Mobile Phone with GPS for The Blind

Italian company Il Village is developing a GPS satellite application that was designed specifically to offer blind users greater independence.

The application will run on Symbian mobile phones and is currently in testing by a group of 30 people from the Italian Blind Union. With the help of a Bluetooth headset, the device will read out turn by turn directions to the user. The users of the service will also be able to get support from a call center that will operate on a 24-hour a day seven days a week basis.

Two mobile phone will also have two dedicated safety keys (one can assume that you can pre-set the keys) one that can be used to dial a call center for assistance and another one to quickly state the user's exact location, including building number.

As soon as the user presses the safety key that alerts the call center, an operator will call the person back in order to find out where they need to go or what information they need, by provide step by step instructions.

The person that was responsible for the creation of Easy Walk is Andrea di Paoli, technology officer at Il Village. Paoli refers to the system as being a 'guardian angel' that makes sure that anyone using it will get to where they need to go.

Chief tester Federico Borgna, commented:'Easy Walk is very important to help me to go to the places that I don't know. It gives me more confidence because I usually walk by myself but I have to know the way - Easy Walk helps me to go where I don't know the way.'