Scientists Develop First Camera for Visually Impaired People

Blind and visually impaired people are assisted as they participate in a walk to mark White Cane Day in Yangon. (Aung Thu / AFP/Getty Images)
Blind and visually impaired people are assisted as they participate in a walk to mark White Cane Day in Yangon. (Aung Thu / AFP/Getty Images)
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Scientists Develop First Camera for Visually Impaired People

Blind and visually impaired people are assisted as they participate in a walk to mark White Cane Day in Yangon. (Aung Thu / AFP/Getty Images)
Blind and visually impaired people are assisted as they participate in a walk to mark White Cane Day in Yangon. (Aung Thu / AFP/Getty Images)

A team of researchers has designed a new camera named '2C3D' that enables the blinds to see. '2C3D' is a development and design of a tactile camera concept for the vision impaired.

The camera creates 3D photos and videos and has a 3D screen. The screen is built by numerous 3D pixels that shift depending on the photo to forms the 3D shot on the screen surface (giving the term 'touch screen' a new and more literal interpretation).

The user can touch the screen while photographing and feel what the camera is seeing, in real time. When users like what they see, they can click and save the photo. The saved 3D file can be felt again later. The 2C3D performs as a camera for the blind and as physical-digital photo album, according to Orengeva website.

Design for unique needs communities such as the wide blinds community is practically challenging because the design should be extremely intuitive. The way of using the product should be simple and pleasant, and those are the values transmitted by the design, which combine the known and recognized elements with new and inventive elements in one innovative camera.



Apple Offers iPhone Discounts in China as Competition Intensifies

FILE - The new iPhone 16 is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple headquarters Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)
FILE - The new iPhone 16 is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple headquarters Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)
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Apple Offers iPhone Discounts in China as Competition Intensifies

FILE - The new iPhone 16 is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple headquarters Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)
FILE - The new iPhone 16 is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple headquarters Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)

Apple is offering rare discounts of up to 500 yuan ($68.50) on its latest iPhone models in China, as the US tech giant moves to defend its market share against rising competition from domestic rivals like Huawei.
The four-day promotion, running from Jan. 4-7, applies to several iPhone models when purchased using specific payment methods, according to its website.
The flagship iPhone 16 Pro with a starting price of 7,999 yuan and the iPhone 16 Pro Max with a starting price of 9,999 yuan will see the highest discount of 500 yuan. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will receive a 400 yuan reduction.
The discounts come as consumers remain cautious with spending amid China's slowing economy and deflationary pressures, with the country's consumer inflation hitting a five-month low in November.
Apple is grappling with declining market share in China, the world's largest smartphone market, where local manufacturers have intensified competition, Reuters said.
Huawei has emerged as a particularly strong challenger since its return to the premium segment in August 2023 with locally-made chipsets. Huawei had cut the prices of a variety of high-end devices, including mobile phones, by up to 3,000 yuan over the weekend on one of China's leading e-commerce platforms.
Apple briefly fell out of China's top five smartphone vendors in the second quarter of 2024 before recovering in the third quarter. The US company's smartphone sales in China still slipped 0.3% during the third quarter from a year earlier, while Huawei's sales surged 42%, according to research firm IDC.
The Apple promotion also includes discounts of 200 to 300 yuan on older iPhone models, as well as other categories of products such as MacBook laptops and iPad tablets. Customers must use designated payment methods including WeChat Pay or Alipay to qualify for the discounts.