I can’t deny that this is useful and much better than nothing, but I would have
preferred to have seen it as RF tags instead of QR codes that a blind traveller
has to find with their smartphone.
"Visually impaired accessible technology" - Google News - Tuesday, November 10,
2020 at 2:39 AM
New tech helps visually-impaired Hovertravel passengers navigate through
Covid-secure surroundings - On The Wight
Sight for Wight, the Isle of Wight independent charity dedicated to providing
information and support to visually impaired Islanders, has launched an
innovative new technology designed to help customers understand more about the
Hovertravel experience and its current Covid-19
<https://onthewight.com/about/coronavirus> precautions.
Lisa Hollyhead, CEO of Sight for Wight, explains,
“As someone born with 88% sight loss, I have found the huge number of physical
Covid secure changes made in, what were, very familiar surroundings, difficult
to judge. I knew voice was the way to help resolve this but how to turn a
poster into voice was the challenge. Lockdown allowed me to research to resolve
this and ‘Hello Everyone’ was born. Our audible QR codes provides audible
guidance giving a basic layout, where to go and what to avoid in any building
or environment.
“As a regular user of Hovertravel, I approached them and described, from a
visually impaired person’s point of view, how different the terminal was
compared to my usual journey. They responded immediately and both terminals are
now installed with the ‘Hello Everyone’ QR Codes. Hovertravel now has an
audible guide to help people through the terminal and onto the crafts using a
simple voice.”
How it works
The system is based on the idea of utilising QR codes (two-dimensional barcode)
which are scanned using the camera on a smartphone equipped with QR reader
software.
This software decodes the barcode to a URL and directs the phone’s browser to
fetch an audio file from the Web that contains a verbal description of the
environment.
The information is expected to be useful in real-time interaction with
customers who want to understand more about the Hovertravel experience.
Both terminals at Ryde and Southsea, the craft environment and the Covid-secure
measures are all described in detail in the audio file, providing the
Hovertravel passenger with an accessible layer of information about their
surroundings.
Chapman: A valuable addition to our customer communications
Neil Chapman, managing director of Hovertravel, adds,
“We were approached by the team at Sight for Wight with feedback about our
service and this very simple, but effective concept was suggested. Any
smartphone will scan this QR code and then the customer presses play to listen.
“Throughout this pandemic we have been keen to give customers confidence that
Hovertravel is safe and secure, and this project is a valuable addition to our
customer communications.
“We are very grateful to Sight for Wight’s suggestion and assistance in making
this innovation a reality. It is another great example of two Island
organisations working together for the good of all travellers.”
Find out more
Sight for Wight also supports the families, friends and carers of visually
impaired Isle of Wight residents.
Membership is free to all Islanders affected by sight loss. For more details,
please visit the Website <https://www.sightforwight.org.uk/> .
News shared by Stephen on behalf of Hovertravel. Ed
https://onthewight.com/new-tech-helps-visually-impaired-hovertravel-passengers-navigate-through-covid-secure-surroundings/