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Product Review

Talking Signs: Infrared Communications Provides Audio Information Around Town

Talking Signs is a remote infrared communication system designed at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center in San Francisco.

Infrared technology is utilized to transmit and receive audio messages; allowing the system to convey environmental information to a person who is blind or has low vision. The infrared technology uses line of sight; which means that the infrared signal is transmitted from the transmitter in a line, similar to a laser. When the receiver comes into contact with this line, the audio message is received and is audible to the user through the receiver speakers. The closer the user gets to the point of interest, the stronger and clearer the message will become. Labels, locations, room names and numbers, and exhibit text can be recorded and transmitted via Talking Signs. The infrared transmitter is permanently mounted in the specific area where information is to be conveyed, such as an intersection, an interpretive display or an office. The receiver is approximately the size of a Walkman and is hand-held or attached to a thread worn around the user's neck.

San Francisco, California has the nation's largest population of Talking Signs transmitters mounted for public use. Select transit platforms, busy intersections, public buildings, bus shelters, newsstands, and public toilets use Talking Signs transmitters to convey location information.

"They work very well," offers Donna Kazanjian, Orientation and Mobility Specialist at the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco. Ms. Kazanjian emphasizes that the system does not replace mobility skills, but enriches the information received by the user. Tony Candela, a resident of San Francisco who is blind and the National Program Associate for the American Foundation for the Blind, offers his personal opinion on the Talking Signs System, "The burden of carrying the receiver is minimal compared to being able to locate yourself within the environment."

The city of San Francisco is currently installing 66 transmitters for use in a city park, testing the potential for the use of Talking Signs in interpretive environments such as museums and nature trails. The signs can be programmed with descriptive information about an attraction.

For more information on Talking Signs, contact: Talking Signs, toll free (800) 339-0117.
www.talkingsigns.com

 

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