[Nfbf-l] Microsoft's bone-conducting headset guides the blind with audio cues.

[Alan Dicey]

Dear Friends,
Passing this along. I believe the more companies that work on developing 
"Special Technology" for we the Blind, the sooner one will come up with just 
the right one for everyone.

Hi All,
For your information. Appended is an article that appeared on EnGadget this 
morning.
Best wishes,
Peter Meijer
Seeing with Sound - The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm


Microsoft's bone-conducting headset guides the blind with audio cues.
By Mariella Moon.

While nothing can replace the companionship of a guide dog, technology can 
help make treks through busy cities a lot less stressful and more enjoyable 
for the visually impaired.
Microsoft, for one, is currently testing a new headset (developed with help 
from UK charity Guide Dogs) that uses 3D soundscape technology to guide its 
users with audio cues along the way. That bone-conducting headset can't work 
alone, though: it needs to be connected to a smartphone, as well as to 
receive information from Bluetooth and WiFi beacons placed in intervals 
throughout the roads users take.
For its pilot program, Microsoft attached makeshift beacons on neighborhood 
objects in a London suburb, where its first testers are giving it a spin.
When company news writer Jennifer Warnick tried it out while blindfolded, 
she found herself so efficient in getting around with only sounds to guide 
her, that she felt like a "dry-land dolphin."

According to her detailed report on the experiment, the beacons would 
constantly send audio cues that sound like the galloping coconut noise from 
Monty Python to ensure her she's taking the right way. She also reported 
hearing other sounds, such as sonar pings to warn her if she's veering too 
close to curbs, as well as turn-by-turn voice directions, telling her how 
far she still has to walk to certain establishments, or if the bus she's 
waiting for is approaching.
It'll obviously take a ton of effort bringing the headset to market, seeing 
as more permanent beacons will need to be installed everywhere. Hopefully, 
the company finds a way to bring the system to other places, for the sake of 
all the blind folks who'd love to be more independent.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEzncMLLOxE

Source URL:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/06/microsoft-headset-for-the-visually-impaired/

With Best Regards,
God Bless
Alan
Plantation, Florida
Alan Dicey, Vice President
United States Braille Chess Association - USBCA
"Yes, Blind and Visually Impaired People, Can, and Do, Play Chess!"
United States Braille Chess Association Home Page:
http://AmericanBlindChess.org

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