Hello everyone,


Venkatesh from Orbit Research just shared some more exciting news with me today. We are always looking for more accessible apps for our deaf-blind students. Please check this out, and let me know if it works well for your students or not. If not but you see potential for improvement, or if you want more, you now have a connection to Orbit Research. Hey, it’s free!! J


Best wishes,
Susan


From: v.chari@orbitresearch.com [mailto:v.chari@orbitresearch.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2019 12:22 PM
To: 'Susan Osterhaus' <osterhauss@tsbvi.edu>
Subject: Introducing Orbit Chat - a face-to-face communication tool for people who are deaf-blind


Hi Susan,


We have some more exciting news to share – we just announced the launch of the Orbit Chat™ Communication system today.  The system provides a free solution that enables a deafblind person to use their Orbit Reader 20 braille display and an app running on a smartphone or tablet to communicate with a sighted, blind or deaf person.  The system can be used in any situation – in public settings such as markets, restaurants and classrooms or in private conversations.


The system allows a blind, deaf or sighted person to use a familiar chat or messaging user-interface to type messages using the phone or tablet’s on-screen keyboard, which are immediately translated and displayed on the deafblind user’s Orbit Reader 20 device in braille.  The deafblind user types her messages in braille using the braille keypad on the Orbit Reader 20 and these are translated to plain text and instantly displayed on the phone or tablet.  The app is self-voicing, which allows a blind person to use it to communicate with a deafblind person without needing any special screen-reading software.


The system also includes other innovative features such as a broadcast mode which allows the deafblind user to send messages to multiple people who have the app installed, the ability to save conversations  on the Orbit Reader 20 as well as on the app for later review, a file transfer feature to exchange files between the Orbit Reader 20 and the phone or tablet.  It allows the use of contracted and uncontracted braille in English and offers support for other languages through localization. The app is available now for free download at www.orbitresearch.com/product/orbit-chat.


I am attaching the full text of the press release.  I would be grateful if you could please share this through your network.


With warm regards,


Venkatesh








<Orbit Chat - Press Release v0.6.pdf>
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Hi Susan! Thank you for bringing up this topic. I forwarded it to Dr. Gene Bourquin, who has worked with hundreds of deaf-blind people, to get his take on it. He wrote: ------------(msg)--------- Any face-to-face interface is welcome. And the features described seems like they address many of the current problems with other options. Here are my questions: - how popular is the Obit Reader 20? - how deafblind-friendly is the Obit Reader 20 device itself? - how good is the bluetooth? is it the latest more reliable software/hardware? I don’t care for the starting prompt message “Hello, I am deafblind,” and the other text is far too verbose and complicated to be practical in many daily interactions. This needs a better design. The greeting is fine for a sit-down with say, a professional conversation. However, people in most interactions (like ordering a slice or pizza or asking a stranger for directions) cannot or will not read and comprehend the instruction-manual-style and small font of the message. The best alternative is a message as described in this article below — which is more likely to initiate a successful interaction. Bourquin, E., & Sauerburger, D. (2005). Teaching Deaf-Blind people to communicate and interact with the public: Critical issues for travelers who are Deaf-Blind. RE: view, 37(3), 109-116.; ------------------------------------- -- Dona ____________________________________ Dona Sauerburger, COMS Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the blind 301-858-0138 dona@sauerburger.org www.sauerburger.org ____________________________________ How to Think if You Want to Change the World: Spiritual Practices for Social Activism www.magissa.org On Nov 5, 2019, at 4:28 PM, Susan Osterhaus <osterhauss@tsbvi.edu> wrote: Hello everyone, Venkatesh from Orbit Research just shared some more exciting news with me today. We are always looking for more accessible apps for our deaf-blind students. Please check this out, and let me know if it works well for your students or not. If not but you see potential for improvement, or if you want more, you now have a connection to Orbit Research. Hey, it’s free!! J Best wishes, Susan From: v.chari@orbitresearch.com [mailto:v.chari@orbitresearch.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2019 12:22 PM To: 'Susan Osterhaus' <osterhauss@tsbvi.edu> Subject: Introducing Orbit Chat - a face-to-face communication tool for people who are deaf-blind Hi Susan, We have some more exciting news to share – we just announced the launch of the Orbit Chat™ Communication system today. The system provides a free solution that enables a deafblind person to use their Orbit Reader 20 braille display and an app running on a smartphone or tablet to communicate with a sighted, blind or deaf person. The system can be used in any situation – in public settings such as markets, restaurants and classrooms or in private conversations. The system allows a blind, deaf or sighted person to use a familiar chat or messaging user-interface to type messages using the phone or tablet’s on-screen keyboard, which are immediately translated and displayed on the deafblind user’s Orbit Reader 20 device in braille. The deafblind user types her messages in braille using the braille keypad on the Orbit Reader 20 and these are translated to plain text and instantly displayed on the phone or tablet. The app is self-voicing, which allows a blind person to use it to communicate with a deafblind person without needing any special screen-reading software. The system also includes other innovative features such as a broadcast mode which allows the deafblind user to send messages to multiple people who have the app installed, the ability to save conversations on the Orbit Reader 20 as well as on the app for later review, a file transfer feature to exchange files between the Orbit Reader 20 and the phone or tablet. It allows the use of contracted and uncontracted braille in English and offers support for other languages through localization. The app is available now for free download at www.orbitresearch.com/product/orbit-chat. I am attaching the full text of the press release. I would be grateful if you could please share this through your network. With warm regards, Venkatesh <Orbit Chat - Press Release v0.6.pdf> You are subscribed to AERNet, The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Listserv. To post a message to all the list members, send an email to aernet@lists.aerbvi.org. Address list requests to: aernet-request@lists.aerbvi.org To unsubscribe from this list, go to http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org and follow instructions to unsubscribe. Go to the same address to access the list archives. _______________________________________________ AERNet mailing list AERNet@lists.aerbvi.org http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org