Introducing the Vaux portable battery powered speaker for the Amazon Echo Dot 2. Disconnect your Echo Dot and plug it into the Vaux to create a better sound experience that is also portable. Sense the Echo Dot needs to be connected to your Wi-Fi network, it is only portable throughout your home. There is no cellular connection. The Vaux speaker houses the Echo Dot, and can also be charged by the same power cord that is used for the Echo Dot.
Pre-orders begin shipping this week.
Google Text to Speech Engine Adds 6 New Languages and Other Improvements.
This past week, Google made several improvements to their default text to speech engine. They added 6 new languages, which now brings the total number of languages to 35. The new languages are:
Spotlight with iMerciv: Creators of the BuzzClip
In this Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Bin Liu and Arjun Mali, the founders of iMerciv and creators of the BuzzClip, which is a standalone wearable that helps people who are blind familiarize themselves with their surroundings and navigate unfamiliar areas both indoors and outdoors.
Navigate VR with Oculus Voice Speech Recognition.
Oculus announced that voice speech recognition is now available in English for users of the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headset. You can use your voice to navigate games and apps, and new features will be coming soon to enhance the social VR experience. Oculus wants everyone to be able to share their VR experience with all of their friends.
Although this doesn’t make the VR experience fully accessible for a blind person, it is a step in the right direction. Using this feature along with several other features for low vision users definitely helps those users enjoy the VR headsets that are out there.
Math Melodies is a Fun Way for Visually Impaired Children to Learn Math.
The creators of Math Melodies have developed a fun and interactive way for blind and visually impaired children to understand basic math concepts that are usually presented in a visual way. Although this app will work on an iPhone, it is designed to work best on an iPad. It allows a child to get audio feedback while feeling the layout of the math problem on the screen. In this way, a visually impaired child can see how the math problem looks in the same way a sighted child does. This might seem like a minor thing, but it is incredibly difficult for a young visually impaired child to understand these math problems when they are read by a screen reader on a computer. They just don’t get how the problems are being presented to them.
Audible Easter Eggs Make the Holiday Inclusive for Blind Children.
Easter is rapidly approaching, but not all children are ready for the hunt. An Easter egg hunt can feel like an exclusionary event for a blind child, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
There are battery powered plastic Easter eggs out there that can either beep when turned on, or talk to give hints of where they are located.
Head over to Amazon or MaxiAids to find beeping eggs that can be used year after year. You will only need to replace the batteries from time to time.
If you want something a little different than a simple beeping Easter egg, try JoJo & Friends Electronic Talking Hide ‘ and Find ‘Em Easter Egg Hunt. Not surprisingly, you will get a better deal on these Easter eggs if you buy in bulk.
Brailleboard: A Braille Keyboard for the Blind.
Luke Edward, competing in the MasseyHacks III competition, has come up with the Brailleboard which is a way of providing blind people with access to a braille keyboard. Luke has used 3D printing to produce key caps that are labelled in braille. These key caps will replace the existing key caps on a standard keyboard. This will be incredibly helpful for visually impaired children learning to type, those who have recently lost their vision, and those who are learning braille.
It will also be helpful for those who are not entirely familiar with every key on the keyboard. Let’s face it. We don’t always use every key on a regular basis. It will also eliminate the need to count the keys on the number row. Wouldn’t it be nice to have those numbers and function keys clearly labelled in braille?
A Demonstration of the Google Home Voice Activated Speaker
In a previous podcast, James Oates showed us the features available on a Google Home voice activated speaker. Now he gives us a live demonstration of those features in action. After listening to this podcast, you should have a good understanding of what the Google Home can do.
Google Home Can Now Control the Neato Robotic Vacuum.
Neato announced that several of their smart vacuums will now work with Google Home. These vacuums already work with Amazon Echo, and they can also be controlled with an app on your smart phone.
Ask your Neato to start cleaning and it will leave its docking station, and get to work. Ask Neato to report its battery level, and you will get an answer through your Google Home speaker. You can also control your Neato vacuum through your smart phone app even when you are not home.
The D3 Connected, D5 Connected, and Botvac Connected vacuums work with Google Home, but only in the US.
Clarity: A Speaker That Runs Both Alexa and Google Assistant.
Introducing Clarity, a voice activated Alexa speaker with a touch screen that also runs Android, as well as Google Assistant. Now you can use one device to ask Alexa and Google Assistant any question. You can play music and watch movies on the display screen. Because it is also an Android tablet, you can also download any app from the Play Store. Pricing is set initially at $99.
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