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Microsoft is developing headsets that help the blind navigate

microsoft headphones blind
YouTube/ Microsoft UK

Microsoft is introducing an update to its headphone technology geared toward helping the blind navigate.

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The tech giant teamed up with charity Guide Dogs in 2011 to create Cities Unlocked, an organization dedicated to making cities more accessible for those with sight loss. Since its creation, Cities Unlocked has been developing headphones that will describe the surrounding area of a location to better assist with navigation.

The first prototype was unveiled last year and used a series of clicking noises to help guide the wearer in the right direction, the Irish Examiner reported. Now the headphones have been fine tuned to enable the user to ask information about the surrounding area and get directions in advance.

The device has been undergoing testing in the United Kingdom. 

“After phase one last year we started to think deeply about how we can empower people to be more independent, more mobile and act in much the same way as a sighted person would do," Jarnail Chudge, who leads the Cities Unlocked program at Microsoft, told the Irish Examiner.

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Other researchers are looking into ways to help the blind get around more easily. 

Yale University's robotics lab is developing a device called the Haptic Sandwich that assists the blind by changing shape to indicate distance and the direction to travel.

Learn more about the Cities Unlocked program here:

Microsoft
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