Adaptive technology pioneer Michael May has announced changes in his
project in bringing access to GPS information to the blind.  His note to
customers and the disability community is below.

Kelly


From: Michael May <
[log in to unmask]>

Dear Atlas and GPS-Talk Users and Friends,

September 2001 will be the last month that GPS-Talk version 1x will be
manufactured by Sendero Group. Let me explain why and what our plans are.

I left Arkenstone 2 years ago and formed Sendero Group, a "grass roots"
company dedicated to wayfinding technology and to releasing the first
ever
GPS products for the blind. My co-founders, Jim Misener of Beyond Sight
and Charles LaPierre our Chief Technology Officer and developer, have
joined me in putting much heart, soul, time and money into this
effort. We released GPS-Talk in March 2000 and have had many improvements
and subsequent releases since that time including our most recent release
of a Canadian version. Our company of blind people for blind people has
begun a new era of accessible location information and you, the GPS-Talk
version 1X users, have been pioneers right along with us.

The reality of pioneering a new product category is that initial GPS-Talk
sales have not been sufficient to fund Sendero operations let alone
development of new versions. In order to take this technology to the next
level in terms of features and portability, we need to focus our
resources
on developing new products rather than on modifying the current version.
We cannot do both.

Getting GPS on note takers and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs) is our
most
immediate focus. Sendero is joining forces with Pulse Data International
and HumanWare to provide GPS with BrailleNote and VoiceNote PDA
products. These new units have nearly the power of a notebook computer
and yet they are smaller, lighter, have an instant-on capability and
serve
many purposes. The small incremental cost and size of adding GPS to the
BrailleNote and VoiceNote greatly enhances the access to GPS for blind
users. By combining forces, we can quickly get a portable GPS solution
into your hands and have the resources to develop this and other aspects
of wayfinding technology. I am very pleased to be joining the highly
respected HumanWare team to accomplish this.

Additionally, Sendero has submitted a grant proposal along with 4
universities and the Smith-Kettlewell Institute to collaborate on
development and integration of various wayfinding technologies. This is a
five-year grant of 2.25 million dollars. If this funding comes through,
and we will know within a couple weeks, we intend to work on a cellular
phone GPS solution and expanding GPS outdoor navigation with indoor
capabilities. In this process, we also hope to have a new and improved
32-bit PC version of the software for our early adopter pioneer users.

Although GPS-Talk cannot be purchased from Sendero after September, your
dealers and Sendero will continue to support the product according to the
warranty agreements. Atlas, the talking map, for the U.S. and Canada will
continue to be sold.

My thanks to all users. Together we have created an incredibly productive
and fun access tool for navigation and location information. This could
not have happened without your purchase, support and cooperation. The
future of accessible location information would not have been possible
without your input as part of the evolution of this first GPS-Talk
version. We look forward to your support as we move to the upcoming
iterations of GPS wayfinding technology.

Sincerely,

Michael G. May

President and CEO

[log in to unmask]
New Product Innovation and Distribution Worldwide

www.SenderoGroup.com
or
www.GPS-Talk.com

Voice (530) 757-6800
Fax (707) 598-4896
Mobile (530) 304-0007

Sendero Group, LLC
1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA


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