Top 12 Hip Trends for the Blind + Avatars For The Blind

The blind demographic has been missing out on simulated life in the virtual world, but Irish IBM students hope to change that. “The students have designed an audio equivalent of the virtual world using 3D sound to create a sense of space,” the BBC reported.

One of the Irish researchers explained it further, “When the user comes into the world, the items are described as well as their positions. There is also sound attached - for example, if there’s a tree nearby you will hear a rustling of leaves.”

Each avatar will have a sonar attached to give them an idea of the environment they’re in, and they will be able to communicate with other members through a technology that “uses text to speech software that reads out any chat from fellow avatars in the virtual world that appears in a text box.”

Second Life is the most popular virtual world now, but the students chose to work with Active Worlds instead because it offered more flexibility.

The new move to include the blind in pop culture has been witnessed in other areas as well. Trend Hunter recently featured some other ways in which our world is beginning to include the blind population:

Dining In The Dark - Legally Blind Servers At O. Noir (VIDEO)

Imagine walking into a restaurant so dark, you can’t see your waiter, fellow diners, or even the food in front of you. At Montreal restaurant, O.Noir, your visual senses are taken from you the moment you step inside. All of the restaurant’s waiters are legally blind and upon entry, they welcome you… [More]

Playboy in Braille (GALLERY)

Blind people enjoy pornography too.  That’s what you’ll learn when you pick up a copy of Playboy in braille.  Although, if you don’t know how to read braille, you won’t know the difference between an ad and a description of something naughty.The best part is that Playboy in Braille can be found in… [More]

Beer for the Blind

Leave it to the Germans to find the only unexploited niche in the beer market: the blind!  Dusseldorf’s Uerige beer, one of the world’s finest, is now releasing new bottles with a braille label.  Thus, Uerige has created the first beer for the blind.  Blind activist (and beer drinker) Joana Zimmer r… [More]

Braille Graffiti - Art For The Blind (VIDEO)

Graffiti has been a practice since the discovery of the cave wall, though it has never gained general recognition. People either see it as vandalism or an art form. But there is one group of people that haven’t been able to see what all the fuss is about. For the first time, blind people will be abl… [More]

PDA For The Blind - GW Micro VoiceSense (GALLERY)

What makes this personal digital assistant suitable for the blind? It has a Perkins-style keyboard. This keyboard, designed by David Abrahams in 1951, has 6 keys that represent each of the six dots in the braille code. Any of the characters in the braille code can be produced through pressing differ… [More]

Bionic Eye Restores Sight to the Blind

Scientists have made incredible advancements in the development of technology that has the ability to restore sight. The first phase of development has successfully restored patients sight to the pont where light and motion is discernable and the outlines of well-defined objects can be identified.… [More]

Braille Neck Ties (GALLERY)

In necktie homeland – Croatia, the first tie with Braille writings on it was born. It carries metaphorical writing on the inner side and it helps blind people to feel different colors, the world we see, by reading it!Croatian designer Svjetlana Latinčić came up with the idea, how to help blind… [More]

Braille Architecture - Love is Blind by JessicaLertvilai of Vest Collective

The Vest Collective is a Canadian group of designers with a bit of a postmodern streak (in the architectural sense). They make reference to past traditions with an eye towards future manufacturing techniques. And although their work is very PoMo, this vase by JessicaLertvilai is really not about th… [More]

Braille Wine Bottle

Feel your way around the worlds first braille enhanced bottle of wine which is lighting the way for blind wine drinkers everywhere. Although there is a braille wine “label” in existence this is the first known glass bottle of its kind and it is putting the little town of Worcester in South Africa on… [More]

$10 Hand-Held Braille Writer

A group of university students at Johns Hopkins University has created a hand-held braille writer made from inexpensive mechanical parts. The device is expected to cost as low as $10. From Johns Hopkins University: To help provide a low-cost communication tool for blind people, undergraduates at T… [More]

Solar Powered Retinal Implants

AN IMPLANT that squirts chemicals into the back of your eye may not sound like much fun. But a solar-powered chip that stimulates retinal cells by spraying them with neurotransmitters could restore sight to blind people. Unlike other implants under development that apply an electric charge directly… [More]

Rubik’s Cube for the Blind

Made with metal, wood, textile, rubber, plastic and stone, the new Rubik’s cube is made for the blind.  A great gift if you know someone who is blind, or just to see if you still have what it takes with only your tactile senses. [More]