27/04/2012
A sat-nav for the elderly
“Turn left in 300 yards,” my sat-nav tells me.
Three hundred yards! I don’t know how far that is! I was never very good in maths classes, and now I’m expected to work out how quickly I will reach this 300 yard point while travelling at 40mph in an area I’m unfamiliar with?
It’s not happening.
Thankfully, researchers at Newcastle University are developing a new sat-nav which could help me and many others out no end.
Meant for elderly drivers, this sat-nav will tell the motorist to turn at a certain landmark, like a church or a restaurant, instead of flinging distances at them.
Furthermore, for those motorists who have become worried by other traffic in their old age, the gadget will apparently even work out a route which has no right turns across traffic.
Professor Phil Blythe, the lead researcher, states, “What we are doing is to look at ways of keeping people driving safely for longer, which in turn boosts independence and keeps us socially connected.
“There are a range of solutions that could help and the navigation system is one of the more obvious solutions.
“It would be much simpler than a sat-nav and will try to provide information in ways the older generation can absorb and process.
“It identifies the safest route – such as avoiding right turns and dual carriageways – and uses pictures as turning cues, such as a postbox or public house.”
I’m loving the sound of this GPS system. I have a feeling it won’t be just elderly drivers choosing this new gadget over the less helpful sat-navs.
Three hundred yards! I don’t know how far that is! I was never very good in maths classes, and now I’m expected to work out how quickly I will reach this 300 yard point while travelling at 40mph in an area I’m unfamiliar with?
It’s not happening. Thankfully, researchers at Newcastle University are developing a new sat-nav which could help me and many others out no end.
Meant for elderly drivers, this sat-nav will tell the motorist to turn at a certain landmark, like a church or a restaurant, instead of flinging distances at them.
Furthermore, for those motorists who have become worried by other traffic in their old age, the gadget will apparently even work out a route which has no right turns across traffic.
Professor Phil Blythe, the lead researcher, states, “What we are doing is to look at ways of keeping people driving safely for longer, which in turn boosts independence and keeps us socially connected.
“There are a range of solutions that could help and the navigation system is one of the more obvious solutions.
“It would be much simpler than a sat-nav and will try to provide information in ways the older generation can absorb and process.
“It identifies the safest route – such as avoiding right turns and dual carriageways – and uses pictures as turning cues, such as a postbox or public house.”
I’m loving the sound of this GPS system. I have a feeling it won’t be just elderly drivers choosing this new gadget over the less helpful sat-navs.
Photo © me’nthedogs via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: elderly driver, GPS, motorist, Newcastle University, sat-nav, traffic, travelling
07/11/2011
Getting out of the Google car
When you use Google maps you’re probably used to landing in the middle of the road you’ve typed into the search bar and strolling up and down right in the path of the frozen traffic.
But now, Google are adding a new service to their Street View map.
Users will now be able to have a look inside selected shops and restaurants instead of squinting at the building from half-way across the road.
Google explains to companies who elect to have their premises viewable, “We ask that you notify customers and employees of the photo shoot by putting up signs and making announcements about the scheduled photo shoot.
“We ask also that during the photo shoot you inform all persons in the area that a photo shoot is in progress and request that they move out of view.
“We’ll either run the 360-degree imagery through our state-of-the-art blurring technology to blur out faces of any employees and customers who appear in the imagery, or we won’t publish the still photos if people are in view.”
It will be interesting to see how many businesses open their doors to Google and it will be nice to have the ability to finally get off the Google map road.
Now we’d quite like Google to let us walk down some of the enticing little side-streets, alleyways and country-side paths which are still currently out of bounds.
But now, Google are adding a new service to their Street View map.Users will now be able to have a look inside selected shops and restaurants instead of squinting at the building from half-way across the road.
Google explains to companies who elect to have their premises viewable, “We ask that you notify customers and employees of the photo shoot by putting up signs and making announcements about the scheduled photo shoot.
“We ask also that during the photo shoot you inform all persons in the area that a photo shoot is in progress and request that they move out of view.
“We’ll either run the 360-degree imagery through our state-of-the-art blurring technology to blur out faces of any employees and customers who appear in the imagery, or we won’t publish the still photos if people are in view.”
It will be interesting to see how many businesses open their doors to Google and it will be nice to have the ability to finally get off the Google map road.
Now we’d quite like Google to let us walk down some of the enticing little side-streets, alleyways and country-side paths which are still currently out of bounds.
Photo © sanchom via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: alleyway, businesses, Google map, path, restaurants, road, shops, side-street, Street View, traffic
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