Interesting!
Jan
On 1/10/18, David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jan,You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
While I only fly around once a year I'd buy Nearby Explorer if these
beacons became installed in the Philly or Baltimore airport. Since the
Blindsquare app also has some support for indoor beacons I wonder if
this could be made to work with that app as well, as I purchased it a
while ago. I'm also wondering if the Victor Reader Trek supports indoor
beacons. If it did, this capability could eventually make its way onto
that device, as well.
On 12/25/2017 9:58 AM, Jan Lattuca wrote:
Wow, something like this could certainly sell me on an iPhone. I
don't fly that often, but more independence in an airport would be
wonderful!
Jan
On 12/24/17, David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Visually impaired - Google News - Friday, December 22, 2017 at 5:55 PMYou are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at
Blind travelers can get around an airport more easily with new app
A new app that’s helping blind and visually impaired travelers find
their
way around an airport in Kentucky could be coming to other airports
next.
Using Bluetooth technology, the free “Indoor Explorer” function of the
existing Nearby Explorer app transforms a smartphone into an audio guide
that can tell users exactly where they are in the airport and guide them
—
turn by turn, step by step — to gates, ticket counters, baggage claims
or
the nearest Starbucks. Besides operating with the ease of a smartphone,
the
app provides much more interactive data about the environment inside the
airport building.
The new feature for Nearby Explorer — which was developed by the
American
Printing House for the Blind and officially launched this week — has been
in
road-testing since October at Louisville International Airport. But the
app’s developers hope to see it replicated elsewhere so that visually
impaired travelers can navigate an airport with a more detailed idea of
what’s around them, and without having to rely on airport personnel,
inadequate signage or the kindness of strangers.
Although it’s been nearly three decades since the Americans With
Disabilities Act became law, and airports have made accommodations for
people with disabilities, many forms of assistance for the blind and
visually impaired are often at only the most basic level, said Craig
Meador,
president of the American Printing House for the Blind.
“In general, one of the most important things it does is it allows you
to
maintain your independence and your dignity,” said Larry Skutchan, who
has
been blind for most of his adulthood and developed the app. “But even in
a
more practical sense, there’s not always people around in an airport. I
got
stuck in the Detroit airport at 4:30 a.m. about six months ago, and
there
was nobody around.”
While wayfinding apps have become more common, the Louisville-based
nonprofit says its app is the first of its kind for visually impaired
travelers.
Earlier this month, Amtrak announced the availability of a new app
called
FindYourWay to navigate New York City’s sprawling and chaotic Penn
Station.
Amtrak’s free app — which was developed with Zyter and is available for
iOS
and Android users - provides travelers with information on gates, trains
and
boarding times while also helping them to navigate to exits, ATMs and
restaurants. Amtrak also plans to develop similar apps for other
stations.
The American Printing House for the Blind’s new wayfinding tool uses
data
from the OpenStreetMap database and more than 140 beacons placed inside
the
airport terminal to orient the app’s user. The beacons interact with the
phone, which gives audible information about the person’s location,
along
with points of interest. The app also allows a person to use GeoBeam or
Compass to point to locations inside the building.
Skutchan said the app transforms the experience of air travel that in a
way
that he described as “empowering.”
“I’ve been going through this Louisville airport for 30 years, and I can
get
to the gates . . . but I never know what I’m passing,” Skutchan said.
“Just
to see what your options are around is amazing - and liberating.”
The new feature — which was created with assistance from the Louisville
mayor’s office and the James Graham Brown Foundation — is only available
on
iOS devices for now, and can be found by searching for “Nearby Explorer”
in
the App Store.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health-fitness/article191322189.html
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info for additional resources and information about
assistive technology training services.
To unsubscribe from this list, please email
blind-philly-comp-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the
subject line.
To subscribe from another email address, send email to
blind-philly-comp-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word subscribe in the
subject line.
To contact the list administrator, please email
blind-philly-comp-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
Web site WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
