Blind people can hear and feel April's total solar eclipse with new technology
When a total solar eclipse crosses North America in April, there will be sound and touch devices available for blind people.
“Eclipses are very beautiful things, and everyone should be able to experience it once in their lifetime,” said Yuki Hatch, a high school senior in Austin, Texas.
Hatch, a visually impaired student and a space enthusiast, hopes to one day become a computer scientist for NASA.
On eclipse day, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight, she and her classmates at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired plan to sit outside in the school’s grassy quad.
They will listen to a small device called a LightSound box that translates changing light into sounds.
When the sun is bright, there will be high, delicate flute notes. As the moon begins to cover the sun, the mid-range notes are those of a clarinet. Darkness is rendered by a low clicking sound.
“I’m looking forward to being able to actually hear the eclipse instead of seeing it,” said Hatch.
'Hear the eclipse'
The LightSound device is the result of a collaboration between Wanda Díaz-Merced, an astronomer who is blind, and Harvard astronomer Allyson Bieryla.
Díaz-Merced regularly translates her data into audio to analyse patterns for her research.
A prototype was first used during the 2017 total solar eclipse that crossed the US, and the handheld device has been used at other eclipses.
Eclipses are very beautiful things, and everyone should be able to experience it once in their lifetime. Yuki Hatch Student in Texas
This year, they are working with other institutions and aim to distribute at least 750 devices to locations hosting eclipse events in Mexico, the US, and Canada.
They held workshops at universities and museums to construct the devices and provide DIY instructions on the group's website.
“The sky belongs to everyone. And if this event is available to the rest of the world, it has to be available for the blind, too,” said Díaz-Merced.
“I want students to be able to hear the eclipse, to hear the stars".
The Perkins Library - associated with the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts - plans to broadcast the changing tones of the LightSound device over Zoom for members to listen online and by telephone, said outreach manager Erin Fragola.
In addition to students, many of the library’s senior patrons have age-related vision loss, he said.
“We try to find ways to make things more accessible for everyone,” he said.
What to know about the total solar eclipse crossing North America in April
Others will experience the solar event through the sense of touch, with the Cadence tablet from Indiana's Tactile Engineering. The tablet is about the size of a cellphone with rows of dots that pop up and down. It can be used for a variety of purposes: reading Braille, feeling graphics and movie clips, playing video games.
For the eclipse, "A student can put their hand over the device and feel the moon slowly move over the sun," said Tactile Engineering’s Wunji Lau.
The Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired started incorporating the tablet into its curriculum last year. Some of the school’s students experienced last October’s “ring of fire” eclipse with the tablet.
Sophomore Jazmine Nelson is looking forward to joining the crowd expected at NASA's big eclipse-watching event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the tablet will be available.
With the tablet, “You can feel like you’re a part of something,” she said.
Added her classmate Minerva Pineda-Allen, a junior. "This is a very rare opportunity, I might not get this opportunity again".
ing the integrity of the information space and the demands they must place on the titans of technology.
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Considering its major impact on the whole of society, passively deferring to tech companies to dictate and shape narratives around regulation is not a solution. Collaboration on a level playing field is essential.
Balance and diversify perspectives
To develop regulation that channels innovation in a better direction, we need collaboration to be complemented by more balanced and diverse representation at the table whenever agendas are being set and policies are being discussed.
Private tech companies proactively engage and dominate in a broad spectrum of regulatory processes.
Their goal is simple; to shape policy discourse in a way that is beneficial to shareholders, market power, and profits. When it comes to shaping regulatory guidelines, these private interests represent only one perspective and must not be mistaken as being broadly representational.
Whenever there are critical agenda-setting moments, where the red carpet is inevitably being rolled out for CEOs or tech executives, we should also be prepared to have an equal number of seats at the table for everyone else.
We’ve seen this time and time again, most recently with the AI Summit in the UK - big (largely US) tech-dominated with the private sector overall representing one-third of seats at the agendasetting table.
There was less than a handful of civil society participation, with no human rights, journalism, or media watchdog organisations invited.
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Whenever there are critical agenda-setting moments, where the red carpet is inevitably being rolled out for CEOs or tech executives, we should also be prepared to have an equal number of seats at the table for everyone else.
Namely, independent civic experts and Global Majority representation to bring forward the voices and lived experiences of their constituents.
Remember: There is no optout for AI
Unlike other technologies, there is no opt-out for AI, meaning regulation needs to consider this as something everyone needs protection from.
Often, that means looking out for those unable to fully participate in the discussion.
Drawing on broad consultations around the world, where there's not a lot of local philanthropy that's interested in funding political work, policy regulation around AI is inevitably about protecting fundamental freedoms and human rights.
For fragile democracies, the "wait and see" approach we have seen in the past with GDPR will likely continue with AI regulation.
For fragile democracies, the "wait and see" approach we have seen in the past with GDPR will likely continue with AI regulation.
We can only expect that policies will follow suit based on the decisions of larger organisations such as the OECD and the EU, taking into account only some local needs but largely cut and pasting. We need to help.
Innovating policymaking
Technology can benefit all citizens through transparency, accountability, and democratic participation. The want for innovation is not all bad by any means.
In fact, for the global information space, innovation is key in prioritising access to reliable information.
However, the issues we face are complex and largely stem back to a lack of globally established and inclusive regulation. Fair regulation can be as simple as involving participation from civil society groups, citizens, human rights defenders and elected officials when driving discussions that shape our regulatory regimes.
With its network of civil society organisations and direct links to 52 countries through the Partnership on Information and Democracy, the Forum on Information and Democracy continues to play a critical part in this direction.
Governments and tech companies should not fear regulation as it does not need to come at the cost of innovation.
In fact, any policy development process that is founded on this principle is ultimately one that can be more successful.
The outcome is technology that serves our societies and supports prosperity, peace and democracy.
Michael Bąk is Executive Director of the Forum on Information and Democracy.
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