8 Sept. 2023  ·  4 min de Lecture

Travel aids for the visually impaired

Are you visually impaired yourself or do you know someone who is? We'll give you our advice and specialist tools or mobile applications to use to get around independently:

The white cane and the guide dog

The white cane enables you to detect obstacles and navigate safely outdoors. There are also electric boxes that can be added to your white cane to detect obstacles and their distance. They are trained to guide their owners around obstacles and, in particular, to cross streets safely.

Learning how to use new technologies

There are many tools available to help people with vision impairments to get around in their daily lives, but there is currently no single application that can combine all the different functions. However, you can use accessible GPS navigation applications such as BlindSquare or Soundscape, which are specially designed for people with vision impairments and will guide you to the places you want to go. To get you the last few metres to your destination, you could use OOrion, which will help you identify, locate and be guided specifically to the place you're looking for, such as a shop sign or street name.

Understanding your environment

A thorough knowledge of your environment is essential. But how can you do this when you find yourself in new places? You can use Be My Eyes and be put in touch with a volunteer who will describe what's in your environment, or you can use OOrion again, which will give you an instant description of what's in your environment (text and objects).

Remote controls for audible beacons

Also known as audible alarm remote controls, these are electronic devices for remotely activating, deactivating or controlling audible alarm systems. You can trigger the sound of a traffic light by pressing a button on a wireless remote control or the button next to the pedestrian crossing. We offer the following two remote controls, the CECIAA remote control or the T-NOR Phitech remote control.

Training in career guidance and mobility

There are orientation and mobility programmes run by rehabilitation professionals, known as independence instructors, who can help visually impaired people to develop essential skills for navigating outdoors. These programmes include learning street crossing techniques, using public transport and managing interactions with other road users. We invite you to make an appointment with an independence instructor in your area!

Communicating with others

If you need help crossing a road or finding your way around, don't hesitate to ask. Most people are willing to help, but they don't always know how. Above all, be clear in your requests and don't hesitate to express your needs.