Hi, I'm Lindsey. And I'm Marshall.
Welcome to Tumble, the show where we explore stories of science discovery.
Today we're going to learn how to make an invention.
Oh man, I really need that because I've been working on bird jackets for some time.
Bird jackets? Yeah.
I just need to apply for a patent.
Well, you're in luck because we're going to learn the five steps to a successful invention with help from a real -life inventor.
Okay, okay. So you literally just said that there are real -life inventors, but really?
Are there? Is that a job people have?
Yes. And to find out what it takes to become an inventor, I talked to one named Josh Miele.
My name is Josh Miele.
I am a scientist and what I do is I invent cool stuff for blind people.
And I'm especially good at it because I'm blind.
All right. Well, so I guess you're bringing me real -life proof that there are real inventors.
And one of them is named Josh and he's a scientist who happens to be blind.
Yes, Josh works at a technology company right now and he's He's worked in science labs in the past, but he's always wanted to do one thing.
Really, my heart is in designing cool stuff for blind people and really everybody to use.
I like to make things.
I like to make things easier.
So what things has Josh invented?
Well, a bunch of things.
For example, the audio description platform for YouTube.
That's the way that blind people can watch YouTube.
Oh, that's great. And he invented a new way to use something called a smart pen to help blind people get more information about the things that the pen is touching.
Wait, a magic talking pen?
Basically. And here's one more that you'll probably really appreciate, Marshall.
I've invented a braille code system for chord charts braille is a writing system that lets blind people touch letters.
Oh, that's super cool.
So like, chord charts are a way of writing music down, like if someone wants to learn how to play a song on the guitar, they'll just read the chord charts.
And braille is also a way of writing, and Josh figured out how to combine them.
It is pretty cool. Josh told me that his disability makes him a natural inventor.
One of the things about people who are blind, or people who have various kinds of disabilities is, that we always need to invent stuff.
Josh's ability to invent started young, when he had to invent ways to participate in school and sports.
I would have to come up with ways of, you know, how am I going to throw a shot put and make sure that it goes to the place I want it to go.
Josh said that's a common experience for people who have a disability.
Like whether or not we actually call ourselves inventors or have jobs that say that we're inventors, a lot of us are always trying to figure out, okay, like, I can't do x, y, or z.
I use a wheelchair or I can't hear or I can't see.
What am I gonna do?
That makes a lot of sense.
Totally. So being a problem solver his whole life, just by necessity, put Josh on the path to becoming a professional inventor.
And he told us that every invention takes just five steps.
Just five steps? Oh wow, okay.
What's the first one?
Here it is. In inventing, the first step is always to identify a problem that you want to solve.
All right, well. So the problem I want to solve is that birds get cold sometimes.
Figure that out, next step.
Okay, let's actually work with a real example of a problem that Josh had that led to one of his favorite all -time inventions...
I don't know, birds being cold is a real problem.
No it's not! Okay, Josh's problem was that he needed to know where things were in his neighborhood.
Huh, so wasn't there like some kind of way for him to get that kind of information?
Well there is a pretty popular invention that most blind people use.
A cane. I have a cane that I use to check out the ground in front of me and I also hear the sound of my cane.
That sound is is a sound that bounces around in the world, and i can hear it bouncing off of buildings and trees and stuff like that.
And when josh is gathering information with his cane, learn it where certain things are and use those things to learn where other nearby things are.
So i use my cane, for example, to find things that i want to use as landmarks, right?
If I know that there's a newspaper stand on the corner just a little bit up from a restaurant that I want to go to then I'll use that newspaper stand as sort of a landmark.
Wow. So like with his cane, Josh is building like a mental map in his head using these local landmarks.
Right. And that's how Josh recognized the problem he wanted to solve.
He and most other blind people have to build maps in their own heads.
There were already some maps that blind people could use, but they weren't street maps.
They were maps of things like countries and continents.
That can help you learn some things, but it can't help you learn your way to the supermarket.
I wanted more information about what was out there in the world.
Okay, so I guess this is the problem that Josh wants to address.
There's not a way for blind people to get geographical information.
That seems pretty basic, like that should be made accessible to everyone.
Exactly, which means we're ready to move on to step two of inventing.
The second step is to make sure you understand the problem that you want to solve.
Okay, so in my case, I do understand that birds get cold, but it sounds like Josh also understands his problem pretty well already, because he's lived it his whole life, so why can't he just go right to solving it?
Good question. It's not enough to just invent the technology.
The technology has to work in the entire system of people's lives.
To help us understand why this is so important, Josh told us about one invention of his that failed because he skipped this step.
He wanted to invent gloves that could help blind people use their fingers as a keyboard. Braille gloves?
That sounds super cool!
But why didn't it work?
You know, people don't want to wear gloves.
Yeah, I mean, I guess I don't want to wear gloves.
That's accurate. So the idea was a good one.
But bringing the idea from the lab into the real world to make it a product was actually a real challenge.
Okay, so it's not just about figuring out a solution to a problem.
It's figuring out whether your idea will actually be something that people want to use.
100%. And that means you actually have to talk to the people you're inventing for.
In the context of disability, that means talking to people with disabilities.
If you already are a person with a disability, it means talking to other people with disabilities to make sure that you really do understand that problem.
So that's why even if Josh thinks it would be cool to make maps for blind people, he needs to talk to the people he wants to use the maps.
The first thing to do is find out, do a little bit of research, be a scientist. Ask the person that you think it might be useful for, hey, I thought of this idea.
Do you think this might be useful for you as a person with a disability?
And if they say, no, then do a little bit more research find out why wouldn't it be useful?
What would be useful?
Okay, so like Josh would say, like, hey, this would be useful for me.
Would it be useful for you, too?" Yes, he needed to find out when and how they'll use the information, how they'll want to carry it around, just everything about how it could fit into their lives.
And so, did Josh learn that other blind people also wanted more information about how to get around their neighborhoods and cities?
I feel like they would, right?
Yes, they did. And he was realizing that he wanted to invent a map that blind people could read.
And the people he talked to just loved the idea.
And so people were very excited.
Well, that's awesome.
But it's kind of crazy that they didn't have maps already.
Was it because no one had thought about it before?
Well, Josh told me that actually a lot of scientists didn't think it would be possible for blind people to use maps.
And I knew as a blind person that that wasn't true.
So now he needed to figure out how to make these physical maps possible.
OK, so I get the problem, I think.
It's like maps are completely visual, whether you're looking at a map on your phone or a paper map.
You have to use your vision to get the information.
So how do you translate that for someone without vision or who has a hard time seeing?
Well, Josh knew he could find a way.
A hurdle, a challenge for people to realize that while vision is really cool, like I'm not knocking being able to see, but it is not the only way.
I really like how Josh thinks.
So like, what other ways did he think of, and did people like it?
Or did they try it and say, eh, forget it.
We'll find out how Josh took the next steps to invention after we follow our maps to this quick break.
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We're back! We're mapping our journey through the process of invention.
Nice one. So we've gone through steps 1 and 2.
First, identifying the problem, and second, making sure you understand the problem.
Alright, so I assume after step 2, it's step 3, because that's how it usually works.
You're right. Right, so what did Josh do after he understood the problem?
The next step is to explore options for solving that problem.
You want to make sure that you think about lots of different ways that the problem could be solved, and be creative about it.
And then, you take those options back to the people who understand the problem the best. Okay, I got it.
So you make a list of lots of ideas of how to solve your problem and I, on this sheet of paper, have jackets for birds, because they're cold.
And you talk about the various options and what the pros and cons are, what's good and bad about these different ideas for solving this problem." Josh's favorite option for his problem was something practical.
He wanted to create tactile maps.
So, tactile means something you can feel, right?
Yes. Blind people use what's called tactile graphics, images and models that you can touch to get information about things like pictures, charts, and graphs.
Things that typically are thought of as being only visual.
Okay, so like if you can touch a picture or a chart or a map, your fingers can help you build a picture in your mind.
Exactly. So Josh wanted to take that idea and use it for maps.
So tactile maps are maps that you touch and feel and so you can feel the lines on the paper that are raised up so that you can feel them and then each one is a street.
Oh, that's so cool.
So like you can journey through the neighborhood or your city with your fingers first. Exactly.
So that I could have maps of neighborhoods and maps of cities that I wanted to visit.
If I wanted to go to a new place, I wanted to be able to look at a map.
Okay, honestly, this sounds like a really simple idea.
Yeah, the idea was simple, but there was one big challenge, figuring out what technology to use to make it.
Josh wanted to make tactile maps that anyone could download off the internet, just like we do with everything these days.
So when Josh was deciding on the solution to try out, he thought of a tactile map that uses the same technology and printer as Braille.
Braille letters are made of dots.
So are these tactile graphics.
So a map could use Braille but in, like, a map shape instead of letter shapes.
Exactly. So do you just like like print out braille from a printer or something?
Well, since the dots are raised, you need a special kind of printer to do it.
That kind of printer is called a braille embosser.
Oh, I like that word embosser.
It's like your printing, but like a boss.
If you have a braille printer, instead of printing braille characters, it can use the like it would use ink to draw pictures for a sighted person.
Cool so then Josh had to figure out how to use the braille technology to print out the map instead of printing out letters?
Yes, and that's when he realized exactly what he would need to do in order to create his invention.
There were so many steps that needed to happen.
I needed to get all of the information about the streets and where they are I needed to figure out how I was going to put labels on the maps and how I was going to, so there were just all kinds of things that I needed to do before I ever got to printing out a map.
And now it's time for step four of inventing.
Oh, where you give the birds their jackets.
No, step four of inventing is experimenting.
Oh, you see if they like denim, got it.
Oh yeah. 80s are back, man.
And then once you find the best idea, then you start experimenting with how to make it happen, how to put that idea into practice.
So that means you have to build a prototype or a model of what your invention will be.
Okay, so a prototype is like the first example of a brand new invention.
Right, so for Josh, that meant creating a computer program that would take the information he gave it and turn it into a map.
Okay, so like he's combining braille technology and computer programming.
Yep. And when he finally had a version that he was ready to try out, it was time to turn it on and test it for the first time.
This step is called a smoke test. They call it a smoke test from back when you would build things with electronics and wires and soldering irons.
and when you turned it on, if it smoked, you knew that you had done it wrong.
Oh gosh, so did Josh's tactile map start to pour smoke out of its latitudes and longitudes?
No, but the smoke test did not start out smoothly at all.
I hit that button and the Braille embosser made all its Braille embossing noise and it came out of the embosser and I looked at it And it was total garbage.
And I was just like, oh, I was so disappointed.
It was like, you know, seeing the smoke come out of the device that you had spent years building.
Oh, no, so what did he do?
Is this step five where you panic?
Just hit it with a baseball bat and trash the whole thing?
Is that what it is?
No, you solved the problem.
And Josh was able to figure out where he had gone wrong.
I realized that I had made a mistake in my programming.
It was a very simple mistake.
And I just went back into the code.
I changed a couple of lines.
And I pushed that button again.
And out came a beautiful map of downtown Berkeley.
And it was, I got chills.
This was an incredibly rewarding moment for Josh.
I realized that I was holding in my hand the first example of a tool that blind people had had been wanting for probably centuries and would now have access to because I had taken the time to figure out how to do it because I knew that it was needed.
Anybody could have done it before I did it, but they didn't know that it was an important thing because they weren't blind.
Well, that's really incredible.
So now blind people everywhere could just print out maps whenever they wanted one.
Not yet, there is one more step.
Oh yeah, I forgot. there's five and we're only on number four, aren't we?
So what's the fifth?
The fifth step is to get people to use your invention.
Once you have that solution, how are you going to make sure that people can actually get it and use it?
If it's an idea? That is a great idea.
But nobody's going to be able to find it or use it or get access to it or afford it.
That's then that means that's not a great idea.
Well, so I have to say all the birds wearing jackets outside our house is a good sign that this is taking off.
I didn't realize you were already in production with it.
Well, you got a couple prototypes.
So what did it take for Josh's tactile map to get used by people?
Well, people who have their own braille embossers can just print out the maps at home.
But braille embossers are actually much more expensive than inkjet printers.
So you have to make sure that places that have embossers for other people to use, like libraries and schools, know about the maps and can help people access them.
So did Josh do that?
He did. And once people started using the maps, they realized Josh had solved an important problem.
They were suddenly getting access to information that they had never had before.
And it's a very powerful experience to see a place that you know laid out in front of you in detail.
And some people would cry, some people would get very emotional about finally being able to look at, to experience, to feel the streets that they knew so well.
I love that. It's like getting let into the room in the library that you were never allowed into before.
Yes, and Josh not only proved that making maps for blind people was possible, but that it's possible and useful for blind people to use maps.
That shows that people can use tactile maps and that they can learn from exploring stuff with their hands.
That was not very well understood before.
So that has a huge impact on the future of people's access, blind people's access to information.
Yeah, and now these maps are making it easier for blind people everywhere to find their way around their neighborhoods.
Yes. It's making life easier for blind people and that's worth doing.
And that's why Josh is still inventing.
So what problem do you wanna solve?
And is there an invention that might help?
Is there a leak in your boots so your socks get wet when you're trying to play in the snow?
Did you spill glitter all over your room last month, which I totally did.
It's such a mess and you'll never be able to clean it all up.
If you follow all five steps of Josh's invention process— First, identify the problem you want to solve.
Do some research to make sure you understand the problem.
Explore different ways you could solve the problem.
experiment and build a prototype and figure out who needs your invention and how you can help them get it.
What can you come up with?
We'd love to see or hear about all of your inventions.
Email us at tumblepodcasts .gmail .com with your experiments.
Thanks today to scientist, inventor, and MacArthur fellow Josh Mealy.
Grownups, if you want to learn more about the blind experience of disability, accessibility, and invention, you can check out Josh's memoir, Connecting Dots, A Blind Life.
You can also use Josh's website to find his invention, Keymap, if you want to get a braille map of your neighborhood.
We'll have links to both the book and the website in the description.
Hear more from our interview with Josh on the special bonus interview episode that's available to Patreon members who pledge at the $1 level or higher at patreon .com slash Tumble Podcast. We'll also have more free resources on our website at sciencepodcastforkids .com, and if you want to ask us a question for our show, email us at tumblepodcastatgmail .com.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 2148 -711, engaging blind, visually impaired and cited students in STEM with storytelling through podcasts.
Special thanks to the team that helped with this episode, Dr. Peter Walters and Dr. Caris Paulo, and the rest of the team at Independent Science.
Also thanks to Dr. Kelly Rydinger, Dr. Victoria Sellars, and Dr. Martin Storksteak at Oregon State University's STEM Research Center.
Jason Struther did the interview and research for this episode, it was written by Michal Richardson, Sarah Roberson -Lentz is our Chad Gini is our assistant producer Gary Calhoun James is our engineer and mixer I'm Lindsay Patterson, and I'm the editor and executive producer of this show And I'm Marshall Eskimia and I composed all the music for this episode tumble is a production of tumble media Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more stories of science discovery Hey everybody here We are at the end of the episode and that means it's time to wish some Happy Birthdays to our supporters on patreon But first
I want to give a shout out to some of our New Patrons Zoya, Nuri, Franco, and Isaac.
Thank you so much, you guys!
Now, on to the birthdays!
First, to New Patron Franco, Happy Birthday on March 13th!
You're capable of anything you set your mind to.
Keep shining! Mommy and Daddy love you.
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Keep rocking, guys!
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