Report by 'Poppy'.
Report written by 'Poppy', a 2 year old guide dog...
'WOOF, I'm so pissed off you guys wouldn't believe. It's like this, for the past three months I've been chained to this lead and have been walking round the streets with Mary. Mary is the young lady I look after as she can't see a blooming thing. Although you wouldn't think it if you followed in her footsteps. She does blooming everything, swimming, rock climbing, clubbing you name it, she does it! And her current boyfriend is pretty hot as well, OK, fair enough she can't see him, but these blind people have a kind of sixth sense, which kinda freaks me out sometimes. I'm with her most of the time, especially when she's in town. Don't get me wrong, I've no problem guiding Mary around, being patted on head by kids and resisting temptation from every lamppost we past. In fact that's the reason I'm so annoyed as this new device which helps blind people cross the road is one step closer making us guide dogs a thing of the past. Hang on a sec, I'm stopping for a bite to eat..'
Five minutes later.
' PAH, What the hell do they put in that Pedigree Chum crap? My showbiz mate, Clive actually appeared in one of their adverts and was physically sick afterwards. I mean ask me this question would you humans eat something which looked and smelt like a cowpat? No, I don't think you would and then after churning this stuff our into a plastic bowl you have the nerve to eat a proper meal right on top of our noses. For goodness sake. Anyway, back to this blind thing. Researchers at the Kyoto Institute of Technology over in Japan have come up with this gizmo called the 'electronic eye'. It has a camera shoved on top of it and a computer which can pinpoint a location of a pedestrian crossing, how wide it is and any traffic lights there maybe nearby. Something which I learnt in my second afternoon of training I might add!'
' The clever so and sos behind this contraption are Shioyama and Mohammed Uddin, Tadayoshi Shioyama had this to say about the electronic eye,'
"The camera would be mounted at eye level, and be connected to a tiny computer. It will relay information using a voice speech system and give vocal commands and information through a small speaker placed near the ear."
The gadget sounds pretty reliable, but compared to us dogs still isn't up to scratch. It manage to identify 194 crossings out of 196. I mean, how difficult is it to acknowledge black and white stripes across a road! Not only that but the glasses which accompany the thing are said to be uncomfy and need adapting. Katherine Phipps works at the Royal National Institute of the Blind appreciates the concerns blind people see, well 'not see' if you catch my drift! WOOF WOOF,
"Mobility is a serious issue for blind and partially sighted people and new tools like this that may help people with sight problems get around safely are always welcome,"
A nerd at the institute added,
"They have combined these three things in one camera and one computer.
The camera can now give these bits of information at once and that gives
every piece of information needed to cross the road safely. That is why
it is such a big breakthrough."
'Well the camera may be good, but it can't give love and attention us mutts can. I mean how can anyone compare a stupid device alongside a four legged friend who will never leave your side, no matter what. We always stay where we are and..oh hang on, I've just caught sight of a Cat, gotta go, sorry'
The electronic eye is
described a lot better than
our attempt in the journal of
Measurement Science &
Technology.