Disability Technology & News

ID Tags for Cities — Part 1

Ok, so the article below is a bit grammatically challenge. This is because the orginal piece was written in Japanese but translated into English by Babelfish (a free online site that translate foreign websites into a language that a reader can read; it support the major languages as Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, German, and of course English). With any translation, there are going to be parts missing or indiscernible, but the gist is there.

The gist of the article is that certain prefectures [which are the equivalent to States in the USA] are incorporating their city with IC tags (similar to ID Tags found embedded with mp3s) that will beam and store of various buildings, landmarks, and other pertinent way finding information to the users. This technology will be extremely useful to tourist who wants for information when visiting places in the city. But the benefit also extends into many other areas and community.

One such communities that can benefit greatly is the disability group. The ability to send, store, and retrieve way finding information can greatly enhance navigating a city for people with physical, visual, and cognitive impairments. This is the right step toward an truly Universal Design environment.

[Click here to read the 2nd entry on this topic.]

With IC tag sight-seeing guide this fall in Kyoto prefecture Uji city and Shiga prefecture Hirone city experiment
Kyoto Shimbun News
2005 July 22nd

General affairs economical Kinki comprehensive communicating station and Kyoto prefecture Uji city and Shiga prefecture Hirone city this fall IC tag (the electronic label) execute the actual proof experiment of the sight-seeing guide service which was used. The sightseers to grasp IC tag which is allotted to the street corner by the special-purpose terminal, procuring the information of the place of interest and the store etc. around, it makes the town walking enjoy the attempt. On the 22nd workshop is started in Osaka city.

If IC tag, the small-sized integrated circuit which inputs electronic intelligence (IC) with the structure which sticks the antenna, uses the special-purpose terminal, you can grasp information with non contact. Also KDDI which developed Hitachi, Ltd. of IC tag manufacturer and the portable telephone which is reading function participates in experiment.

“E - With the experiment which is entitled the town guide system “, installing IC tag which wrote place name information to the spot approximately 100 places which become the marker of Uji city and Hirone city. You grasp in the sightseers and the portable telephone and the portable information terminal of the functional attachment (PDA) lend, you make IC tag grasp the occasion where it passed by spot.

When place name information is obtained, the terminal using the communication network, the mechanism which it accesses the server, other than place of interest historic spot such as equal institute and Hirone castle procures the information of the gift thing store and the like. If it is quick, 10 - It experiments in November, it utilizes the opinion which is obtained in the questionnaire in future urban district activated step and the sight-seeing guide and system development.

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