268 - Bryan Duarte - Hapware - part 1

Bryan Duarte lost his sight at 18 in a motorcycle accident. He went on to earn a PhD in computer science studying one question: can touch carry what sight usually carries? Today he's co-founder and CTO of HapWare, building ALEYE. It's a wristband paired with a camera that reads facial expressions, gestures and body language. It plays each one as a pattern of vibrations on the wearer's wrist.

In Part 1, Bryan talks about what the wristband feels like after a few hours and why learning the patterns is like learning a new ringtone. He also explains why HapWare stopped trying to tell a slight smile from a big one. Audio Description runs into the same question. A script can say "She smiles." The performance decides whether that smile is flirty, sarcastic or barely there. ALEYE tells the wearer someone smiled and leaves the meaning to them.