[gps-talkusers] WayFun 2005, Maine

  • From: Michael May <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "GPS-talkusers-freelists.org" <GPS-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 08:34:24 -0700

Seeing with GPS

DAVIS, CA, (September 1, 2005)

On Friday, September 14, 30 blind people from the U.S. and one from the Netherlands land in Maine to begin 5 days of independent exploration of Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine. These intrepid travelers are using accessible GPS technology developed by Sendero Group running on a BrailleNote personal data assistant to find their way to museums, lobster hatcheries, and breweries. Picture 30 blind people, white canes and dogs, striding through city streets with Braille and voice synthesizers announcing the information sighted people take for granted on print signs.

Sendero Group's Way Fun trips can be described as a GPS Adventure, Treasure Hunt, or GeoCaching. The goal of Way Fun is for blind people to stretch their travel limits by exploring interesting environments using all his or her orientation and mobility techniques including BrailleNote GPS and to have fun in the process.

One of the inventors, himself totally blind from age 3 to 46, Mike May says, "When you can get around independently, the number one limiting aspect of blindness is minimized. That is why some blind colleagues and I developed this technology and enjoy sharing it with others. I regained low vision a few years ago after stem cell and cornea transplants. Now I can see that the signs are there but I still can't read them. This accessible GPS technology is every bit as important with low vision as it was with no vision."

Sendero Group is an adaptive technology company based in Northern California. Mike May and the BrailleNote GPS have been the subject of everything from NBC Dateline to Australia's Beyond Tomorrow. See this wayfinding technology for yourself at the IRIS Center in Portland, ME, September 16 (207-774-6273) or call Sendero Group for an appointment during another time in the trip.

Sendero Group LLC
1118 Maple Lane
Davis, CA 95616
(888) 757-6810
GPS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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