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GPS Ranger now with sign language

Mar 21, 2008 gps navigation 30 Comments

GPS Ranger, a multimedia GPS touring device with a four-inch LCD screen and amplified audio system from BarZ made their virtual tours more accessible to both deaf and hard of hearing people, by first adding a captioning option to the device. And now for the first time, they have created a tour available completely in American Sign Language (ASL), a tour of Austin, Texas.

Susan Sien, a deaf school administrator and citizen of Austin, was one of the first to take the Austin historical walking tour. “The GPS Ranger tool was offered in both captioning and ASL. It was fantastic,” said Sien. “The tour highlighted the landmarks around the city by incorporating historical photos and video. It was an awesome experience that will allow the deaf community to enjoy travel even more.”

GPS Ranger, other than providing their tours in ASL, also has the following features:

• Self-guided visitor experience
• Supports multiple languages and demographics
• Daily updates and content changes
• Wayfinder or directional information
• Environmental and safety messages such as “Where are the bathrooms?”, “Don’t feed the bears!”
• Bread Crumbing information tells you where your visitors went while using the system and how long they visited each location

GPS Ranger in Death Valley

Sep 20, 2007 gps navigation, misc news 1 Comment

National Park Service of Death Valley is now offering GPS guided tours via a device called GPS Ranger. These GPS devices can be rented for $20 from a kiosk at Furnace Creek Visitor Center, can be attached to your dashboard to help you explore the 3,000 square mile national park.

Whenever you approach to certain ‘hot spot’ the device will kick in and give you a video commentary about the area, explaining its history, importance, etc…

You can see demo of the GPS Ranger at manufacturers website… via

GPS device four tours and zoos

Oct 9, 2006 gps navigation, misc news Leave a comment

A company called BarZ Adventures makes these rugged design GPS devices with extended battery life to deliver multimedia content based on satellite recognition of GPS coordinates. They are designed to enhance the visitor experience at national parks, monuments, zoos, and other natural and historic sites. Currently more than half a dozen national parks and monuments are using or are under contract to use this cutting edge technology.

“Unlike other electronic solutions for the tourism industry, the GPS Ranger Series uses GPS technology to trigger rich multimedia content when the user comes within range of a point of interest,” said Lee Little, founder of Bar Z Adventures and developer of the GPS and Zoo Ranger systems. “Audio, video, text and pictures can all be integrated to tell important stories that have shaped the fabric of America. Our system puts a venue’s important message in the palm of the visitor’s hand.”

The GPS Ranger has a water-resistant 3.5-inch, outdoor-viewing LCD screen and can be loaded with 4GB worth of content on its flash storage. Don’t ask how much it costs because it doesn’t make sense for end-consumer to buy this. Just take a tour at your nearest state park. They may have the GPS Ranger.

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