[access-uk] Fujitsu phones to guide the blind through homes • Reg Hardware
- From: Gordon Keen <gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2012 14:37:46 +0100
Hmmm, might be useful for exhibitions or public buildings but it seems a tad
patronising to think it would be useful in the home - or is that just me!
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/07/02/fujitsu_helps_blind_with_smartphone_directions/
Fujitsu phones to guide the blind through homes
Fujitsu has helped develop an indoor support system that utilises impulse radio
ultrawideband (UWB) tech to guide blind and partially sighted people around
their homes.
The system - co-created with Japan's National Institute of Information and
Communications Technology - gives audio instructions on distances and
directions to a destination. It does this with pulses sent out in the
7.25-10.25GHz band to determine the user's distance from base-stations
positioned throughout the room.
A host computer calculates the person's position from the distance supplied by
each base-stations. That information is relayed by Bluetooth to the user's
mobile device, handed over to a mapping application developed for Android that
guides the holder to their destination with spoken instructions.
With a margin of error of less than 0.3m, UWB tech is said to be far more
accurate than GPS systems - and can work in a room into which satellite signals
can't penetrate.
The system is in its early days, working only to guide the user around a large
open space. But NICT and Fujitsu plan to push the technology further with
sensors that can detect obstacles in the user's path.
The current implementation also requires users select their destination by
tapping the handset's screen - clearly, not an ideal approach for the truly
visually impaired.
In addition to helping blind folk get about, NICT and Fujitsu also reckon
there's a role for the technology in guiding sighted people to the nearest exit
in case of emergency.
In the meantime, the firms will be demonstrating the tech at the Wireless
Technology Park 2012 in Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, from 6-7 July. ®
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