Student From Cardiff Designs Sat Nav for the Blind
April 25, 2009
Jason Perkins 34, a student of product design at the University of Wales Institute, has been reportedly shortlisted for a covetous Sir James Dyson award for designing a sat nav system that can deliver confidence to the blind people to visit new places. The new pedestrian sat nav device that he calls ‘Peepo’ can sense the vibrations on the fingertips of the blind men to steer them.
Moreover, ‘Peepo’ has been designed in such a way as to listen to the location command of the user, apart from fitting cosily in their palms. Peepo engages the satellite navigation technology to track destinations. Peepo can also be clipped onto the metal lead of the guide dog, as the vibrations on their fingertips tend to provide directions.
Perkins said that he was trying hard to unearth a real requirement for a design that would aid the people overcome a life barrier, and indipendence was one of the best things that could be gifted to someone. He added that he had it designed after considerable research at the Institute of Cardiff for the Blind and around twelve months with his focus group for its development.
He also said that the immediate cause of his coming up with the idea was after knowing the fact that out of ten, nine guide dog owners refused to travel alone to locations they had not been to before. Perkins hopes that he can introduce his invention to America as well.
GPS Pilot Scheme by Welsh Assembly to Keep Children Tracked
April 23, 2009
A pilot GPS scheme put forth by the Welsh Assembly can potentially track children using satellite technology, on school buses and other public transport means. The assembly of the North Wales counties also claims that the device can effectively spy on the children along with their friends and report misbehaviour.
The GPS pilot scheme is currently being trialled across the six counties of North Wales with a view to confront anti-social conduct on school buses. Apart from this, the device can also help the parents deal with numerous issues of significance that ranges from driver-reported misbehaviour of children to truancy.
The device is also believed to be of considerable help in the monitoring of the whereabouts of a child in case of its going missing or just a minor breakdown of the school bus. Moreover, this device being backed up by GPS system can help the parents know precisely where their wards are on the bus.
The GPS pilot scheme introduced by the Welsh counties is a picture swipe card that can be used by the pupil to clock its boarding and getting off the bus. The parents can access the relevant information through a dedicated website on the internet.
The transport manager the county council of Denbighshire, Peter Daniels said that the chief aim of the device was to back the schools, parents, drivers and the pupils on school buses, to recognise the consequences of the rare misbehaviours from the kids’ part as well as to improve their behaviour.
He added that the device was very much similar to the Oystercard scheme widely used in London, where the user taps in the card to board a bus and taps out to get off.
Dementia Patients Can be Tracked Using GPS Devices
April 13, 2009
A new trial conducted as the part of a new study on the scope of global positioning system in the lives of dementia patients as a potential tracker, has effectuated positive responses according to reports. As a trial gesture, a set of volunteers who were at the early stages of dementia were shrouded by clothes fitted with tracking systems or were made to wear like jewels at the Westminster City Council in Central London.
In fact, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Trust has launched a proposed two year trial last month with a view to arm twenty dementia patients with GPS pocket devices initially. The movements of the patients thenafter can be monitored using a map through a secure website. The ongoing trials are expected to yield rich dividents in the field of ensuring the safety of dementia patients in England.
For some history, the Imperial College of London had run a similar trial in 2004 to track dementia patients using the satellite technology. However, the authorities concerned with recently carried out trials are nurturing the hopes that the technology could be more widely introduced in the coming year, provided the latest trial evolves a success.
A member of the Westminster City Council, Ed Edgar has claimed that they at Westminster were committed to exploring fresh ways to enhance the lives of the older people, as well as novel walking technologies with a view to provide increased liberty to the ones who were living with dementia.
Medion GoPal E3230 To Be Launched
March 26, 2009
Medion GoPal E3230 Sat Nav, described as a resourceful, as well as a compact stellite navigation system has been announced by Medion. The E3230 will adore the showcases of Medion’s favourite retailer Aldi, very shortly according to the company sources.
This satellite navigation that has been described as a portable sat nav with a number of remarkable features, comes with a TFT touchscreen of 3.5 inches in diagonal size. The maps that are expected to come preloaded in the device would carry details of up to twenty three Western European nations.
The E3230 would come highlighting its own remarkable software known as GoPal ME 4.7A Navigator, apart from a large range of points of interest. Other niceties that are expected alongwith the E3230 package are; arrow icons, lifetime updates of TMC traffic data and 2D or 3D display options.
Since, the Medion sources have also ascertained that the E3230 would be coming with text-to-speech feature, the users are offered the luxury to choose the shortest, quickest or the economically optimal routes. Another couple of significant features offered here are safety camera warnings and advice on speed limits.
This sat nav is expected to hit the market by 29th of March, alongwith an offer price of GBP 119.99.
A Low Cost Mapping Satellite Design Put Forth by UK Sat Firm SSTL
February 23, 2009
SSTL, a UK satellite designing firm holds the firm belief that its prototype design can reduce the cost of high resolution mapping dramatically. SSTL said that satellite can perform 60cm/pixel mapping of the earth’s surface. These are the sort of resolutions found typically in virtual globe programmes. The firm also claimed that the system, unlike the put up cost of a more conventional satellite that may go up to $500 million, can be comprehensively built for a mere $70 million, and that could be considered as a remarkable Sat Nav offer by the authorities.
SSTL was recently bought by Europe’s largest space firm; EADS Astrium. Since, the acquisition the first fresh product to be detailed by SSTL is the ultra high resolution optical system. The firm, under the new ownership is looking forward to exploit the prolifically developing market for location-based services and commercial mapping that can be linked with the emergence of the likes of Nokia Maps, Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth and TomTom Sat nav Systems.
Philip Davies, SSTL’s business development manager said that the new concept was an exciting development for them, on which they had been researching for over an year. He added that one could produce extremely remarkable maps with data using this satellite. Meanwhile, Paul Brookes, SSTL’s director for sales and business development said that their view was the consistency in quality across the world, since people at present are very used to high quality imagery with tools such as Nokia Maps and Google Earth.
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