Seamless Voice Navigation, Indoors and Outdoors
Shimizu and IBM Research-Tokyo jointly developed a high-precision voice navigation system that provides detailed route instructions to the target destination via a smartphone, whether indoors or outdoors. It is designed to provide barrier-free community planning and accommodates the visually impaired, wheelchair users, and visitors from other countries as well.
This system integrates Shimizu’s high-precision positioning infrastructure technology and spatial information database technology with IBM’s high-precision indoor positioning technology and voice recognition technology. The user indicates the target destination by speaking to his or her smartphone and the system will provide detailed voice instructions about facilities and equipment such as stairs and handrails along the route, in addition to the optimal transit route to the destination. It can also suggest a route without stairs or other architectural barriers, and displays the transit route on the screen, so the system is also easy for people without any disabilities to use.
The subject is listening to voice navigation information through bone conduction earphones.
