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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText> Hi, I'm not sure if this app is for the iPhone or Android phones, but <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> since the venture involves Microsoft, it's probly going to be <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> developed for Windows phones too:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Seen in Visionary - International Guide Dogs Federation magazine, <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> February 2015.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> "Cities Unlocked" - exploring the world using 3D Soundscapes".<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> John Shelton - "Cities Unlocked" Programme, Manager, Guide Dogs UK.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Background:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> In 2013 Guide Dogs and Microsoft created a film called A Family Day <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Out to demonstrate technology concepts that could greatly enhance the <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> quality of life for blind and visually impaired people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FcwzLLYZiI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FcwzLLYZiI</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Following the launch of the film, Guide Dogs and Microsoft teamed up <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> with Future Cities Catapult to research and pilot some of the <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> concepts; the programme of work is called Cities Unlocked. To bring <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> the concepts imagined in the film to life, we conducted an in-depth <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> analysis of current technology and transport issues affecting intermodal:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> journeys made by people who are blind or partially sighted. This <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> research identified the key stress points in their journeys and <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> possible solutions to alleviate them. We then set about designing and <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> developing prototype technologies that, with a little training and <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> practice, dissolve into the background of the user experience to <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> enhance but not hinder cognitive ability. The pilot technologies are <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> moving us closer to Social Computing whereby places, points of <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> interest and objects are aware of each other, and are contextually aware of us and our social interactions.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> How the technology works:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Crudely speaking, there are three aspects to the technology:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> 1. A "Cities Unlocked" Smartphone app that can be used with just one hand.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> 2. A bone-conducting headset containing a Gyro, GPS and Accelerometer <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> to place information in 3D space relative to the direction the user is facing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> 3. A boosted environment using GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> beacons to aid orientation, navigation, transport and retail <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> experiences Once user preferences have been set and a route selected, <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> the phone can be stowed in a pocket or bag, leaving the user free to <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> go about their business whilst receiving useful information through the headset in a unique 3D Soundscape.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Additional buttons mounted on the headset, allow the user to access <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> more information on the move without needing to take the phone out of <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> their bag or pocket.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Here are examples of some of the features:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> If the user is facing in the wrong direction they hear a clip-clop <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> sound coming from the direction that they should be facing. The user <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> rotates towards the clip-clop sound, and when they are facing in the <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> right direction they will hear a gentle ping sound. The ping sound <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> plots the route, so the user simply follows the ping whilst using their guide dog or cane.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Along the route the user receives navigation information e.g. "turn <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> left in<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> 20 metres".<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> They also receive contextual information e.g. "dropped curb <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> approximately 3 metres" or "caution, this street regularly has cars parked on the pavement".<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Points of interest, shops and street furniture are also announced in <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> 3D Soundscape - it sounds as though the announcement is coming from <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> the direction of the point of interest. If the user changes direction <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> the announcement automatically changes direction accordingly.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Bus stops, bus timetables, and when the next bus is approaching are <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> announced. On the bus journey the technology continues to announce <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> approaching stops and points of interest that the bus is passing. It <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> also works in a similar fashion on train journeys.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Results from our user trials:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> We conducted a trial with 8 participants and used data collection <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> tools to assess mobility and quality of life factors while the <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> participants undertook a long, complex and unfamiliar intermodal journey without the technology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> This provided a baseline measure against which to measure any positive <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> or negative effects when travelling the same journey some weeks later <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> using the technology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> The illustration shows the improvements across 17 well being measures <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> in six areas; physiology, orientation skills, cognitive/conceptual <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> skills, mobility skills, safety skills, and use of residual vision (for those that had some).<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> The pink area shows results using their normal mobility aid, the blue <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> area shows the improvement when the technology is used alongside the <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> mobility aid.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> The results show that the concept is a success in helping VI people's <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> mobility. Importantly, none of the markers showed a negative impact, <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> and the results indicate that the technology is a complement to <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> traditional mobility aids.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Next steps:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Recognizing that the solutions need to be sustainable on their own <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> merit, otherwise they will raise expectations and lead to <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> disappointment, we have now started planning for Phase 2 to <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> incorporate the lessons learned into a bigger and more ambitious <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> project. We know that what we are doing is important globally - but we <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> must all remember that what we are doing isn't really about the technology; it is about people and the user experience.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> Watch the Cities Unlocked film with audio description:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=949D1IhKKYs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=949D1IhKKYs</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>