[nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle

[Walter Cone]

Now your talking they should have done that years ago.
Kaye Kipp wrote:
> Well I'm surprised someone hasn't tried to think of a way to have talking 
> sidewalks.
>
> Kaye
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "n7pzr" <n7pzr at icehouse.net>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 6:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle
>
>
>   
>> Interesting idea, but in God's name who needs it. That what the mouth was
>> invented for to ask for help.
>>
>> Paul Whipple n7pzr
>> Vice President Inland Empire Chapter
>> of the National Federation of the Blind
>> of Wa.
>> phone 509/362/3148
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Frye, Dan" <DFrye at nfb.org>
>> To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 6:01 AM
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Talking Signs in Seattle
>>
>>
>>     
>>> I have some concerns about this prospect; I've been asked, though, to 
>>> share
>>> this with you. The story follows:
>>>
>>>
>>> Apparently, Seattle will get a contract to install many of these talking
>>> signs.  Baker, the Congressman regularly quoted here, is a good friend of
>>> ours though we have not be big backers of this project.  I personally
>>> think the need to carry a receiver is troublesome, and wonder who buys
>>> these things for the folks that would use them.  Having said that, the
>>> article is probably right that this technology could really move ahead
>>> now.  It got some support in the last transportation bill, and this
>>> Seattle project is a larger test run than I think it has received before.
>>> I really have not heard from anyone who actually has used. it and would
>>> like to.
>>> Jim McCarthy
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Brunhilde Merk-Adam [mailto:bkmabma at worldnet.att.net]
>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:51 AM
>>> To: bkmabma at worldnet.att.net
>>> Subject: BLIND VISION Tech Alert
>>>
>>>
>>> BLIND VISION Tech Alert
>>> 2TheAdvocate.com, Louisiana
>>> Wednesday, August 30, 2006
>>>
>>> Talking Signs slated to install high-tech units in Seattle
>>>
>>> By GARY PERILLOUX, Advocate business writer
>>>
>>> BR firm assists efforts for blind
>>>
>>> A Baton Rouge technology business bent on eradicating barriers for the
>>> blind
>>> has reached a breakthrough with federal approval of a $2 million 
>>> contract.
>>>
>>> In the four-year deal, Talking Signs will install high-tech signs on
>>> buses,
>>> traffic signals and landmarks throughout Seattle, allowing visually
>>> impaired
>>> pedestrians to pick up audio messages using an infrared receiver.
>>>
>>> "For what we have going out the door, this is a very important 
>>> development
>>> because of the sponsorship by Congress," Talking Signs President C. Ward
>>> Bond said.
>>>
>>> Key backing came from U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, chief
>>> sponsor
>>> of the pilot project in the 2005 federal transportation act.
>>>
>>> "It's important for two differing reasons," Baker said. "One is the
>>> development of the technology and the associated jobs that come with the
>>> demand for the product. Second - and the more important issue - is making
>>> accessible public transportation to those who are physically impaired and
>>> otherwise would be challenged to navigate through public transportation
>>> without this type of assistance."
>>>
>>> Talking Signs partnered with Sound Transit of Seattle to win the $2
>>> million
>>> grant in a competitive process. The Seattle project beat applications 
>>> from
>>> Austin, Texas; Lansing, Mich.; Chicago; and Tampa, Fla.
>>>
>>> Seattle already had installed Talking Signs in transit stations in the
>>> city,
>>> giving it a head start over the competitors, Bond said. The new project
>>> will
>>> provide seamless navigation for the blind for the first time on a 
>>> regional
>>> basis.
>>>
>>> If the Federal Transit Authority brands the project as successful and
>>> meaningful in three years, doors could be opened for much broader funding
>>> in
>>> the next transportation bill, Baker said. That could mean substantial
>>> growth
>>> for Talking Signs, which has operated on a shoestring budget for 13 
>>> years.
>>>
>>> The venture rose from San Francisco's Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research
>>> Institute. Bond teamed with researchers Bill Loughborough and Bill
>>> Crandall
>>> to transfer technology from the institute to Talking Signs. Microcomputer
>>> Systems of Baton Rouge designed the remote infrared audible signs from
>>> concept to product, with Mitsubishi Precision as a lead manufacturer.
>>>
>>> Talking Signs has more than 3,000 receivers deployed from Norway to 
>>> Japan.
>>> Whether the Baton Rouge firm evolves from a small business - Bond and 
>>> vice
>>> president Jeff Moyer comprise its full-time staff - into a breakout
>>> venture
>>> depends on whether federal pilot funds lead to a mandate of Americans 
>>> with
>>> Disabilities Act proportions.
>>>
>>> It depends also on whether additional commercial applications bear fruit.
>>>
>>> Talking Signs simultaneously is developing PointLink, an infrared
>>> technology
>>> that would allow users to point to signs and interpret them in foreign
>>> languages and to point to icons and have them provide an immediate link 
>>> to
>>> Web sites about the landmark.
>>>
>>> "That will be the drop-dead application in Silicon Valley. That's what
>>> they
>>> would call it there," Bond said. "I think we're at a point where if the
>>> right talent and money would come along, I think a substantial company
>>> could
>>> be built here."
>>>
>>> Talking Signs is scrutinizing spin-off possibilities for the PointLink
>>> venture. Meanwhile, the company is linking with advocacy groups for the
>>> blind and promoting a national movement for audio technology that's far
>>> more
>>> powerful than Braille signs.
>>>
>>> "I think eventually it will be the same as curb cuts (for wheelchairs),"
>>> Bond said. "It's just too good, it's just too valuable."
>>>
>>> Baker agrees.
>>>
>>> "This is a very significant technology," he said. "Once this pilot is
>>> deployed and it has acceptability with the traveling public, I fully
>>> expect
>>> it to be deployed across the country. And the Baton Rouge community would
>>> be
>>> the beneficiary of what I think is a rather grand opportunity."
>>>
>>> Story originally published in The Advocate
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/3767052.html
>>>
>>>
>>> Daniel B. Frye
>>> Manager of Affiliate Action Advocacy and Training
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>> Department of Affiliate Action
>>> 1800 Johnson Street
>>> Baltimore, Maryland 21230
>>> Telephone: (410) 659-9314 Ext. 2208
>>> Cell: (410) 241-7006
>>> Fax: (410) 659-6893
>>> E-Mail: dfrye at nfb.org
>>> Web Address: www.nfb.org
>>> "Voice of the Nation's Blind"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nfbwatlk mailing list
>>> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
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>>>
>>>       
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-- 
Walt Cone
skype:  thecones