Objective
The purpose of this project is to increase the independent mobility of visually disabled people travelling in an unfamiliar environment by developing an orientation and navigation aid. The project will concentrate on blind people, but also address the needs of partially sighted and elderly people.
Mobility often depends on the possibility of getting access to information. The project aims at overcoming the problems of blind people not having this information. Blind people cannot plan their journey, because they have no information about the route to be taken and the location to which they wish to travel. Orientation problems can result from having insufficient information about position and the direction of their goal. Sighted people have access to a variety of informational sources to prepare a journey such as maps and timetables. For people with visual disabilities access to these informational sources is restricted. The innovative aspect of this project is to make such materials available to blind people both before a journey for planning, and during a journey for immediate consultation.
One objective of this project is to develop a prototype of an electronic travel aid comprising two interrelated components. A pre-journey system will assist the user to plan journeys. An outdoor system will carry out the prepared plans and will provide the user with navigation assistance in unfamiliar outdoor environments. The system consists of a handheld computer with appropriate input and output devices and a trip management system. It will be based on technology emerging for non-disabled travellers like positioning systems, compass and telecommunication services. Fixed interfaces have to be specified to prevent the system from being outdated by the rapidly changing technology in this field.
To ensure the usability of the resulting system an extensive part of the project will focus on user requirements. This includes the participation of users in the design and implementation phase of the project. One outcome of the project will be a detailed specification of user requirements which will be device independent. Two major field trials are carried out to evaluate the project results against this specification.
The project considers standardisation activities to ensure that the systems for visually disabled people are compatible with the products for non-disabled consumers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
39016 Magdeburg
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.