[gui-talk] Fw: VIP-L: Better traffic information for the blind

[Steve Pattison]

From: Peter.Scanlon at justice.vic.gov.au
To: vip-l at softspeak.com.au

Better traffic information for the blind

By Rolleiv Solholm

The Norway Post, Norway

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

The Norwegian Highway Department and the SINTEF research Group are 
hoping
to introduce a new real time traffic information system for the blind 
and
sight
impared.

Tests have already been carried out in cooperation with the Association 
for
the Blind.

The AKTA system is based on information via the mobile phone and the GPS
system.

The buses must have a GPS based computer which keeps track of where the
vehicle is at any given time, regardless of the official time schedule.

This system communicates with the blind person's mobile phone, which 
will
give a spoken message when the bus is approaching the stop where he or 
she
is
waiting.

On the bus, the GPS will communicate to the passenger when the bus is
approaching the desired stop, which has been pre-set before the trip 
began.

The system will also inform the driver that a passenger wants to get off 
at
the stop.

This will give the sight impared easier access to public transport and 
at
the same time help ensure that he or she doeas not get off at the wrong
stop.

So far the tests have been carried out on the long distance route 
between
Kristiansund and Aalesund, but the aim is to introduce the system
nationwide.

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
Windows Live Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963