New technology that pairs an app with beacons to give the vison impaired more accurate information about indoor spaces has been launched in Australia.
Developed in Israel, RightHear gives the blind and vision impaired greater independence when it comes to navigating the indoor environment.
Paralympian Matt Levy, who has been appointed its first global ambassador and Australian distributor for RightHear said for someone in a café it gives location details, for example, where the counter is or other areas they want to go. “It’s not step-by-step instructions but tells the user the counter is “two metres in front of you”, to give precise information about direction,” he told F2L.
An app on a smartphone allows the user to locate an open or indoor space using beacon technology. These wireless transmitters use Bluetooth to send signals to smart devices nearby to help make it easier to search for locations. The technology is currently available in 2000 locations globally, mainly Israel and the US, in businesses like McDonalds.
Levy is speaking to the disability sector, including organisations such as Blind Citizens Australia to make them aware of the technology and the benefits it offers to people with disability. A partnership with Killara Collective, an Indigenous employment services provider is intended to widen the reach and awareness of the technology in the education space.
“Getting people to download the app, which is free use on iOS and Android devices will enable people to access places they have not been before,” he said.
Features include a user-friendly dashboard for editing information and adding language, and also incorporates the Wayfindr standard for writing audio prompts.
“We are looking for businesses that want to do proof of concepts at the moment with 30 days free, then they enter into a subscription model paying annually or monthly with once-off upfront set-up fees.”
For more information: mattlevy87@hotmail.com