January 11, 2003 Daily Herald
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How talking signs help the blind
By Victoria Pierce Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on January 11, 2003

James Marston was in his mid-30s when he crashed his motorcycle a couple times and hit parked cars he hadn't seen.

Turns out the problem wasn't his driving abilities, but his vision. At 37, the former Wheaton resident was diagnosed with macular degeneration, an eye disease usually associated with the elderly.

Once the initial shock wore off, Marston, now 54, didn't let his severely impaired vision stop him.

This past summer he earned his doctorate from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a dissertation about talking signs, a technology Marston hopes will revolutionize life for blind people and others with vision problems.

"I guess I took it as a challenge," said Marston, who lives in California but was in Wheaton recently to visit family. "Most people give up."

He is doing further research to promote the use of talking signs in public areas to help blind people maneuver through daily life.

The signs work with a transmitter fixed in a location such as a bus, restroom, exit door or train platform. The visually impaired person carries a small hand-held receiver that picks up the signal and audibly tells the person where they are.

"The problem is suburban life is very car oriented," he said. "When I realized I couldn't drive, I moved to the city."

Public transportation in Chicago made getting around much easier. But Marston still had to ask others for assistance constantly.

For most blind people life is structured with little deviation from known paths.

"The spontaneousness is gone. Blind people have a very boring existence," Marston said. "The talking signs give back independence."

Ward Bond, president of Talking Signs Inc. in Baton Rouge, La., said his company has installed the systems throughout San Francisco, on all the public buses in Lansing, Mich., and in cities throughout Japan.

The transmitters cost about $2,500 each, and the hand-held receivers about $265, although grants and programs often allow blind people to obtain them for free, Bond said.

The bus-mounted systems allow people to know from 100 feet away which bus is approaching. It also helps people distinguish the bus they want from a group of parked buses.

"I've had blind people cry. It's absolutely the most dramatic thing that's ever happened to a person who has been blind since birth," Bond said.

He is hoping O'Hare Airport will reschedule a talking signs pilot project delayed because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"There are huge open spaces," Bond said of the O'Hare terminals. "If blind people are able to find their own way, this unburdens security. It reduces the confusion for everybody."

Until now, Bond said, the technology has been focused on public spaces like airports, libraries and bus terminals. But later this month his company will begin installing talking signs outside 80 stores on Market Street in San Francisco.

Without assistance, blind people will know the name and address of the stores they are approaching. Until now they would have had to know the route or ask for help from someone in the vicinity.

"You want people to be able to broaden their horizons," said Mary Kozy, a social worker at the Deicke Center for Visual Rehabilitation in Wheaton.

Kozy, who is blind and uses a guide dog, said the signs are a great benefit where they are available, particularly in unfamiliar territory. Although she has a guide dog, she still needs to know where she is so she can tell the dog where to go.

"The most difficult thing for me is that the world isn't as pedestrian friendly as it used to be. Drivers just aren't used to looking for pedestrians," Kozy said. "I can get to Norway better than I can get across DuPage County. ... The major issue is that we as a country need to think in terms of universal design."

Just like curb cuts and designated parking for disabled people - two changes that have benefited millions - Kozy and Marston said they hope talking signs will automatically become part of all street designs.

It's a change they believe will be coming soon.

Aging Baby Boomers aren't likely to be content to sit at home when their eyesight starts to fade. That's when better accessibility for blind and visually impaired people will become a priority, Marston said.

Signs: Talking device could become the norm

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