Bluetooth improving quality of life

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

On this blog we almost always talk about the new Bluetooth products but today’s post will be different. We are going to report two very useful employment of Bluetooth that really make the difference in terms of quality of life.

The first is the use of Bluetooth to remove (or at least soften) one of the toughest hurdles to jump: blindness. Yesterday at a Blind and Low Vision Technology showcase in Nebraska was presented an impressive tool that using Bluetooth lets the user read and type text on a computer or portable device.

It’s the Easy Link 12, a compact wireless device that comes with 6 Braille input keys plus 3 other function keys. Using this buttons it will be possible to write e-mails, SMS and text in general that will then be transferred to a pc or any other compatible device via Bluetooth 1.1. The same technology is used to transfer the text to read to the 12 Braille cells present on the device.

Another project that relies on Bluetooth to assist blind persons is Trinetra. It was launched two years ago by Priya Narasimhan, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and while it’s still in the prototype phase looks very promising. The final goal of this project is to make blind person independent from sighted helpers.

All starts with the user passing a bar-code reading pencil on what he or she wants to read (be it a label or a transportation times). Then via a wireless connection the bar-code is transmitted to a cell phone connected to the Internet. Lastly when the information associated with the code is available it is passed via Bluetooth to a wireless headset.

These applications of Bluetooth may not be flashy but they certainly serve the real purpose of technology: to help us to overcome little and big problems so we can fulfil our potential.