Swipe: Apps Open Doors For Blind
Technology for the visually impaired was once expensive - but now, smartphones are making such essential tools more accessible.
18:09, UK,Friday 18 December 2015
Assistive technology for the blind and severely sight impaired is nothing new.
From 1950s-looking Perkins Braille writing machines - still on sale today for just under £600 - to talking colour detectors, I've owned or used it all.
But the reality is that many of the expensive products I have accumulated over the years have been largely replaced by the smartphone in my pocket.
For example, Apple's iPhone and many Samsung products come pre-loaded with exceptionally good screen-reading technology which opens the door to mainstream applications and specifically designed apps for the visually impaired.
For context, commercially available screen readers for Windows computers tend to cost just under £1,000 in a market which suppliers argue is led by a limited marketplace - and a market that incidentally puts many products beyond the reach of the average blind or partially sighted person.
For instance, the Royal National Institute of Blind People stocks a specially adapted sat-nav called Trekker Breeze.
Although it is available for £371.25, mine sits on a shelf collecting dust as I opt to use my smartphone's in-built sat nav.
It has turn-for-turn instructions and it's free.
For £23, I downloaded the BlindSquare app which enhances and integrates with the phone's maps to guide me just a few feet away from my destination.
Now, new trials are under way to deliver guided navigation in the indoor environments where satellite signals simply can't penetrate.
London Underground and the developers of the WayFindr app have installed Bluetooth beacons at Euston Tube station, and I was invited to try it for Sky News.
WayFindr uses a smartphone and earpiece to give specific information about your environment.
For instance, it was particularly helpful when I was informed that we were approaching the gate-line and that the wide gate, which is required for guide dog users like me, is located on the left-hand side.
The developers say the trials have been encouraging, but it will be a while before this open-source software will be available.
In the meantime, Microsoft is working with the UK's Guide Dogs charity on another beacon-based system which is also designed to help visually impaired people navigate through detailed contextual information across cities.
However successful the two beacon-based systems may be, this exciting new technology is another nail in the coffin of yesterday's assistive products as savvy developers take advantage of the new market of accessible smartphone users.
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