[gps-talkusers] O&M list exchange about wayfinding

I posted a message to the O&M list regarding the debut of nearly 8000 
transit stops now incorporated into the BrailleNote GPS database for the 
Portland Oregon area. This is a wonderful albeit expensive means of 
obtaining one more important source of location information. My message set 
off a lengthy and articulate exchange of ideas on the O&M listserve.

From: Donna Smith <donnafsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hi Prue.  Technology for this sort of thing is growing and improving almost
daily, and so it's a matter of finding out what meets your needs best.

Talking Signs (with capital letters), is the registered name of a particular
product.  I think the web site is
www.talkingsigns.com.
It works on an
infrared signal and the speech message is transmitted to a handheld receiver
carried by the person who is blind.  It requires the person to point the
receiver in the direction of the signal and press a button to make the
connection.  When all that happens, she/he will hear a message such as
"entrance to transit center" or "platform 9 and three quarters" or whatever
the sign is suppose to impart.  It is technology widely used in Japan, and
is being expanded to be functional with a cell phone, but that's a research
project still down the road.  Here in the US there are some transit centers
who use this technology such as one of the main transit centers in San
Francisco.  It is also used in some museums to make information about the
exhibits accessible.  Talking Signs is currently trying to get Congress to
include provisions in the upcoming transportation act to install this
technology in the Washington DC area transit system, but currently it is not
widely in service here.  Ward Bond or Jeff Moyer will be glad to fill in the
real details for you.

A more common use of speech technology in transit is a system that is tied
to GPS that makes automated announcements about transit stops and which
announces the identification of the vehicle when the doors open.  This is
technology installed on the vehicle, and there is usually a visual display
of this information that goes along with it.

In transit stations or transfer centers specifically, there is not much
currently being used that involves speech messages.  A group called Touch
Graphics out of New York City, did a pilot project of a talking kiosk that
included a raised line and large print map in addition to an electronic map
complete with speech output.  This kiosk is still in operation in Penn
Station in NYC, but it has not been duplicated.  I spoke with Touch Graphics
a couple of weeks ago, and they are currently looking to develop similar
kiosks sans the raised line maps, that rely solely on a visual display and
speech access to give information about a transit system.  Their original
project in Penn Station had the same issue you mentioned in that the locator
sound, (in their case it is a birdcall), is constant and annoying to some
who have to spend time close to it.  In the new technology they plan to
develop, the locator sound will be activated via a cell phone held by the
user who needs the information, thus eliminating the need for it to sound
repeatedly when it's not in use.  You can check them out at
www.touchgraphics.com.
Steve Landau is the chief researcher and I'm sure
would be willing to talk to you.

Then there is the information posted in the message from Michael May
regarding the interface between GPS information used for transit systems and
personal GPS devices such as the BrailleNote.  That kind of link already
exists for people who can use cell phones, but it is not generally made
available via text for use with assistive technology for people who are
blind...at least not with regard to transit information.  I'm hoping that
Michael's message about Portland is a sign that this is on the change.
However, this is not a universal fix as it requires the individual customer
to own and operate a device with personal GPS.

There is a project being sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration and
the Federal Highway Administration jointly to gather together information
about technology that enhances mobility options for seniors and people with
disabilities.  If you want to get deeper into this topic and find out more
about the research out there, I can find some contact info for you.  It's in
my office, though, so I can't get my hands on it till tomorrow.

You may also want to do a search of the publications available on the
Transportation Research Board's web site,
www.trb.org
and search for key
words you think will be helpful.

Hope this helps.  There really is a lot of stuff available.
Peace and Hope,
Donna Smith
Training and Technical Assistance Specialist
Easter Seals Project ACTION
From: Ashley
Hi Prue,

Donna did a good job describing the technology with talking signs.
No wonder people complain if the signals continually beep.  I would be 
complaining too. I'd really recommend the type of technology that announces 
major stops
audibally and automatically.
As for locating a stop, I think it would be best for people to use
existing landmarks in the environment rather than technology.  Also,
consider how many blind people your system serves and how much money you
wish to spend on it.

That technology with infrared signals would probably be rather expensive.
Also, I'm not sure it would work unless there was a clear path between the
user and the sign.  I have not used such technology because its not
available here, but I would guess that with such a signal there could not
be any interference.  I wonder how practical this would be because there
is always people and obstacles around signs in a busy city.  Besides the
user has to be in close range and pointing the device in the right
direction for it to work.

In my opinion, if you are in a busy area, which transit systems usually
are, you don't need much expensive technology.  You can always ask a
person for the information you can't see.
Ashley

From: Mike <mailto:May@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>May@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ashley,

Most certainly, one should make the most of whatever situation they are in.
If one has their wits, a cane and good mobility, they can get the job done.

I have to add however that having location information to make life easier
and to have more choices should not be strictly the province of the
sighted. It is such an uplifting experience to cruise around Portland
Oregon or Charlotte NC with as much or more information about bus stops and
the local environment as any sighted bus rider. I don't have to rely 100%
on the bus driver to announce my stop. If I change my mind and want to hop
off the bus to check some place out, I can easily do that and find a
transfer point effectively.

Truly the barrier to having this independence is the funding of the
equipment. I'll keep improving the technology and enriching the data
content. I hope over time that cheaper prices and better funding will put
this accessibility into the hands of more blind folks worldwide.

Mike

From: Dan Kish
I agree with Mike whole-heartedly. It is one thing to have the skills to
successfully problem solve one's way through a desert of confusing or
lacking information. Good travelers can do this, but at a significant cost.
It is quite another to conduct one's affairs gracefully, more
independently, and relatively stress free with the same access to the same
information that everyone else has. There's a reason for location
information for sighted people - it makes life a lot easier and more
straightforward. If it didn't, they wouldn't have it. Blind people benefit
in all the same ways that sighted people benefit with the right location
information, and they suffer in all the same ways that sighted people would
if they didn't have it.

Here's a good example - Some of my Instructional Coaches are good Braille
Note GPS users. I had them accompany me on a mission through one of our
County parks to find and mark, using GPS, trees and rock cliffs suitable
for climbing for some of our younger students. There are whole groves of
trees and hundreds of meters of rock cliffs, so I wanted to narrow things
down before bringing the students. Not only did we mark suitable climbing
environments so we could find them again later with minimal guessing and
stress, but we also marked the main entrance to the park, and other key
areas. Each of the 3 of us are extremely accomplished travelers, and among
the 3 of us, we have more than enough skill to find our way around any
environment as needed. However, it was just positively blissful to be able
to walk around the whole park freely, always knowing that we could find our
way back in a relaxed way. When we were ready to return to the entrance, we
just let GPS point the way, and were comfortably free to encounter and
enjoy many aspects of the park that we might not otherwise have
encountered. Location information gives a whole dimension of comfort,
confidence, and independence to the travel experience, no matter how good
you are at it. I hear sighted people complain bitterly every time they
enter an area with poor signage. I just shake my head with a smile and say
"welcome to my world."
Dan

From: Barry Laveene
DK:  "I, for one, don't support the convention of borrowing the eyes of
others in order to supplement nonvisual functioning. But, this is a
common practice taught and used by many with little recognition of the
profound implications."

Dan, I agree with most of what you've said in your below post.  However,
either I'm not understanding what you meant with your above statement,
or I understand it... and disagree with it... at least to some extent.
Are you suggesting that blind people should strive to be completely 
independent of the eyes of others?  That there should be no situation or
circumstance wherein we avail ourselves of that "borrowed eyesight?"

The way I see it (no pun intended), the selective use of the eyesight of
other people is simply one more tool in our repertoire of orientation
skills... actually, in our information gathering techniques in general.
Should we not be availing ourselves of this tool?

Please expand on what you meant.

Barry

From: Dan Kish <dankish@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject:      Re: location information
To: OANDM@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for asking for clarification.

When I said "I don't support the practice of borrowing the eyes of others",
I recognize that there is a time and place for just about everything. When
we borrow the eyes of others, we do so because we don't have access to the
necessary information - either because the information isn't available to
us, or because we don't possess the skills, confidence, or whatever to gain
access. When I travel through an airport, I may ask someone if this is the
right gate, or the right way to baggage, or whatever, only because I can't
access the signage. If I could access the signage, I wouldn't be asking.
When I encounter a raised or Braille sign, I don't ask others to read it,
because I can, even if it sometimes takes longer. When I am looking for the
right train track at Union Station, I don't ask others, because the track
numbers are posted on Braille placards. When I claim my bags at the
airport, I don't usually ask others to spot my bag, because I can spot it
myself by feel as it comes by. This may mean touching everyone's bag until
I reach mine, but I feel more comfortable doing this than having a stranger
try to spot my bag for me. When I go shopping, I generally have a clerk
help me find what I need, only because I can't read the labels myself. If I
know where the desired item is, I go get it myself, and check myself out.
With GPS, one need depend to a far lesser extent on others to narrate the
symbolic environment for us, allowing us to be in greater control over our
own movement and navigation. As perceptual technologies become better and
more available, we need depend less and less on the eyes of others,
allowing us to gain full control over our own direction. This may seem like
a stark outlook, and I don't impose it rigidly on others. Many would argue
that borrowing the eyes of others need not require sacrifice of self
direction. This is true, and not true. Of course, we who are facile
travelers can consult the public as needed without necessarily losing our
poise and self-reliance. But, there is always a price, paid sooner or
later. For example, I had an access driver drop me at the airport recently,
because I don't drive. Well, even if I did drive, I might prefer to take a
cab or have someone drop me off. But, I was dependent on this driver to
know where to drop me off - which is to say, I depended on him to be able
to follow my directions. My directions were given out of the illusion that
I was in control. Actually, he dropped me off at American Airlines, instead
of America West. A mistake made because I was dependent on his eyes to show
me the right way. It was an honest mistake, one which caused me to miss my
plane. Perceptual technology will in the foreseeable future allow one to
view one's own signs directly.

The term "borrow" is a very appropriate one. We who "borrow" the eyes of
others to a lesser or greater extent for whatever reason are bound to
return something for what we've "borrowed". That is the price. I'm one who
prefers not to go too far into debt, so I try to "borrow" things as little
as possible. I find it makes for much cleaner living. As I have met more
and more blind people, I find that many don't even realize how dependent
they are on the eyes of others. They sometimes fancy themselves as
self-reliant, and maybe they are by some definition. Who am I to argue with
it if it seems to work. But, I also observe that, the more we rely on
others, however subtly, by choice or necessity, the less freedom we have
over our own actions. This is true above any definition of self-reliance.
How many of us have been in situations when there just weren't other eyes
around? Those of us who have, know. Boy! What a situation. Signs all
around, and Ne'er an eye to read them. I've striven over the last 10 or 15
years to heighten my own skills and perceptions to minimize the negative
impact of such situations on myself, and hopefully on my students.

As I reread this, I fear it may come across as self-rightious. As I say, we
all do what we need to, because we need to. I don't fault someone for
asking for help to cross the parking lot or leave a restaurant if they need
help. I am just one perhaps unique in the way I gage limits and boundaries.
I was raised as a pretty staunch "do it yourself" sort of person. Even so,
I too had to break free of the quick sand of "have someone look ..." That's
the way most of us were trained, because there wasn't seen to be other
choices. It was a hard lesson to learn, one which I learned largely from an
older blind friend who's eyes had been opened before mine to the wonderful
world of self-reliance. He used to laugh at me when I'd have a friend
staple the Quaker oatmeal packets together in pears,. (When you buy these
boxes, they come with two packets of each of about 5 different flavors. I
wanted to use two packets of the same flavor, rather than two packets of
random flavor. So, I'd ask a friend to staple them together.) No big deal,
right? I never thought so. But gradually, he, and life, opened my eyes to
the slippery slope of self versus other reliance, and the line is a hard
one to draw. I guess it is for all of us, not just blind. I know many
sighted people far more reliant on other support then some blind people.
But, I've trained myself now to watch the "give and take" that the
situation of the blind requires us to engage in. I've seen how coworkers
talk behind the backs of blind colleagues who rely too much on others, for
instance. I've heard what people say about blind people who ask for too
many rides. I've seen how some of my students talk about their blind rehab
councelors who use their support assistant for everything.

I believe that self directed access to the environment is the key to free
living. I don't necessarily mean that the environment needs to be
accommodated in every way for every person, although I do think that
there's a certain mutual societal courtesy that would be nice to be
observed. But whether we institute societal conventions that facilitate
equal access to public information, or we develop person centered
technologies and strategies that do this, or a combination, I think it's
high time.

Dan
From: Barry Levine
Ah, thanks for the clarification.

As with money, there are those who borrow wisely, there are those who
don't.
The key to intelligent borrowing is the ability to service the debt.  I
think it is neither wise, nor pragmatic, to live a life devoid of the
assistance of others.  For me, the goal is involvement, not total
self-reliance.  If I need an elbow for that involvement, that's what
I'll borrow.  However, I will also recognize that I'm, at that point,
engaged in a relationship. from which the owner of the elbow should gain
something.

Barry

Over There
By: Cathy Anne Murtha
As my guide dog and I stood in line at the checkout of the River City
Market at CSUS, I asked the cashier what I considered a simple question.
"Where are the napkins please?"
her response was hurried, but sincere, "over there."
Emerging from the light rail for the first time,
I managed to catch the attention of a passer-by,
"please sir, can you tell me where I might catch
bus 63?"
A kind voice offered a pleasant response before disappearing into to the
cacophony of the early afternoon,
'you can catch it. 'Over there.'"
So many things reside over there - napkins, bus stops, pencils, pens,
clothing racks, department stores and even my shoes! A never ending supply
of important and indispensable items and locales all reside in this place
which is
shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
I stand in perplexed silence after learning that something is over there.
It is a place I have never been and have no hope of finding on my own. My
guide dog is quite skilled in finding chairs, stairs, elevators,
escalators, helping me cross streets, and can even find me the Diet Pepsi
display at Food Town;
however, when I tell her to find "over there" her little bottom hits the
floor and a small whimper tells me that she is as confused as I.
We will not be going "over there" today. Over there has caused me a bit of
vexation, a lot of confusion, and, on occasion, made my heart race.
I have discovered that "over there" can be a dangerous place. One day,
While crossing a street, I heard a driver's irritated voice shout out a
warning of a truck bearing down on me from over there. Shadow artfully
dodged the oncoming vehicle and pulled me to the safety of the curb. Our
hearts were both racing as we took a few moments to compose ourselves.
Close encounters with over there can be frightening experiences.
Although many blind people have wondered as to the exact location of "over
there," few have dared to venture forth in an actual exploration of the
mysterious place.
One day, while standing in line at the supermarket, I asked the clerk
where I might find the aspirin. With a cheery smile in her voice, she
informed me that the aspirin was located "over there." With a weary sigh,
I decided that I would take the extra step that would unravel the mystery,
which had vexed
my compatriots since the beginning of time.
Taking a deep breath, and attempting to look nonchalant, I smiled at the
clerk, "Where," I asked, "is over there?" I imagined the girl's shocked
expression.
I felt her sharing condescending and concerned looks with her fellows in
the store. The silence grew palpable as they mulled the possibility of
allowing a blind person access to the forbidden land. She had no choice;
she would
have to tell me how to find "over there!" I had won! Exhilaration swept
through me as I waited in breathless anticipation. A victorious smile
crept to my lips, my hand tightened on the handle of Shadow's harness, we
would soon be going over there!
The clerk's voice reeked with resignation as the decision was
made. "That way." She said

-----------------------------------------------------------------



Michael G. May


CEO Sendero Group

Developers and distributors of BrailleNote GPS
Now distributing BrailleNote, VoiceNote, Miniguide, The Tissot Silen-T 
tactile watch and the ID Mate, bar code reader

MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.SenderoGroup.com

(530) 757-6800, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007
Sendero Group, LLC
1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA

Latitude, 38 33 9.239 North
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