A unique navigation system for the visually impaired has been developed in Brno. It will now be tested in Czech offices and hospitals for the first time.
A short welcome message can be heard in the headphones. “You are now on the ground floor. Welcome to the information point. If you’re heading to the surgery, mount the steps on the right behind the door.” Short and simple information that helps blind people orient themselves in public space. They only need to have a special navigation system with them that has been recently developed by Czech scientists.
The unique navigation system should make it easier for the blind when dealing with authorities and in hospitals. Nothing similar exists in the Czech Republic.
The technical innovation is very simple: The blind person puts on headphones that are connected to a small transmitter that the person attaches to his or her clothes similarly like a small microphone. As soon as the person comes to a hospital, an office or a gallery and touches a door handle, railing or any other object, they hear information in the headphone what their location is or where to continue.
It’s sufficient if you touch
“Human body is conductive, so the signal is transmitted to the headphone. There is another small appliance on the door where information is recorded. It’s sufficient if the person touches the object or holds the hand of somebody who touches the door and the signal is immediately transmitted. It helps the blind immensely with space orientation,” said Martina Turpin, director of Dinasys, a company that developed the special navigation and information system with a team of scientists from the University of Defence in Brno.
Now it plans to test the novelty in state administration buildings and in hospitals in the South Moravia and Hradec Králové regions.
“The navigation system should gradually spread to all regions. We also want to negotiate with health insurance companies who could reimburse the blind for the purchase of the appliance. The appliance is not expensive, we think it will cost several thousands of crowns,” the firm’s director said.
Magnets will ‘lead’ the cane
Unlimited amount of electronic data can be uploaded to the electronic data box of the navigation system. The company is therefore for example dealing with hotels and restaurants where the blind could listen to the recorded menu.
“The menu is not available in Braille everywhere so the recorded information could help a lot to the partially sighted,” Martina Turpin said. In her opinion, people could also use the headphone for example on public transport or in the zoo. The information can be recorded to the appliance in up to six languages.
The special information and navigation system was being developed at the Brno University of Defence for nine months. The discovery and good idea were put into practice very soon thanks to the cooperation of the company and with the team of scientists.
“We wouldn’t manage it so fast without the firm’s support and their contacts. It provided a market research for us, information on what these people use, and at the same time we were cooperating with the blind to find out exactly what bothers them so that the system was really effective for them. The idea was then quickly realized,” said professor Jaroslav Čechák from the Department of Radar Technology of the University of Defence, who together with other scientists invented one more navigation system for physically handicapped for the company.
Thanks to a special cane the person will be able to better orientate themselves in space. The white cane will namely have a special built-in “magnetic reader” that will be able to differentiate and receive magnetic signals from its surroundings.
On the floor of any space – a building, a sidewalk – there will be a special belt composed of magnets. These will lead the cane of the blind person in specific direction, for example down the stairs or to a pedestrian crossing. When the reader on the cane detects magnets, the cane will start vibrating in the palm.
“It was very difficult to limit the reception of signal only to certain magnets that should navigate the blind person. During the first tests the cane was vibrating to all magnetic objects in the surroundings,” professor Jaroslav Čechák said.
Up to 250,000 partially sighted and blind people could use the special information and navigation system in the Czech Republic.
Novelty for the navigation of the blind and partially sighted
Special information system
A headphone and a miniature transmitter that helps blind people to orientate themselves in space. The person gets information from their headphone about their location. The voice system then navigates the person to their destination.
White cane and magnets
A special cane with a “magnetic reader” that navigates blind and partially sighted people in space. When the reader detects magnets in the floor it will start vibrating in the hand of the visually impaired person. The person will then know what direction to take.
Cheap unique technology
The price of the information and navigation system is around thousands of Czech crowns. Insurers could provide reimbursement for its purchase. There are about 250,000 visually impaired people in the Czech Republic.
