See in complete darkness with touch

6.1M views · 6 years ago · demo · evergreen

Stuff Made Here builds an iPad case that uses the iPad's lidar and a set of motor-driven tactile pins so a blind person can feel what is in front of them. The video walks through the engineering, the tactile display and the limits the prototype ran into.

HN people admire the build as an impressive piece of assistive-tech making and cite it when discussing tactile displays and the limits of sensory resolution.

“The problem he ran into was sensory resolution vs. ability to perceive that resolution.”

7 comments from Hacker News

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@sambroner2020 · in “I made a robot to cut my hair with scissors [video]”
This guy is a legend. Awesome videos. A few of them seem productizable in a way most DIY-er videos don't, albeit in a limited run capacity. He made a iPad lidar to "braille" converter that was really impressive, and I'm hopeful someone picks up the work. ▶ this video
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@deepakkarki2020 · in “Making an iPad case for blind to “see” with touch”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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@deepakkarki2020 · in “Making an iPad case for blind to “see” with touch”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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@abhisuri972020 · in “Making an iPad case for blind to “see” with touch (Stuff Made Here)”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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@anandvc2020 · in “Making an iPad case for blind to “See” with touch”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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@ryankrage772023 · in “Ask HN: Alternatives to Scratch for a blind child?”
Would it be possible to use fewer motors to control more pins? 'Stuff Made Here' made a 12-point display using two motors. ▶ this video
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@open-paren2022 · in “A naked skydive inspired a way to keep pilots oriented in flight”
There was a Youtuber that made a device like this with the lidar from an iPad and a 3x3 grid of dots to detect obstacles. The problem he ran into was sensory resolution vs. ability to perceive that resolution. (Unsurpisingly) your eyes are unparalleled for picking up visual resolution. ▶ this video