BlindSquare, the voice that guides you

You’re stuck, it’s dark, rain is pouring, and you haven’t a clue where you are … Never fear BlindSquare is here.

BlindSquare by MIPsoft is a self-voicing GPS system that uses a combination of your iPhone’s GPS, Foursquare and OpenStreetMap data to pin point your accuracy to less than 5 metres.

Currently, this application is only available for iPhone however an Android version is in development.

As you travel, the App announces points of interest around you. for example banks, shops, public transport and for the blind uni student bars and night life spots.

Moving about the application will announce your speed, direction, altitude and one of the coolest features is you can simulate a location, allowing the blind individual to explore the area before entering that space.

Now, you ask, how does this application differ from a normal GPS?

The app allows you to explore your local surroundings by a set distance e.g. 2km. You will know about every building, street and other points of interest around you, and as you get closer you can change the radius to less than 50 Metres, offering you a close up. There are also many ways the information can be announced to you e.g. ‘Subway is 70 Metres west or at 3 O clock that is to your right if 12 O clock is south.’

Now for the average traveller that can’t see one stand out feature yet, there is the option to add a point of interest and allow the GPS to guide you. This can really come in handy when you are trying to locate bus stops on a straight road with no audio announcements on the bus.

The cost of this application used to be $25, it is now $37.99. It was the best $25 I ever spent and at $37.99 it is still worth the money. I would encourage any blind or low vision users that travel to grab this application for your iPhone.

BlindSquare has also developed another app called BlindSq Event, An app that works at the time and location of an event registered with the app.