2011 13:56:29 EST news224859342 (PhysOrg.com) -- Visually impaired people may soon have greater access to graphical information thanks to a new device developed by Monash University’s Faculty of Information and Technology. http://phys.org/news223207255.html Technology Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:01:07 EST news223207255 An electronic system developed by Aura Ganz, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, allows visually impaired people to safely navigate unfamiliar buildings using a three-ounce electronic device and a Bluetooth headphone. http://phys.org/news211744073.html Technology Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:20:01 EST news211744073 (AP) -- Even as audio versions of best-sellers fill store shelves and new technology fuels the popularity of digitized books, the number of titles accessible to people who are blind or dyslexic is minuscule. http://phys.org/news192345571.html Technology Thu, 06 May 2010 06:20:05 EST news192345571 Without vision it's impossible to interpret facial expressions, or so it's believed. Not any more. Shafiq ur Rehman, Umea University, presents a new technology in his doctoral thesis - a Braille code of emotions. "It gives new opportunities for social interactions for the visually impaired," he says. http://phys.org/news191605441.html Technology Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:00:07 EST news191605441 LookTel, a smartphone app for the visually impaired, created by IPPLEX/iVisit, LLC has been chosen by International CTIA Wireless 2010 as one of the finalist for the E-tech Awards for Healthcare/Public Safety/Transportation Public Services category. The LookTel app provides verbal identification of common household objects, currency denominations and will read text for users. http://phys.org/news188647312.html Technology Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:23:29 EST news188647312 (AP) -- Amazon's Kindle can read books aloud, but if you're blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now two universities say they will shun the device until Amazon changes the setup. http://phys.org/news177140017.html Electronics Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:50:01 EST news177140017 (PhysOrg.com) -- “Eyes on the future” is the mantra of the ‘World Sight Day’ held this month to raise awareness of blindness and vision impairment. New technologies, developed by European researchers offering the visually impaired greater independence, live up to this vision. http://phys.org/news144065898.html Technology Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:18:18 EST news144065898 IBM today previewed a unique Social Accessibility collaboration software, developed by IBM Research, which allows Internet users to improve Web accessibility, particularly for those who are visually impaired. http://phys.org/news134838593.html Technology Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:09:53 EST news134838593