February 2, 2015 
In near future, smartphones should help blind and short-sighted people to move more easily in the cities. So far, numerous tests have been made to test new software application, but it is still not ready for the market…
Increased mobility, more comfort and independence for the blind and visually impaired. These are the advantages that are promised by the application InMoBS-App, which, translated from German means: intra-city mobility support for the blind and visually impaired, reports Deutsche Welle.
“It can help in a way that it informs users about the place where they currently are located and gives them instructions on the routes where they should continue to move. This application can describe the area around the user or to warn users about the potential risks,” explains Jörg Belz. He works at the German Center for air and space Flight (DLR) and during the last three years he has participated in the development of the application.
It vibrates if the user moves in the wrong direction
“People who are blind are often dependent on those who can see,” says Belz and adds that this can especially be seen on the example of new roads or routes. Visually impaired and blind people often find it difficult to use the new route for the first time. This new application should be an instrument for these people to use it like a guide dog or a cane, but it would not be useful for everything.
One of the few blind people who have already tested the application is Gerhard Renzel. He has inherited an eye disease (retinitis pigmentosa), which results in damage to the retina. The 68-year-old is now completely blind. “At first, thanks to the special software, I made my own route plan on my computer and sent it to my smartphone. Then, equipped with the appropriate GPS device, which communicates with my cell phone via Bluetooth, I left the house,” he explains.
A special test area was established at Braunschweig for testing this application. For example, traffic lights equipped with Wi-Fi devices that directly send a signal and information to Renzel’s smart phone. “The application gave me an idea how my surrounding looks like and is there a bus station, a bakery or intersection on my route. And when I go in the wrong direction my phone vibrates,” says Renzel.
He was quickly convinced that this application could provide great relief for the blind in their everyday life. Before that he was using conventional navigation devices with which he was not satisfied. “When you’re blind they are not really appropriate. They are too imprecise, “explains Renzel.
The application is not yet ready for the market.
InMoBS-app, however, is only a prototype and there is a need for some changes, says project coordinator Steffen Axer at the Technical University of Braunschweig: “We must ensure that the user gets as accurate information as possible.” According to Axer’s estimates it should be at least another five years to make this application ready for the market.
“We want to find a way to simplify the use of public transport for the blind and visually impaired, without making them dependent on the help of others,” says Axer. An additional GPS device on the hand, which sends information to the smartphone, is still a flaw, he says, adding that the goal of scientists is to built this function directly into the phone.
Taken from: www.tehnoklik.hr