GPS helps blind walk campus

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Blind high school students visiting Catholic University yesterday tested a new technology to help them navigate between campus buildings and the surrounding area.

The shoulder-carried personal computers receive radio signals from satellites to chart the location of users and direct them to their destination with recorded voice commands.

The BrailleNote GPS device is like a combination of a personal digital assistant, Mapquest software and a mechanical voice.

"This is so cool," said 15-year-old Mario Bonds, a blind student from Suitland High School, who carried one of the units over his shoulder yesterday while he tapped a cane along the sidewalk.

From a starting point in front of the university's Pryzbyla Center, he led a group of seven blind high school students toward the nearest Pizza Hut.

"Ahead and left, 579 feet," the mechanical voice said.

Seconds later, as the group veered left on the sidewalk, the voice said, "Ahead, 508 feet."

The system uses satellites to triangulate the carrier's position, much like a ship finding its location at sea.

Blind people can encode "points of interest," such as dormitories, classrooms, local restaurants or any other location, into the computer's database. Afterward, they can punch keys on the unit's keyboard to direct themselves to a specific point of interest.