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Guide in the dark

Unique navigation system allows blind to "dare more"

By Victor Velek
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
October 24th, 2007 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Though now svelte, earlier versions of the device had cumbersome external antennas.
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COURTESY PHOTO
Clients introduced to the box this May.
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For a long time, the blind have not received many benefits from the rapid development of communication technology. Despite advanced navigation systems thriving worldwide, little research has been dedicated to their assistance, prompting continued reliance on long-standing aids: walking canes and guide dogs.
But thanks to a unique navigational system for the blind developed at the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) in Prague, the situation has changed.
Combining a satellite-based GPS navigation system, mobile phone communications and a call center, blind people in the Czech Republic can now get immediate assistance whenever they lose orientation or experience unexpected health problems, says ČVUT researcher Jiří Chod, the gadget’s creator.
“This system really widens blind people’s horizons,” says Zdeněk Bajtl, head of the technical department at Czech Blind United (SONS), an association supporting the blind countrywide. “With the device in your pocket, you dare more. It gives you a firm belief that you cannot get lost.”
Bajtl, who is himself blind, stresses that the navigation system is not a replacement for guide dogs — it doesn’t offer immediate help for unexpected obstacles like pavement reconstruction, for example.
“On the other hand, no dog will bring you to the National Library if it has never been there,” he says. “This does. … It’s a great boost to our freedom, self-confidence and independence.”
Pocket protector
The navigation system is quite portable, consisting of a small black box containing a GPS receiver and antenna, a mobile phone modem and a flash drive for data storage.
Once activated, the unit sends data on its position to the call center, which is equipped with an intelligent map system. If the user gets lost or needs some guidance, he or she can then ring the call center, based at SONS, and get help from one of the center’s staff, Chod says.
According to both Chod and Bajtl, the system is a unique solution unparalleled elsewhere in the world.
“In Spain they tested a similar system but they used automated navigation,” Chod says. “We were also considering this option but eventually found the automated synthetic voice distracting and rather unhelpful.”
Another advantage of the ČVUT system is its openness, based as it is on standard GPS and GSM technologies, Chod says. It’s easily updated, with next-generation technology replacing outdated components. “It’s an atypical application of standard technologies,” he adds.
Although the latest incarnation of the ČVUT machine can fit in a pocket, the project’s beginnings, in 2003, saw a much more cumbersome device.
“The GPS was so heavy and demanded so much power that you’d have to have one cart to carry the gadget and another to carry its batteries,” Chod says with a smile.
The project’s next generation was less bulky but presented other problems, most notably from those reluctant to wear a prominent external antenna.
“Blind people are sensitive about being conspicuous,” Chod says. “Some of them were reluctant to wear an alien-looking antenna on their clothes.”
Today, the device has an internal antenna, and the newest model will feature a camera that can transmit photos to the navigation center, so operators can give more detailed assistance, he adds.
Call waiting
Currently, the navigation aid is used by about 35 blind people throughout the country; by the end of the year, that number should be 100, Chod says. And in the near future, it should be accessible to all.
“We hope that next year the device will be officially recognized as an orientation aid for the blind, making it eligible for state allowances,” Bajtl says. Government subsidies will then cover the machine’s costs, which run to 13,000 Kč ($680) for the latest and most advanced model.
Access to the call center is also open to the visually impaired not on the system, as it offers additional services, Bajtl says. People can ask operators for transport information and detailed itineraries, for example.
Within the last several months, the center recorded about 350 inquiries, according to Bajtl. Supported by the Vodafone Foundation, the center was launched at the beginning of this year: In September, Vodafone received the Via Bona award for its support of the project.
“This is the flagship of our foundation,” says Inga Kaškelyte, executive director of the Vodafone Foundation. Vodafone has contributed 1.8 million Kč to the project and has earmarked further money for the blind.
“It’s a long-term project,” she says. “And we will continue to support it in the future.”

Victor Velek can be reached at vvelek@praguepost.com


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