An Italian company has developed a GPS system that helps blind people easily and safely get around town. Called Easy Walk, the system is comprised of a Symbian cellphone, a Bluetooth GPS receiver and special speech-to-text software. Not surprisingly, the developers at Il Village made Easy Walk simple to use: the user has only two buttons at his disposal, one of which gives the user’s exact location and the other calls a 24/7 center when in need of directions. An operator then tells the user how to get to where they’re goin’, hopefully avoiding quicksand traps and alligator pits along the way.
Easy Walk is undergoing field tests in northern Italy right now, with an autumn release date currently penciled in. GPS navigation plan to help blind [BBC News] Image via dpa.org.sg
