[Electronics-Talk] Apps that deliver alerts and vibrations when you get to where you want to be.

Thu Jun 8 11:21:05 UTC 2017

I have had GPS tell me the best route to my destination is to walk along a
highway, which in New Jersey is very likely to get me killed.  Further, GPS
did not identify the road as a highway; I just happened to know it was.  So
be very careful about the route GPS tells you!
Further, it only gets me close to my destination, but still can be at least
20 yards away.  In a dense area like the one where I live, 20 yards can
include a lot.
I use GPS, and it's handy, but like Jim says, it's just an additional tool
to add to my good travel skills.
Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-Talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jim McCarthy via Electronics-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 6:05 PM
To: 'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'
Cc: Jim McCarthy
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Apps that deliver alerts and vibrations when
you get to where you want to be.

Jenny,
You can create roots and the app will give you turn by turn directions.
There may be situations when one wants to find a gazebo in a park and there
are not trails but instead is just a vast open space; in a situation like
that, one may prefer to think of a clock face for the directions or one app
calls this "getting warmer."  The root suggested may not be the one you
would prefer, which means that the user needs some travel skills and to use
the app as an additional tool. There may be sidewalk construction on the
suggested root; there may be no sidewalks at all so the traveler needs to
use trailing techniques along roads. In the wide open spaces example, there
may be drop offs or who knows what. In my earlier post, I said the door
might not be where the app directs a person. I can give a good example so
you know how that would work. My office is in the building that is the
headquarters for Maryland's rehabilitation agency. This is a large,
three-story building with several doors. I have its address  marked as a
favorite and can root to it easily. The address is a main door and is where
paratransit drops people off or where a cab would drop one off. The building
is almost a block long. My office is toward the far west of the building and
the main door is probably 50 yards east of my office. Walking east on the
street where this building is located, there is a set of steps that goes up
to a door on the west end of the building closest to my office. I will not
be told that I have reached my destination that is marked as a favorite at
those steps because they are several yards west of the official address.
They lead to a door though that is closest to my office. I know they are
there as does my dog guide, so I use them. If I wanted to be sure to get
them located by the app, I could mark them. That would improve the GPS
ability to inform me of them, but there is the imperfect accuracy issue of
earlier so it might not be exact.
Jim McCarthy  

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-Talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jenny Keller via Electronics-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 5:02 PM
To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
Cc: Jenny Keller
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Apps that deliver alerts and vibrations when
you get to where you want to be.

Hi Jim, question, hey, how's dark. Also, wanted to know about these apps.
Does it give you directions and then let you know where you're supposed to
be like by the doors. Or, do they just tell you where you are at but let you
find it yourself. I don't know about these apps.

Jenny

> On Jun 7, 2017, at 3:27 PM, Jim McCarthy via Electronics-Talk
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> All of the blindness specific apps, Blind Square as mentioned, Seeing 
> Eye GPS, and Nearby Explorer alert for location arrival. For those not 
> familiar with GPS, it should be noted that this alert may be close but 
> not exact to the desired location because of the in perfect accuracy 
> of GPS. All the 3 apps I mentioned have a cost and for phone based 
> apps, it is somewhat high, I think at least $30. The other item I 
> think relevant here is that the address in the maps is not always 
> equivalent to the door of the place one seeks; some shopping centers 
> or  apartment complexes may only have one address for several 
> buildings, stores, or doors; also, the actual point of entry may not 
> be where the desired address is located on the map. Apps allow one to
modify this for commonly used places though.
> Jim McCarthy
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-Talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Lori Motis via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 11:50 AM
> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
> Cc: Lori Motis
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Apps that deliver alerts and 
> vibrations when you get to where you want to be.
> 
> I have that feature on Blind Square. I have it set to alert me when I 
> arrive at the destination that I am tracking. I am not sure of its 
> current price, since I bought it several years ago. They have added a 
> lot of features, and I use it whenever I am out walking and looking 
> for a particular place. Apple vis gives a lot of info on it and other 
> similar apps on their website which is applevis.com I think since I am 
> writing this from memory, and mine is getting old, LOL.
> Lori AKA Food Lady
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jun 7, 2017, at 6:39 AM, Philip Blackmer via Electronics-Talk
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> I am looking for a GPS app that can play some kind of alert sound or
> vibrate my phone when I get to a selected location.   Does anybody know of
> an app that has that feature?
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
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