Talking GPS Guide The Blind on Horseback & UP Kilimanjaro
HumanWare’s Trekker Breeze offers unprecedented mobility to visually impaired
(a large print text only version is available at:
http://www.humanware.ca/web/en/newsletter/48-t.htm)
Montreal (Canada), July 21, 2009 – HumanWare’s handheld talking
GPS units are empowering the blind to lead more active, independent lifestyles—and
even to embark on some extraordinary adventures.
Trekker Breeze units have recently accompanied blind users on hikes up Mount
Kilimanjaro and across the US, as well as on horseback excursions. The talking GPS
units are user-friendly, handheld devices that announce names of streets, intersections
and landmarks in
five different languages. Users can record custom landmarks along their
route and get step-by-step spoken travel instructions.
South Africa’s Geoff Hilton-Barber, a blind man and avid Trekker Breeze user, recently
tested the unit in high-altitude conditions on a
group hike up Mount Kilimanjaro. He used it as a supplement to their sighted
guide, allowing him to independently track his progress in terms of altitude and
distance at all times. “It stood the test of the dust, wind and extreme cold,” he
said.
Hilton-Barber regularly slings his Trekker Breeze around his neck when he goes horseback
riding. “There have been times when I have been in the lead or my guide has been
a little inattentive and I have gone under low trees, struck a telephone pole with
my shoulder, or simply been unaware of a sharp turn or ditch in my way. By inserting
landmarks ten metres in advance of these obstacles I receive a reliable warning
in time to take action,” he explains.
For Hilton-Barber, the Trekker Breeze shines just as bright in everyday situations,
allowing him to easily navigate around university campuses and his farm, or give
directions to taxi drivers in areas of cities that neither is familiar with. “I
am constantly surprised at the accuracy of the Breeze – often as close as one metre
when walking to a landmark! I have used my Trekker Breeze nearly every day for the
past six months and don't leave the house without it,” he says. Read more in Hilton-Barber’s
full testimonial.
Hilton-Barber isn’t the only visually impaired person getting adventurous with a
Trekker Breeze. Colorado’s Mike Shaak aims to be the first blind person to make
the 5,800-mile trek across the US. He’s currently
on the road, with a Trekker Breeze as his guide.
“We’re thrilled to see how the Trekker Breeze is helping blind people become more
independent. However, given that some 80% of the visually impaired are unemployed,
we hope that insurance bodies will offer enhanced subsidies for such assistance
devices to those who cannot afford them. Society as a whole benefits when people
living with vision loss can get around easily without having to depend on others,”
said Gilles Pepin, HumanWare's CEO.
About HumanWare
HumanWare (www.humanware.com) is the global
leader in assistive technologies for the print disabled. It creates products for
people who are blind, have low vision and/or have learning disabilities. The innovative
range of HumanWare products includes BrailleNote, the leading productivity device
for the blind in education and business, as well as for personal use; the Victor
Reader line, the world's leading digital audiobook players; and SmartView Xtend,
the first fully modular and upgradeable CCTV-based video magnifier.
For more information:
Nicolas Lagacé,
HumanWare Tel: +1 (450) 463-1717, ext. 341
nicolas.lagace@humanware.com
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