(테크놀로지) 마이크로소프트 헤드셋 맹인에게 내비 역할

출처: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29913637

6 November 2014 Last updated at 00:36

Microsoft headset to help blind people navigate cities 마이크로소프트 헤드셋 맹인에게 내비 역할

WATCH: Rory Cellan-Jones puts the headset to the test 로리 셀란 존스가 헤드셋을 테스트하고 있는 걸 보시오

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A headset that talks visually impaired people around cities has been designed by Microsoft. 맹인들에게 말로 길을 안내해주는 헤드셋이 마이크로소프트사가 디자인했다

It works with a Windows phone and uses location and navigation data with a network of information beacons in urban locations to describe routes. 이 헤드셋은 윈도우 폰과 같이 작동하며, 노선을 말해주기 위해 도시 위치에 있는 정보표지의 네트워크와 더불어 위치와 네비게이션 데이타를 사용한다.

The headset was tested on a journey from Reading to London, including shopping, bus and train travel. 헤드셋은 쇼핑, 버스여행, 기차여행을 포함해, 리딩부터 런던까지 노선에서 테스트를 거쳤다.

The charity Guide Dogs, which helped develop the technology, said it could help improve lives. 기술개발에 도움을 주었던 단체 <자선안내견>은 이 헤드셋은 맹인들의 삶에 크게 기여할 것이라고 말했다.

Of the two million registered visually impaired people in the UK, 180,000 rarely or never go out, according to the charity. 영국의 등록된 맹인 2백만 명 중, 18만명은 아예 외출을 안 하거나 드물게 외출한다고, 이 단체는 밝혔다.

"People living with sight loss face a multitude of challenges every day that can prevent them from getting where they want to be in life," explained Jenny Cook, head of strategy and research at Guide Dogs. 시력을 잃은 사람들은 매일 많은 어려움들을 만난다. 이 어려움들로 인해 이들은 가고 싶은 곳에도 맘대로 갈 수 없다.

"Currently, visiting a new city is often daunting, even for people with enough confidence to tackle the challenge independently. For others, who rarely leave home alone, the thought of an unfamiliar journey leaves them stressed and anxious and visiting a new area is an impossible dream." 신도시를 방문하는 건 독립적으로 어려움을 해결할 수 있는 자신감을 갖고 있는 사람들조차 종종 벅찬 감을 준다. 외출을 별로 안 하는 사람들에게는 생소한 곳을 찾아간다는 생각만 해도 스트레스를 받고 불안해진다. 새로운 곳에 간다는 건 불가능해보이는 꿈이다.

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones tested out the headset. 비비시의 테크놀로지 통신원 로리 셀란존스가 헤드셋을 테스트해 보았다

Before trying out Microsoft's headset I put on a blindfold, picked up a white stick and went for a short walk along London's Grand Union Canal. 마이크로소프트의 헤드셋을 테스트하기 전, 나는 안대를 끼고 흰 지팡이를 들고 런던의 그랜드 유니온 수로를 따라 산책을 나가보았다.

All the way, I was being helped by a tutor from the Guide Dogs organisation - but even so I found it an exhausting and disorientating experience. That gave me some context for when I used the experimental audio system on the trial route in Reading. 걷는 내내, 나는 <안내견> 단체에서 나온 선생으로부터 도움을 받았다. 그러나 나는 이 체험을 통해 맹인처럼 걷는다는 게 얼마나 피곤한지 그리고 방향을 오판하는지 알게 되었다.  

At first I found it distracting rather than helpful, a clippety-clop sound echoing around my head plus a repeated ping to say I was on track. But as I hesitantly made my way down a residential street, across a road and to a bus stop, the instructions - "parked cars and overhanging trees ahead" - gave me added confidence and the 3D sound provided me with a somewhat better feel for my surroundings.

For me it was all about feeling a little less scared - but for the visually impaired people who have been testing the technology for some weeks, it seemed to have increased their confidence in taking new routes up to a new level.

The headset is an adapted version of one already on the market. Designed for cyclists, it sits in front of the ear so as not to drown out traffic and environmental noise.

Sound is conducted through the jawbone and the headset gives a series of verbal and non-verbal descriptions.

For someone who has requested a specific route, it will make a series of clicking noises to assure them they are on the right course and it will provide specific instructions such as "turn right".

It also provides information about the route and points of interest.

Greater freedom

Beacons at bus stops and in shops beam information to the wearer

Eight people with sight loss have tested the headset and five of those reported feeling safer and more confident wearing it.

Kirstie Grice, one of those to trial the technology, said: "We want to live like normal people. We don't always want to plan ahead to see if we can get community transport or a taxi or something, we want to be able to just jump on a bus and go somewhere and have that freedom."

The idea for the headset, which has been designed in partnership with the UK's Future Cities catapult and Guide Dogs, came from a Microsoft employee.

Amos Miller is visually impaired and realised that technology might be able to help him "enjoy everyday experiences outside of the home" after his daughter was born.

Some experts have questioned if the technology is capable of being rolled out widely as it is to rely on a network of beacons attached to street furniture.

A Microsoft spokesman said: "A lot of the information comes from GPS and annotated maps in the cloud which provide as much, if not more than, the beacons."