BlindAid: Haptic Mapping for Blind Travelers

From " Researcher invents virtual maps for visually impaired"
A new software tool creating virtual maps will help the visually impaired navigate through unfamiliar places.

Visually impaired often rely on others to provide cues on navigating through their environment. The problem with this method is that it doesn't give them the tools to venture out on their own, says Orly Lahav of the School of Education and Porter School for Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University (TAU).

Lahav's new software tool is connected to an existing joystick, a 3-D haptic device, that interfaces with the user through the sense of touch.

The tool, called the BlindAid, was recently unveiled at the "Virtual Rehabilitation 2009 International Conference...

For the complete article see
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163724.php