Video Cell Phone Use for Blind People
by Yoshitake Misaki

Why do blind persons use a video cell phone? How can the video camera
within the video cell phone be useful for them?
Sadao Hasegawa, one of the famous blind people in Japan, and his good
friends have been trying a new support system for visually impaired persons
using the video cell phone since October, 1998.
To explain how the system works, imagine a blind person approaching an
unfamiliar vending machine for a drink. The blind person uses the video
phone to send an image of the vending machine to a sighted person in
another location. The sighted person gets the image, then phones the blind
person and explains about the vending machine and how the buttons are
labeled. The blind person pushes a button and gets a drink successfully!
The video cell phone's features are on the following sites.
http://foma.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/catalog/fun/fun_01.html ;
http://foma.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/catalog/fun/index.html
If you want more info, please e-mail me at jcg02554@nifty.ne.jp.

Metropolitan Washington Orientation and Mobility Association
This newsletter is published by WOMA four times a year. It is sent at no
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NEWSLETTER --AUGUST 2002
Newsletter Deadline: November 15, 2002