NaviGadget

Easy Walk and Vodafone

Feb 13, 2008 gps navigation, misc news, phones, software

Vodafone of Spain introduced a new GPS receiver / software bundle for the blind or visually impaired. It is called “Easy Walk” and it works on phones with Symbian OS such as most Nokia’s.

The service allows visually impaired people to know their current location and provide assistance to make them more independent. The way this is done is very similar to regular car GPS navigation systems: Detailed description of turns, distance to a certain point and even details of street names, numbers, and POIs are converted voice commands thanks to the text-to-speech engine.

In addition to helping the user it also transmits location information to family or friends or to a care center to keep their minds at ease. In addition Easy Walk can generate customized routes that can be ’studied’ offline before going out the real world – similar to a simulation… via