The world around me has gone dark. With a blindfold on, I take a few steps forward and I realise that I don鈥檛 know how far away the curb is or what鈥檚 in front of me on the pavement.
The blankness of it all is unnerving, but I have a special guide next to my ear. It鈥檚 just a gentle pulse accompanied by a continuous series of clip-clops but it tells me that I鈥檓 going in the right direction. If I turn my head the pulse stops, and I know I鈥檓 facing the wrong way.
For millions of visually impaired people, it鈥檚 a simple technology that could open up their world. The Microsoft-designed headset has two bone conducting plates that sit on my cheekbones just next to the ear canals. Much of the detailed location information is beamed to the user鈥檚 smartphone from nearby beacons, which delivers information to the headset via Bluetooth. The user plugs their route into Microsoft鈥檚 Bing Maps and the pulse lets them know if they鈥檙e going the right way.
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Because information is delivered via bone-conduction, the user is still able to hear what鈥檚 going on in their environment, such as people talking or nearby traffic. A synthesised voice can also deliver contextual information about nearby shops or approaching buses.
Before using the device, a 3D scan of the user鈥檚 head is made using Microsoft鈥檚 Kinect depth-sensing camera so that the software knows the precise position of the ear canals. This lets the system trick people into thinking the pulse comes from a certain direction 鈥� for example, if the user is facing away from their destination, the sound appears to be coming from behind them. Turning to face the right way redresses this.
Navigate in comfort
Microsoft has been developing the device as part of the Cities Unlocked project, alongside partners such as UK charity Guide Dogs, for over two years and has recently tested it with eight blind volunteers. The results have so far been positive, with many finding that their comfort levels increased while navigating an urban environment.
鈥淚 was really impressed with its potential,鈥� says Jennifer Bottom, one of the volunteers. She thinks using the device will give her much more freedom, letting her explore her environment 鈥淚f I were out on a journey from A to B I feel like I鈥檇 never get to B, I鈥檇 be off exploring.鈥�
But there are hurdles to overcome, not least who will foot the bill for placing the beacons around cities. The beacons cost around 拢15-20 each and the battery lasts just over a year. 鈥淚n terms of stumping up new cash, we鈥檙e hugely limited,鈥� admits Tony Page, a councillor in Reading, UK, who nonetheless hopes to roll out an initial version of the service in the city within 12 months.
Commercial partners such as Tesco, Barclay鈥檚 and train company First Great Western have been consulting on the project, and Microsoft hopes these will install infrastructure to deliver additional information to the devices. However, no contracts of this nature have yet been publicly announced.
When I take my blindfold off, I鈥檓 back in the bright, visually overwhelming world of the sighted. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to beta test it for real,鈥� says Bottom.
