[nfb-talk] Crossing the Street for the Blind

[dmgina]

I understand watching the traffic as always,
just thought it was a swell idea if a cell phone could stop the traffic for 
us to get across and many others.
Even seniors would like more time with lights.

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

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Crossing the Street for the Blind


>
> 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
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>
>
>
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