Hi all
Whilst the subject of beacon systems has come up I would like to
share a recent experience of such a system.
Whilst in Cornwall last week I visited the Gaia Centre, a recently
opened visitor attraction promoting the use of alternative energy
production methods attached to one of the growing numbers of
wind farms in Cornwall.
The centre has only just opened and is using a beacon system to
deliver the information to visitors. As I am not a person with a
visual impairment this is the first time I have used this technology.
Previous attempts to use such a system in a large shopping centre
as part of our research were scuppered because part of the system
was not functioning.
The information is received and listened to via a set of headphones
so there is not a lot of background noise in the rest of the centre. I
found the quality of the transmiited audio to be very good but did
get quite frustrated at times when only a slight movement meant
that the audio you were listening to cut out and was replaced by
audio from another beacon. Clearer identification of the areas for
each beacon may have assisted with this problem.
I was also quite surprised that the system was not being used to
help visually impaired people to move around the building and
perhaps get a better feel of the visual displays offered. There are
also issues around the languages in which the information is
provided and how easy the information is to understand by children
and people with learning disabilities.
In this type of setting I think the equipment seemed to work quite
well and I am sure that with a bit more attention could be improved.
Hopefully this is the start of such equipment being used in the
mainstream. I guess we just need to make sure it is used properly
to have maximum benefit.
Andy
SURFACE
Salford University, Research Focus on ACcessible Environments
http://www.scpm.salford.ac.uk/surface/
Tel: 01874 636826
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