(Astigan.com) — A new system has been created to help blind and sighted pedestrians to find key information about their location and also identify points of interest along their path. The system is designed for Bluetooth.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new orientation system that uses Bluetooth to direct pedestrian with sight disabilities find their way and keep track of their current location.

Talking Points is a perfect tool that can help in finding key locations like police station and public transportation. In addition it can direct the user to the nearest public restroom or restaurant. However, similar systems exist, but Talking Points is the first to use Bluetooth.

How it works

This device is larger than a mobile phone, but in the future scientists say that a cellphone can be the receiver. It will receive Bluetooth signal and speak or display information to the user. If more information is required, the user can tell the device verbally or by touch.

The Bluetooth tags are received from a beacon that any business or city can purchase and can be placed in every building. Ultimately this means that blind or sighted pedestrians can follow these signals and find the desired location.

Additionally, each beacon, or tag, owner can program their tags and update their message regularly. Also, after the beacon is added other people can express their opinion regarding the store or place. Now, pedestrians can choose the location by hearing the owner’s message or the comments that other people have added. If they don’t like what they hear, they can simply move on to the next one.

“Location-based guide systems of one kind or another have been built and re-built by academic researchers for over a decade now, but this is the first project that has really focused on the needs of the visually impaired and gone out to make sure the system is being developed to meet those needs,” said Mark Newman, an assistant professor in the School of Information and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan.

The new Bluetooth system will be presented in different parts of the world, at the Ubicomp 2008 conference in South Korea and at the Accessible Design in the Digital World conference in the U.K.