Blind Turin residents to be guided by GPS
According to Britain's Telegraph newspaper, a select few blind residents of Turin, Italy have been tagged with GPS receivers to help them find their way around more easily, with additional individuals set to join the trials in the coming months. Unlike some other GPS-basedsystems for the blind (like the one pictured here), the one being put to use in Turin, dubbed Easy Walk, doesn't allow individuals to be completely independent, instead requiring them to phone a call center on their cellphone for assistance. The operator then simply tracks the individual's location using the GPS receiver and guides them to their destination over the phone. On the upside, the system will be free to all users, with costs payed for by the government. Eventually, the program will include all 3,000 blind residents of the Piedmont region of Italy, although they won't just be confined to strolling around their hometown, with the system able to watch their back as they travel across all of Italy and France.
[Via Textually.org]
