Wearable Mobility Device for the Blind and Visually Impaired Being Developed by Toyota
March 07 2016 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Designed to Advance Mobility and Improve
Quality of Life
Mobility is empowering. That’s why Toyota is working to develop
a wearable device for the blind and visually impaired that will
help them do more with greater freedom, independence and
confidence. Called Project BLAID, it reflects the company’s
commitment to enrich lives by advancing the freedom of mobility for
all.
The device will help fill the gaps left by canes, dogs and basic
GPS devices by providing users with more information about their
surroundings. Worn around their shoulders, it will help users
better navigate indoor spaces, such as office buildings and
shopping malls, by helping them identify everyday features,
including restrooms, escalators, stairs and doors.
The device will be equipped with cameras that detect the user’s
surroundings and communicate information to him or her through
speakers and vibration motors. Users, in turn, will be able to
interact with the device through voice recognition and buttons.
Toyota plans to eventually integrate mapping, object identification
and facial recognition technologies.
“Project BLAID is one example of how Toyota is leading the way
to the future of mobility, when getting around will be about more
than just cars,” said Simon Nagata, Executive Vice President and
Chief Administrative Officer, Toyota Motor North America. “We want
to extend the freedom of mobility for all, no matter their
circumstance, location or ability.”
“Toyota is more than just the great cars and trucks we build; we
believe we have a role to play in addressing mobility challenges,
including helping people with limited mobility do more,” said Doug
Moore, Manager, Partner Robotics, Toyota. “We believe this project
has the potential to enrich the lives of people who are blind and
visually impaired.”
As part of Project BLAID, Toyota is launching an employee
engagement campaign that invites team members company-wide to
submit videos of common indoor landmarks. These videos will
subsequently be used by Project BLAID developers to “teach” the
device to better recognize these landmarks.
For a preview, visit TheToyotaEffect.com to access a short
video, equipped with audio descriptions, which showcases a young
man, who is blind, testing an early-stage version of the
device.
The Toyota Effect is an ongoing campaign that highlights how
Toyota collaborates with other companies, non-profit organizations
and others to have a positive impact on people, society and the
environment. Previous videos have highlighted how Toyota shares its
manufacturing expertise to help nonprofits and small businesses
have a greater impact, as well as a unique partnership with
Yellowstone National Park to provide zero emissions power to a
remote ranger center using old hybrid car batteries.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the
Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building
vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and
Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 30
million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
42,000 people (more than 33,000 in the U.S.). Toyota operates 1,800
North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S. alone which sold
almost 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2015) – and about 80 percent
of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the
road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety, and the environment. As
part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive
know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help
community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability
to do good. For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160307005411/en/
Media Contact:Amy Gross for
Toyota646-805-2037amy.gross@finsbury.com
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