MOST-NNG: An accessible GPS navigation application integrated into the MObile Slate Talker (MOST) for the blind

Abstract

Over the recent years, GPS navigation has been attracting a growing attention among the visually impaired. This is because assistive technologies can obviously be based on commercially available solutions, as the GPS capable hand-held devices entered the size range of the ordinary mobile phones, and are available at an ever more affordable price, now providing a real choice for a wider audience. For many, an accessible GPS navigator has even become an indispensable tool, an integral part of their every-day life. Since the most appropriate (or at least the most favored) device type for GPS navigation is the so-called PDA, whose user interface is dominated by a touch screen and usually lacks any keyboard, accessibility for the blind remains an issue. This issue has successfully been tackled by the MOST-NNG project in which, the MObile Slate Talker's blind-friendly user interface has been combined with Hungary's leading iGO navigator. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.