Go

Vodafone Spain announces the launch of Easy Walk

08 February 2008

  • Easy Walk is a new application that includes navigation, localization and assistance services to enhance the autonomy of blind or visually disabled people.
  • It lets them get help and useful information so that they can move on their own.

Barcelona, 8th February 2008.- Easy Walk is an innovative navigation system based on GPS and on Symbian mobile telephony technology. It offers blind or visually disabled people information about their current position (localization), and also lets them obtain help and useful information so that they can move on their own very easily and independently.

The service provides:

  • A detailed description of the actions that must be taken: turns, distance to a specific point, etc.
  • Detailed information about the names of streets and numbers, crossroads and points of interest (POI) in the surroundings. This feature means that users can find out the names of towns, cities and POI even when they are on a train, bus or any other means of transport (public and/or private) via GPS localization
  • Information about points of interest: address (GPS compass), altitude, length, latitude and speed of the GPS signal.

Using the TTS system (Text To Speech), all the texts displayed on the mobile phone are turned into speech in real time.

Real time service

With the GPS Location algorithm, users can:

  • Send the information about their geographical position in real time to the Help Centre or to others (family, friends, etc)
  • Generate personalized routes that can be queried off line to find out how to go from point A to point B
  • Get useful advice about how to get to their destination
  • Save any place or point of interest as a favourite
  • Get help anywhere through the call centre
  • Be located whenever they need it

It is an intuitive, user-friendly service: Users can key in a point of departure A and a point of arrival B and EASY WALK will automatically generate instructions on how to get to the destination. You can also choose the type of route: on foot, by road, motorway...

The service is also efficient and secure, thanks to the call centre: The user can send an alarm via the system and an operator will respond immediately and be able to:

  • See a map of the area where the user is and monitor their GPS position
  • Guide the user step by step to the desired destination
  • Send the appropriate emergency service to the user's actual position, which is being monitored constantly by the application.
  • Call other phone numbers to transmit the user's request for help with his current position on the map.

EASY WALK is a new concept in services for blind people or people with a visual disability. Even though it is not a substitute for a walking stick or guide dog, it is a very powerful tool that helps its users to move around different towns and cities and in their daily activities.

IL VILLAGE
Il Village is a Wireless Applications Service Provider (WASP), offering unique universal platforms for SMS, MMS, WAP and Multimedia Contents (Audio, Video) compatible with any wireless service provider. Founded in 2000, since 2003 it has been fully devoted to wireless solutions. Thanks to its applications, Il Village offers different types of services in the following fields: mobility, remote control, mobile marketing, mobile-based CRM (customer relations management), mobile multimedia, mobile Internet and Intranet and disability.