Location-Specific Information for Blind People
Written on Sunday, September 21, 2008
I came across this article today about some researchers from the University of Michigan, that plan to make information about specific locations available to passers by via Bluetooth. The initial aim is blind people, but they hope it can be extended to all kinds of locations around the world.
The idea is certainly not new (it's just a proximity marketing application), but it will be interesting to see if they can build the low-cost implementation they claim, and whether real-world businesses will beat them to this service, using already existing proximity marketing solutions based on bluetooth.
The system, called Talking Points, comprises an information storage unit and bluetooth transmitter, known as a 'tag' that would be located outside a place of interest - which could be a public toilet, post office, pub or anything else you care to name that could be of interest to a blind person but of which they might be unaware as the passed by.Full article here
This device would communicate information about the facility to a bluetooth unit carried by the passer-by which would, in the case of a blind person, speak the information.
...
James Knox, adaptive technology coordinator for the University's Information Technology Central Services and one of the system's developers, explains the rationale for the technology thus: "Blind people can get from point A to point B. They learn to count steps if they have to, but they miss the journey because they don't always know what they're passing. The idea behind Talking Points is to enhance the journey."
The idea is certainly not new (it's just a proximity marketing application), but it will be interesting to see if they can build the low-cost implementation they claim, and whether real-world businesses will beat them to this service, using already existing proximity marketing solutions based on bluetooth.
Posted in
location-based services,
proximity marketing
|
