[vicsireland] Re: Further info please on Loadstone
- From: "tonysweeney" <tonysweeney1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 23:04:48 -0000
I am talking about listening to your immediate surroundings literally as
opposed to checking inputs in the GPS product!
Thought that might have been clear!
Tony.
----- Original Message -----
From: "albertbrown" <albertbrown@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 7:04 PM
Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Further info please on Loadstone
> Hello Tony,
> It would not be possible to take note of your surroundings unless you
> previously install the waypoints yourself.
> Bert
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "tonysweeney" <tonysweeney1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 11:22 PM
> Subject: [vicsireland] Further info please on Loadstone
>
>
> > Hi There,
> > I was just wondering if either of the three loadstoners might consider
> > answering a few questions posed by this list on the product?
> >
> > The report by Ronan was excellent, but wouldn't it be good to have a
> > little
> > follow-up?
> >
> > I wonder how you would listen taking note of your immediate
surroundings;
> > I
> > suppose that you wouldn't use a full headset but possibly an earpiece.
> >
> > Looking forward to further info.
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > Tony Sweeney.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Sandberg, Robert" <robert.sandberg@xxxxxxx>
> > To: <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 10:15 AM
> > Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Well positioned in Dublin and Cork with GPS
> >
> >
> > Hi folks!
> > Yes, I will add my congratulations to the previous ones. It's a very
> > thorough report and you've obviously put a lot of pioneer work into
> > boosting it in Ireland.
> > Just a couple of thoughts on the receiver and downloading Loadstone.
> > I'm using the Globosat receiver, which is slightly larger than the
> > Holux, maybe the size of a fat matchbox, but it doesn't give me any
> > problems with reception or linking to the phone. In fact, I didn't even
> > have to set up a Bluetooth pairing, which I did with my headset.
> > Loadstone recognized it right away. It comes with a Velcro cover which I
> > usually attach to a strap of my back pack.
> > I'd say the easiest way of putting Loadstone on your phone is to
> > download it strait on to it from the website. However I'm not sure which
> > Talks version is required to access the web with your phone. I managed
> > it with Talks Premium.
> >
> > And here's a question for the 3 Loadstoneers. According to the report
> > only one of you used a headset. How did that work for you and how did
> > the other two go about it. Personally I've a bit of a problem with using
> > the headset. Of course it's the only alternative to constantly holding
> > the phone up to your ear, but I find that my hearing is slightly
> > impaired when I wear it. Although it doesn't even fill out the ear like
> > a walkman earphone does, it affects my directional hearing. Say I have
> > someone walking in front of me, I can't tell where exactly they are in
> > order to overtake them. Also I walk very slowly because it's harder to
> > tell upcoming obstacles. That's really put me off using it a lot. It
> > would be interesting to know if any of the 3 testers are GDO's and if
> > cane users and GDO's make different experiences. I would assume that a
> > GDO might have less of a problem with using a headset.
> > Cheers,
> > Robbie
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Joan Ann Brosnan
> > Sent: Sonntag, 21. Januar 2007 22:46
> > To: vics
> > Subject: [vicsireland] Re: Well positioned in Dublin and Cork with GPS
> >
> > Hi Ronan
> >
> > This is a very interesting report on Loadstone and it seems to be of
> > huge
> > benefit to blind people especially since Loadstone users can gather
> > points
> > of interest and share them with other users.
> >
> > I have been using loadstone and a Holux GPs receiver since last week and
> > so,
> > I'm still familiarizing myself with the program but, so far, I have been
> > very impressed with its capabilities.
> >
> > If you know of any settings within loadstone that I should change for
> > use in
> > Ireland or have any useful tips, they would be great.
> >
> > Joan Ann.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ronan McGuirk" <
> > ronan.mcguirk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > To: <
> > vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2007 4:43 PM
> > Subject: [vicsireland] Well positioned in Dublin and Cork with GPS
> >
> >> Hello to the VICS list. I am enclosing our report on the use of
> > Loadstone
> >> below. We look forward to the comments of VICS members.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ronan
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Report Begins:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Well positioned in Dublin and Cork
> >>
> >> - GPS and a mobile phone as a mobility aid for people with a vision
> >> impairment
> >>
> >> - authors: Aedan O'Meara, Cearbhall O'Meadhra, Ronan McGuirk
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Date January 2007
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Overview
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Over the past few months we have been experimenting with mobile phones
> >> interacting with the Global Positioning System to assess the
> > usefulness of
> >>
> >> this technology as a mobility aid to people with a vision impairment.
> >>
> >> We have been carrying out a trial of the Loadstone-GPS system at two
> >> locations in Ireland, (Dublin and Cork). In this short paper we
> > summarise
> >> our experiences and are pleased to report that the experiment was
> >> successful.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> What is the Global Positioning System?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite navigation system.
> > A
> >> set
> >> of satellites is in orbit around the Earth. These satellites transmit
> >> radio
> >> signals and a person with a GPS receiver can determine his/her
> > location
> >> based on these satellite signals. There is a very good article
> > explaining
> >> the Global Positioning System in Wikipedia at
> >>
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
> >>
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> What is Loadstone?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Loadstone-GPS is a free program designed for Series 60 Symbian mobile
> >> phones. This software has been designed to work well with screen
> > readers
> >> such as Talks or Mobile Speak on the mobile phones. In order for
> >> Loadstone-GPS to work, it requires a separate GPS receiver that is
> >> connected
> >> to the mobile phone using Bluetooth.
> >>
> >> It is worth noting that the hardware is standard off-the-shelf
> > equipment.
> >> It is not specially designed for visually impaired people.
> > Furthermore,
> >> the
> >>
> >> Loadstone-GPS program itself is free.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> For more information on Loadstone-GPS check out the Loadstone website
> > at
> >>
> >>
> > www.loadstone-gps.com
> >>
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> What equipment did we use?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ronan used a Nokia 6600 with Talks 2.5 premium edition together with a
> >> Holux
> >> Slim 236 GPS receiver.
> >>
> >> Aedan used a Nokia 6680 with Talks 3.0 premium edition with dictionary
> > and
> >> a Holux slim 236 GPS receiver.
> >>
> >> Cearbhall used a Nokia 6680 with Talks 3.0 premium edition with
> >> dictionary,
> >> ThinkOutside Bluetooth keyboard, Motorola Bluetooth earphone And a
> > Holux
> >> slim 236 GPS receiver.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> How we used Loadstone
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The Global Positioning system works by receiving radio signals from
> >> Satellites and calculating the location of the receiver as a point of
> >>
> >> Latitude and longitude on the Earth.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> When you install Loadstone on your mobile phone and get it working
> > with
> >> your
> >> GPS receiver, it can tell you your latitude and longitude, altitude
> > and
> >> speed and direction of movement. However, to make full use of it, it
> > is
> >> Necessary to have a way of converting latitude and longitude to place
> >> names
> >> or as they are called "points of interest, or P.O.I.s".
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Loadstone, which is being written by a blind programmer, is specially
> >> designed to make the recording of any point of interest to you
> > absolutely
> >> simple. Pressing the hash key in the Loadstone program on your mobile
> >> phone
> >> puts you into an edit box and it is similar to entering a text
> > message.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> After using Loadstone for a few months we collected hundreds of point
> >> names.
> >> The types of point names we collected included train stations, Luas
> >> stations, shops, pubs and many road junctions.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ronan found that he could use loadstone to tell which train station
> > the
> >> Dublin Dart had stopped at. Using Loadstone on the Dart train gives a
> >> great
> >> deal of information. Not only can you tell which station you are at,
> > but
> >> also when the train is moving you can tell the speed and direction.
> > You
> >> can
> >> follow the curve of Dublin Bay as the train leaves Dun Laoghaire
> > heading
> >> due
> >> west and gradually curves through the compass till it is heading
> > north.
> >> Ronan found that he needed to learn the meaning of compass points such
> > as
> >> West By North, and East by North East. Using Loadstone gives a very
> > rich
> >> understanding of your location, speed, direction and altitude
> > especially
> >> if
> >> you are travelling in a bus or a car.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Cearbhall collected points along the seafront in Bray. This is a half
> >> kilometre of straight esplanade with no distinguishing features. He
> > was
> >> able
> >> to use Loadstone to mark the point of entry to the esplanade (a
> > particular
> >> set of steps and buildings alongside the walk that identified
> > different
> >> parts of the route.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> When you have collected a set of points yourself or downloaded them
> > from
> >> the
> >> point share exchange, Loadstone is a good help when trying to
> > understand
> >> your current location or find a point of interest. It is simple to
> > ask
> >> Loadstone what the nearest point is or to get the direction and
> > distance
> >> to
> >> a point you wish to reach. Loadstone is not a substitute for a long
> > cane
> >> or
> >> a guide dog, but it is a useful addition to your existing method of
> >> mobility.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> How to look up an Internet map to get latitude and longitude
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> There is a web site at
> >>
> >>
> > http://stevemorse.org/jcal/latlon.php
> > with a search facility that is very
> >> simple and will give you the latitude and Longitude of any town or
> > large
> >> village in Ireland, or anywhere else in the world. It will also do the
> >> reverse. If you capture a point with loadstone you can look it up on
> > this
> >> website to get the street address. Ronan found that it usually gives
> > the
> >> correct street name in Dublin but the address number of the house is
> > only
> >> an
> >> approximation.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Comparison of Loadstone with other location systems
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Unlike mapping systems which some of us have over a year's experience
> > of,
> >> Loadstone stands out as the only viable and cost effective option for
> > the
> >> visually impaired who wish to be told at any time exactly where they
> > are
> >> on
> >> the surface of the earth. (yes, you can use it anywhere on the surface
> > of
> >> the earth, even at the poles though we haven't tried this yet!).
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> At the moment the list of already labelled points of interest is only
> >> being
> >> built by the voluntary efforts of current users. It is therefore a
> > very
> >> rewarding project to be involved in as the information you gather will
> > be
> >> there for generations to come who might need it! This is the only
> > program
> >> that allows you to build entirely your own route to suit bus, train,
> > or
> >> any
> >> other off the road route. It is totally portable and once one is used
> > to
> >> it
> >> you will never leave it at home!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Aedan has gone back to using Wayfinder for comparison purposes as he
> > used
> >> it
> >> for a year before getting Loadstone. He reports that his installation
> > of
> >> Wayfinder, in his circumstances, was totally sterile in that it gave
> > no
> >> information like individual bus stops, etc that he had built up with
> >> Loadstone.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Wayfinder only announced the turns and was awkward in use to find even
> > the
> >>
> >> name of the road you have turned onto. It appears to be purely a
> > mapping
> >> program
> >>
> >> designed for car users, or sighted pedestrians.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ronan had previously used Mini GPs which is a program that came with
> > the
> >>
> >> Talks premium edition and allowed the labelling of mobile phone cells.
> >> Mini
> >>
> >> GPS can tell you the name of the mobile phone cell in which you are
> >> located.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> However, in Dublin the cells can be quite large (3 or four kilometres
> >> across
> >> in places). Obviously this only gives you a very approximate location.
> > On
> >> the Dublin Dart train system the mobile phone cells often include more
> >> than
> >> one station so it is not a foolproof method of identifying location.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Loadstone by contrast gives you a location that can be accurate to
> > about 5
> >> metres.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Saving points to the Point share website
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Each of us collected many points. The Loadstone-gps website provides a
> >> database for sharing points. Over the past few months we have added
> >> several
> >> hundreds of Irish places to the point share exchange.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Coverage of points in Ireland today
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Before we started using Loadstone, a number of Irish points had been
> > added
> >> to the exchange. We are pleased to report that we have jointly added
> >> several
> >> hundred more.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> We have captured all Dart stations from Bray to Tara Street and all
> > Green
> >>
> >> line Luas stations from Sandyford to Stephens green. We have saved a
> > lot
> >> of
> >> points in the Dun Laoghaire Dalkey area and also in Dublin 4. Ronan
> > went
> >> hill walking on the Wicklow Way and has saved several points along the
> >> route
> >> and elsewhere in County Wicklow.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> In Cork Aedan has added many points for Cork city centre, West cork as
> > far
> >> as
> >>
> >> Clonakilty, and in East Cork from Fermoy to Dungarvan and in Waterford
> > as
> >> far as Lismore, Waterford City, and Dunmore East.
> >>
> >> Cearbhall has collected most of the stations from Heuston station,
> > Dublin
> >> to
> >>
> >> Waterford together with many points along the M50 from Bray to
> > Sandyford.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Problems we encountered with Loadstone
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ronan had problems with the Holux GPS unit not getting a signal but
> > has
> >> now
> >> resolved this problem.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Cearbhall found that the interest points marked on the Bray seafront
> >> change
> >>
> >> each time he goes out. The change is small and not important when
> > noting
> >> buildings alongside the route. However, a series of four rubbish bins
> > that
> >> create a hazard for a blind pedestrian and are spaced about ten metres
> >> apart, are reported by loadstone as being in significantly different
> >> locations every time one passes. The accuracy of current technology
> > can
> >> vary a bit from day to day and we are experiencing typical accuracies
> > of
> >> about 5 to 10 metres. The Wikipedia article we mentioned above gives
> > a
> >> very
> >> good explanation of the factors that affect location accuracy.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> We have got to grips with the peculiar way Holux works. You need to
> > switch
> >>
> >> it on in an area with a guaranteed signal and wait about 30 seconds
> > before
> >>
> >> starting loadstone on the mobile phone. If you do this it works fine
> >> afterwards. If you start it in an area with a bad signal (for example
> > on a
> >> crowded train) then it often goes into a strange mode and won't see a
> >> satellite signal until re-booted. We find that switching Holux off and
> > on
> >> again with the switch on the Holux box works fine to get it back
> > working
> >> again, provided you wait about 60 seconds, and we found that we
> > rarely
> >> needed to re-boot the phone.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Aedan found that in order to get an accurate direction of travel it
> > was
> >> necessary to walk fairly quickly. There is a feature built into the
> > GPS
> >> units called Static Navigation that is the cause of this. We
> > recommend
> >> that
> >> the Static Navigation feature be turned off. If you get a unit with
> >> Static
> >> Navigation turned on, you will either have to walk quickly to get a
> >> direction or go through a somewhat complex process to turn this
> > feature
> >> off.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The Loadstone program itself can be a little confusing in its layout
> > and
> >> we
> >> have contributed through the email discussion list to a more logical
> >> layout
> >> in certain parts of the newer versions.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Next steps
> >>
> >> We have no hesitation in recommending this product or, more correctly,
> >> project as a fine example of the blind helping themselves to create a
> >> fantastically useful tool to assist orientation. We would encourage
> > other
> >> visually impaired people in Ireland to try it out. If we work
> > together we
> >> can build up a rich store of points on the point share exchange.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Looking to the future we expect technology to change fairly rapidly.
> >> Loadstone-GPS currently works on the second edition Symbian phones.
> > As of
> >> now it doesn't work on the 3rdrd edition. Hopefully this will change
> > over
> >> time.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> We expect that over time GPS technology will rapidly improve and GPS
> >> chipsets will be built into mobile phones. Further, it is assumed
> > that
> >>
> >> the new European GPS system Galileo, currently being built, with
> > several
> >> satellites already put into orbit, will have an accuracy level of
> >> centimetres. This would mean that in a few years, if we still have an
> >> accessible system like Loadstone-GPS, we will be able to find the
> > door,
> >> not just the building as at the moment!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> We are in touch with the Ordnance Survey of Ireland (OSI) to see if
> > their
> >> maps can be imported into Loadstone. We will also examine the OSI'S
> > OWN
> >> GPS
> >> programs to see if they can be used by a blind person in a laptop or
> >> mobile
> >> phone.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --- Report ends.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >>
> >> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> >>
> >> Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.16.10/624 - Release Date:
> >> 12/01/2007
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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