[nfb-talk] Crossing the Street for the Blind

[David Evans]

Dear Dar,

The cell phone approach will not work and is very impracticle and 
would leave many other pedestrians exposed.
The best way is just to be able to hear them coming the same way 
we judge the approach of all other vehicles.
The cell phone method just will not let you judge how fast and 
from what direction a hybred car is coming like your hearing 
does.
You would have to walk around trying to pay attention to your 
phone and all of the other things at the same time.
Cars just need to sound like cars, that's all.  Cars, most of 
them anyway, already do this and we can handle them.  It is just 
the hybred electric ones that mostly don't follow the rules.

David Evans, NFBF


> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "dmgina" <dmgina at qwest.net
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:21:40 -0700
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Crossing the Street for the Blind

>I am for what they want to do.
>Many of us have cell phones, and I wouldn't be with out mine.
>I will keep reading.

>--Dar
>www.mypowermall.com/biz/home/5779
>Every saint has a past
>every sinner has a future

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Alicia Richards" <alicia716 at msn.com
>To: "NFB Talk" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 5:08 PM
>Subject: [nfb-talk] Crossing the Street for the Blind


>> The following was just posted to the Colorado Association of 
Blind
>> Students mailing list.  I'm curious to know what you guys have 
to say
>> about it.  I wonder, does the NFB know of this technology, and 
do we plan
>> to do anything about it?

>> For the 21.2 million Americans who suffer from vision loss,
>> crossing the
>> street can be a stressful and potentially dangerous proposition.
>> Thanks to engineers at the University of Idaho, many visually 
impaired
>> individuals soon may have a greatly reduced risk thanks to a 
tool
>> already in their pockets - their cell phone.

>> The statistics for vision loss, provided by the American
>> Foundation for
>> the Blind, include anyone reporting difficulty seeing, even 
while
>> wearing glasses or contact lenses. No matter the level of visual
>> impairment, many conditions - including visual noise, walking at
>> night
>> and irregular intersections - can result in missing a crosswalk.

>> Regardless of conditions, the new system being developed in
>> Moscow,
>> Idaho, will make intersections safer and easier to navigate.

>> "Minute for minute on the road, any pedestrian is 150 percent
>> more
>> likely to

>> be injured by a car than somebody driving one," said Richard
>> Wall,
>> professor

>> of electrical and computer engineering. "But it is pretty
>> apparent that
>> the

>> blind pedestrians are the ones most at risk at intersections.b

>> The new technology utilizes features already available in many
>> cellular

>> phones, including communications, Global Positioning Satellite
>> (GPS)

>> functions and magnetic compasses to help visually impaired
>> pedestrians.

>> Specialized software allows these pedestrians to activate the
>> crossing

>> signal remotely without having to locate the physical button.

>> Then, the GPS system monitors the position and direction of
>> travel while
>> crossing. As long as the crosser stays within the crosswalk,
>> nothing
>> happens. But stray outside the lines, and an audible warning
>> activates
>> alerting the pedestrian of their danger. It then provides
>> directions on
>> how to get back within the safety zone. Should the walker 
somehow
>> end up
>> in the middle of the intersection, the system automatically 
would
>> turn
>> every light red, stopping traffic and averting a potential
>> disaster.

>> "It's true that this would disrupt the timing of the signal
>> patterns
>> when it gets activated," said Wall. "But we would much rather
>> disrupt
>> them for a few seconds than for a half hour while an ambulance
>> assists a
>> traffic victim."

>> To ensure people don't trigger the alarm just for fun, only 
those
>> who
>> need the help would be able to acquire the necessary software.

>> The system requires more than software, however. It also 
requires
>> the
>> installation of new hardware in thousands of lights across the
>> country.
>> Luckily, Wall and his team have found a solution that not only 
is
>> cost
>> effective, it simplifies the existing system.

>> Many crosswalks currently have handicapped-Many crosswalks curre
>> provide
>> help such as audio tones indicating when it is safe to cross.
>> However,
>> the box that controls the intersection contains a massive amount
>> of
>> wiring. This is necessary to connect each actuator with each
>> signal so
>> at any given time, the control box knows each state.

>> Wall's new system simplifies each box to only two wires, both
>> already
>> required to power the signals. It uses a technology called
>> Ethernet over
>> power line, which allows information to be broadcast over power
>> lines.

>> The future is clear for Wall and his research team. They have
>> established dates to deliver the engineering and expect field
>> trials to
>> commence in June. They are building prototypes supported by 
funds
>> from
>> the University Transportation Centers program, Idaho's Higher
>> Education
>> Research Council and their commercial partner, Campbell Company,
>> who
>> currently makes the accessible pedestrian signals that chirp and
>> talk
>> for the handicapped.

>> "The signals we're building are more than prototypes. These
>> devices
>> actually can go into the field and work today," said Wall. 
"We're
>> using
>> existing infrastructure and communicating intelligence over it.
>> It's
>> cost effective, it simplifies the connection to two wires and it
>> can be
>> immediately installed in all the existing crosswalks in the
>> country."

>> If you would like more information, or to speak with the people
>> involved, please let me know.

>> Ken Kingery

>> Science/Research Writer

>> University of Idaho

>> Office: 208-885-9156

>> Cell: 614-570-3942
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfb-talk mailing list
>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
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