GPS Software Promises Hope for the Disabled
From: International Herald Tribune - 02/12/2007
By: Kevin J. O'Brien

An application created by researchers are the University of Applied Sciences
in Hamburg, Germany, aims to provide the handicapped with detailed maps that
show them barrier-free ways to get from one place to another. Barrier-free
guides have been previously developed, but this project, known as
Trailblazer, allows users to map their own local routes and place them in a
central server at the university, or download those that others have placed
on the server. The success of the project therefore relies heavily on user
contribution. Past barrier-free guides use brochures or CD-ROMs, but
Trailblazer uses a mobile device equipped with a GPS receiver, motion
detector, mobile operating system, and Java Mobile software. Along with using
the motion detector to track their path and record obstacles, users can take
pictures of obstacles or hard-to-find pathways and upload them onto the
server. This data exchange can be done over cellular airwaves, without the
need for a GSM connection. The Trailblazer technology has been proven, but
the database still has very few routes in it. The team is working on voice
recognition capabilities for users that cannot operate the mobile device. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/11/business/wireless12.php

Links:
Full Speed ahead: Route Planer for People in Wheelchair
http://www1.rehacare.de/cipp/md_rehacare/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,12685/ticket,g_u_e_s_t

University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg
http://www.haw-hamburg.de/