The Czeks definitely have it going on.  A year or two ago there was an
article about how they had installed a very cool system throughout a chunk
of Prague.  The blind user would cary a small device that would talk to
different self-aware base units around the city.  So as you approached the
train station, if you wanted information you would hit a button on your
unit and it would tell you that you are near the train station entrance.

When you came to an intersection you could hit a button on your unit and
it would query the base unit at the intersection and your unit would tell
you what the streets were and which way was safe to cross.

It would even tell you which way the escalators were running in the train
station as they would runn  in different directions depending on the time
of day.

It would tell you what busses stop at that stop, what the number of the
approaching bus was.

The best thing about this system is that the user had full control of what
was said an when it was said.  That way you don't have every traffic light
in the city chattering away all the time.  Only your hand held unit speaks
and only when you query it.

That would be a cool system to play with.

 --
Blue skies.
Dan Rossi
Carnegie Mellon University.
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel:    (412) 268-9081


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