Tactile kinesthetic assistant

Abstract

A tactile kinesthetic assistant is a device that allows a person to use the senses of sight, touch and hearing to gather information. Tactile kinesthetic assistants can be used, for example, to help a person retrieve information related to a specific word or phrase (e.g., a student learning to read), to allow a person to determine the status of a person or thing (e.g., a nurse retrieving medical records), to allow a person to obtain current information (e.g., a stock broker retrieving stock prices). In one embodiment, a tactile kinesthetic assistant includes a thimble and an ear piece. The thimble includes a scanner that allows the user to scan one or more words. The representations of the one or more words are used to retrieve information via a network and the retrieved information is provided to the user through an ear piece.

1 . A system comprising: 
 a scanner to scan one or more printed words and to generate an indication of the one or more printed words, wherein at least a portion of the scanner is attached to a clothing of a user; and    a networked electronic device to receive the indication of the one or more printed words, the networked electronic device to retrieve, via a network, information related to the one or more printed words.    
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the clothing comprises a belt.  
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the belt is worn near the waist of the user.  
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the networked electronic device comprises: 
 a receiver to receive the transmitted indication of the printed word; and    a transmitter to transmit the information related to the printed word.    
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 an output device to output the information related to the one or more printed words.    
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the output device comprises an ear piece having a speaker to output audio information related to the printed word.  
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the audio information related to the printed word comprises at least one of: a pronunciation, a definition, an exemplary use, a source of the audio information, and a source of additional information.  
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the output device comprises a visual display to display pictorial information related to the printed word.  
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the audio/video information related to the printed word comprises at least one of: a representation related to the printed word, a source of the information, and a source of additional information.  
   
   
       10 . A method comprising: 
 scanning a printed word with a scanner having at least a portion attached to a clothing of a user; and    retrieving information related to the printed word over a network.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the clothing comprises a belt.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the belt is worn near the waist of the user.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 21  wherein outputting the information related to the printed word comprises playing audio information.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising: 
 wherein outputting the information related to the printed word comprises displaying pictorial information.    
   
   
       15 . A machine-accessible medium having associated instructions that, when accessed, cause one or more electronic systems to: 
 scan a printed word with a scanner having at least a portion attached to a clothing of a user; and    retrieve information related to the printed word over a network.    
   
   
       16 . The machine-accessible medium of  claim 15  wherein the clothing comprises a belt.  
   
   
       17 . The machine-accessible medium of  claim 15  wherein the belt is worn near the waist of the user.  
   
   
       18 . The machine-accessible medium of  claim 20  wherein outputting the information related to the printed word comprises playing audio information.  
   
   
       19 . The machine-accessible medium of  claim 20  wherein outputting the information related to the printed word comprises displaying pictorial information.  
   
   
       20 . The machine-accessible medium of  claim 15  further comprising instructions that, when accessed, cause the one or more electronic systems to output the information related to the printed word.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 outputting the information related to the printed word.