+Birdsong-n-Bud Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I have a friend who is blind, and she helped us create a waypoint for one of our multi's. We just got this from her, an I had one of those V-8 moments. DUH! THey can talk, they give directions, they tell you when you take a wrong turn...why didn't we think of this before?!? D'OH! Detroit Free Press, Michigan > Tuesday, June 21, 2005 > > GPS devices to help guide the way for blind people > > By MIKE WENDLAND, FREE PRESS COLUMNIST > > Out at the Leader Dogs for the Blind headquarters in Rochester, technology > is about to become a major player in helping those who can't see get around. > > > While it won't ever replace the sensory help that comes from a dog, the > latest in Global Positioning Satellite technology will soon allow blind > students to tap into sophisticated mapping and navigation techniques telling > them where they are or how to get where they want to go. > > > "Technology is where we're headed more and more," said Rod Haneline, > director of student services for the 66-year-old dog guide school. > > > As he spoke, he strapped on a black belt containing a specially modified > iPaq Pocket PC handheld computer. The belt, like those worn by traffic cops > and school safety kids, goes around the waist and over the shoulder. > > > On one shoulder strap is a tiny speaker. On the other, a GPS antenna. > > > A touch-screen faceplate on the handheld is set up so blind users can feel > where to push to toggle between different controls. Built into the computer > is a GPS receiver and detailed maps. > > > "The idea is that the user can scroll through points of interest and find > whatever they want like, say, the bookstore down the street, or a bank or > supermarket," Haneline explains, pushing buttons. > > > Out of the speaker, a digitized voice sounds. "Avon Road is straight ahead," > it said. "Rochester Road is to your left." > > > If the student turns left, the voice notes that and reports: "Rochester Road > is straight ahead." > > > And so it goes, noting the distance and direction and street names of > landmarks and points of interest. > > > Users can record GPS coordinates for things like their home, the office or a > nearby park. The system then remembers those spots and, using a network of > satellites, can direct the user there through the digitized voice and > turn-by-turn instructions. > > > "It's pretty much standard GPS stuff," said Haneline, "set up so a blind > person or someone with impaired vision can figure it out." > > > What the system doesn't say, of course, is whether there's traffic on those > roads or obstacles along the way. That's where the Leader Dog comes in. > > > The GPS system the school has picked up is known as the Trekker. It's from a > Montreal company called Humanware. Each unit costs about $1,500. It works in > a moving vehicle like a car or a bus and can announce intersections as > they're crossed, restaurants and businesses as they're passed and when a > destination is approaching. > > > One of the features Haneline thinks will be most used is a setting that > allows reception and entry of information in complicated environments like > sporting areas, parks and university campuses. > > > The first student to get the Trekker from the school is coming later this > month. > > > "He's a 17-year-old from Florida and a bit of a techie," said Haneline. > "He's going to college in the fall, and this is expected to be a huge help. > University campuses are hands down the hardest locations for blind people > because they are seldom laid out in a grid with any pattern." > > > Haneline said it will take three days to train someone how to use the > system. The average training for a guide dog is 26 days. > > > "This GPS system is probably not for everyone," he said. "But more and more > blind people are using and comfortable with technology, so we expect this > will be pretty popular as an additional aid." > > > In Kalamazoo, Paul Ponchello, a professor and chairman of the Department of > Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Western Michigan University, has been > using a similar system for the past year. > > > "I used to get lost or disoriented three or four times a week," he said. > > > "That is pretty frustrating. That never happens any more because I can > always, always find my way back to my destination. This is a fantastic > tool." Quote Link to comment
+Team Dromomania Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I think that's a great idea. But judging from my Mom and computers, it will be mostly the young who will use these new devices. I don't know why the elderly are afraid of change. Last week I finally found a cache which had been giving me problems. The hint was "A blind person could find this". I wonder what the attribute icon will be for "approved for the blind" caches? Quote Link to comment
+treasure_hunter Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I think its a great idea! Quote Link to comment
+GrandpaKim Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I think that's a great idea. But judging from my Mom and computers, it will be mostly the young who will use these new devices. I don't know why the elderly are afraid of change. Last week I finally found a cache which had been giving me problems. The hint was "A blind person could find this". I wonder what the attribute icon will be for "approved for the blind" caches? Not all of us elderly (I'm 58) are afraid of change. I've got a cool GPSr (Garmin GPSMAP 60CS), PDA (Sony Clié), and I work with technology (I'm a DBA working on a IBM mainframe). So, there are some of us that enjoy change. Quote Link to comment
OuttaHand Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 This sounds WAY cool !!!! As a person who already has limited vision, and the prospect of losing what I have, this is very good news! Right now, I have one eye that is completely blind and the other can only see straight ahead. The docs "hope" that I will keep what I have. If it goes, it's great to know there's something like this that would still allow me to be a bit independent. (not to mention I could still geocache!!!) Quote Link to comment
+Team Dromomania Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 I think that's a great idea. But judging from my Mom and computers, it will be mostly the young who will use these new devices. I don't know why the elderly are afraid of change. Last week I finally found a cache which had been giving me problems. The hint was "A blind person could find this". I wonder what the attribute icon will be for "approved for the blind" caches? Not all of us elderly (I'm 58) are afraid of change. I've got a cool GPSr (Garmin GPSMAP 60CS), PDA (Sony Clié), and I work with technology (I'm a DBA working on a IBM mainframe). So, there are some of us that enjoy change. I'll be 58 in about 1 1/2 hrs. I purchased a M/W for my Mom over her protest - later she loved it. I purchased a cordless phone for my Mom over her protest - she learned to love it. She never did get the hang of DVD, VHS, or computers. But my Downs Syndrome brother loves 'em. I should not have implied that all eldery hate change. Besides, I don't think "58" is really an old age. I find this new equipment for the blind to be very interesting. It brought to mind an old Star Trek TV show where a gal that Kirk fell for turned out to be blind but she could "see" by wearing this shawl-like covering. Who knows that GPS will be used for 10 or 20 years from now. Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Related article. PS: 58 (that's me!) is not elderly! Quote Link to comment
+Team Dromomania Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Is EVERYBODY in the thread 58 years old? Quote Link to comment
+Crew 153 Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Nope I'm only 57. Got 2 months to go. I also keep up with the latest technologies. Quote Link to comment
robertlipe Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 I have a blind friend of many years that's probably in that age bracket. You wouldn't believe the life-changing uses of technology in that market. I remember helping him with problems with his DOS TSR's in '286 days and putting up with some really crotchety technology in that era. Watching the advances in speech synthesis, screen readers, and the widespread availability of all the reading material on the 'net you could imagine is simply amazing. Sure, you can wait a week for the newspaper to make it in Braille or you can subscribe to it online and have the screen reader pluck the words out of your web browser and read it to you. He now travels all over the country about three weeks a month carrying a briefcase full of gadgets and, of course, his dog. Very rarely does he travel with a partner. He tied into a talking GPS a few years ago. From the airport, he can figure out how far away his hotel is, the best order to arrange meetings with the customers he needs to see, whether the cabbie is ripping him off, if there's a place to get a burger within walking distance - and if so, which way to get there. When he's bored on the plane, he can "look out the window" and remind himself which state which rivers are in, see that he's flying over I-40 (hey, wasn't that Route 66? I remember...) and see for sure when the plane is circling so he knows when the flight is being delayed before it's announced. No, geocaching probably isn't for him, but GPS and related technologies have definitely improved his world. Quote Link to comment
+Birdsong-n-Bud Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 Is EVERYBODY in the thread 58 years old? Nope. I'm in the "under 41" sect. For another year or so, anyway, lol. Quote Link to comment
WH Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Is EVERYBODY in the thread 58 years old? Nope. I'm in the "under 41" sect. For another year or so, anyway, lol. By looking at you, Id never guess you were that old. Quote Link to comment
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