Moving independently in the city
08-05-2019
Traffic lights, unknown routes and unexpected obstacles ... how can you move safely in the city when you are a visually impaired person(VIP)? The EyeBeacons project investigates how an app can help these people out.
Joey van der Bie, researcher at the Digital Life Centre, and his students of the minor Internet of Things have developed an app for VIPs: people with a visual impairment. The app is connected to beacons and provides information about the area, such as the presence of traffic lights or guiding lines. So they help VIPs to find their way independently and safely.
BEACON-TECHNOLOGY
Beacons are little devices, distributed at many points in the city, that by means of bluetooth technology can receive and send signals to people with a smartphone. As a part of the ZonMw Insight EyeBeacons research project the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences assists with the development of the prototype of the app along with the Hogeschool Saxion, Royal Visio, Bartimeus, the Hogeschool van Arnhem and Nijmegen as well as Info.nl