by Brian Shilhavy‚ Health Impact News: Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest people in the world‚ and considered an American icon in the investment world. It is quite rare to see anything negative published about him in the Corporate Media‚ so when a November‚ 2023 report published by ProPublica alleged to have obtained IRS documents showing […]

This story was originally published by Next City. The decal of brightly colored blocks on a black background looks like something straight out of the classic arcade game Space Invaders. But the goal of these codes isn’t to zap aliens — it’s to help people who are blind or have low vision find their bus or train stop. As anyone who has ever boarded the bus going the wrong way can attest‚ wayfinding can be challenging for anyone‚ but people who have sight loss face special challenges. NaviLens‚ a tech company based in Murcia‚ Spain‚ has developed an app that uses codes posted at bus stops or in train stations to provide real-time navigation via audio and haptic (vibration) cues‚ directing the user from the elevator in a train station‚ for example‚ to a nearby bus stop. A bus stop in Murcia‚ Spain. Courtesy of NaviLens “Despite it being not a huge percentage of our ridership‚ it’s very important to make sure that we provide accessibility for people experiencing partial or full sight loss‚” says Thor Diakow‚ spokesperson for Metro Vancouver’s transit authority TransLink‚ which tested the app last year. To use NaviLens as a rider‚ you first download the app to your phone. There are two versions: NaviLens for people who are blind or have low vision‚ and NaviLens Go for general wayfinding. When you open the app‚ NaviLens uses your phone’s camera to detect and read codes in the environment‚ reading off bus stop information and providing real-time guidance on how close you are to the stop‚ for example. Anyone can test out the app by requesting codes to download and print out. The app detects codes without using GPS or requiring access to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. NaviLens reports that codes can be read almost instantaneously and at a great distance‚ making it ideal for wayfinding. A rider scans a NaviLens code at a New York City subway station. Courtesy of NaviLens There are many potential applications for the app‚ says NaviLens project manager Miguel Miñano‚ through integration with a transit agency’s real-time information system. By scanning the code‚ users “will also know the remaining minutes for the coming train‚ the status of the escalators or elevators and [other] real-time information that changes‚ but the code doesn’t need to change.” So far‚ NaviLens codes have been incorporated into transit systems around the world‚ including New York City’s MTA. A promising pilot in Vancouver Last year‚ TransLink‚ Metro Vancouver’s regional transit provider‚ conducted a pilot using NaviLens at 16 stops within its system. As part of the pilot‚ 18 people tested NaviLens with the codes scanned a total of 2‚792 times‚ mostly at the New Westminster SkyTrain station. Tactile paving at a railway station in Singapore. Courtesy of NaviLens The pilot was part of a $7 million project to increase accessibility for customers with vision loss. TransLink also added braille signage at all 8‚400 of its bus stops and tactile walking surface indicators at 157 locations‚ the first Canadian transit agency to accomplish this feat. Richard Marion‚ an accessibility consultant and member of TransLink’s transit access transit users advisory committee‚ helped test out the app. “Where I see it shine would be in more complex interior environments‚” says Marion‚ like metro stations with multiple trains or even municipal buildings that are hard to navigate. Crushed by negative news? Sign up for the Reasons to be Cheerful newsletter. [contact-form-7] There were some challenges with the app‚ according to Marion and a report from TransLink. To use NaviLens‚ customers must own a smartphone and be willing to use it to navigate‚ unlike braille signage and tactile walking surface indicators. “For someone that’s a bit older like myself that tends to not rely on my cell phone 100 percent of the time out on the street‚ it’s more of a nice to have‚” says Marion. “Other accessibility features are more important to me.” The six-month pilot was promising‚ but Diakow says there are no plans to expand it permanently. A NaviLens code at a bus stop at Postiguet Beach in Spain. Courtesy of NaviLens “It was mainly focused on these initiatives for the blind or partially sighted‚ so that’s kind of why we stuck to that for now. But it really helps us understand a broader wayfinding landscape for our system‚” he says. Future efforts might incorporate real-time navigation in different languages to help people from other countries navigate the system (NaviLens offers this feature as well). The curb cut effect Better wayfinding for people who are blind or have low vision can benefit all transit riders. As advocates have long pointed out‚ designing accessible spaces for people with disabilities makes things better for everyone. It’s called the “curb cut effect”: Curb cuts — those parts of the curb that slope down to the street — make it easier for people in wheelchairs‚ people on bikes‚ people pushing strollers‚ older people‚ etc. to navigate streets and sidewalks. Become a sustaining member today! Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join To improve wayfinding‚ Marion recommends that transit agencies focus on consistent and high-contrast signage across a region‚ so that people with some sight loss can easily distinguish between a no parking sign and a bus stop‚ for example‚ even if they don’t read braille. Making bus stops easy to identify would be helpful for wayfinding in general. TransLink selected NaviLens through a competitive procurement process and paid for the pilot as part of its $7 million initiative to improve accessibility‚ though Diakow could not provide exact numbers on how much money was spent on Metro Vancouver’s NaviLens pilot. A Barcelona tram station. Courtesy of NaviLens According to Miñano‚ most cities that pilot NaviLens do so for free‚ with the company absorbing the cost of the pilot. Miñano says there should be no barriers to implementing NaviLens‚ whether it’s a big or small city‚ because the project can be tailored to the needs of the individual transit agency. “When we talk about visual impairment‚ it’s not only about people [who are] totally blind‚ but this is on a spectrum from the totally blind to [people with] moderate sight loss‚” says Miñano. “So‚ it’s not [just] a question of metrics‚ but the commitment of the agency has to be with not leaving anyone behind.” This story was produced through Next City’s Equitable Cities Fellowship for Social Impact Design‚ which is made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The post An App Is Helping Those With Vision Loss Navigate Urban Transit appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

"Your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways.” The post Supreme Court to Decide First Amendment is Null and Void appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

The horror novels on this list are among the earliest written. In fact‚ we begin with the first novel of the genre. Some of these works are by English or British writers‚ others by their Irish‚ Scottish‚ or American counterparts. Many of these authors’ books are familiar‚ even famous‚ but well-known or not‚ all of […] The post 10 Early Horror Novels with Intriguing Backstories appeared first on Listverse.

Like detectives solving a crime‚ scientists have to piece together clues from fossils‚ chemicals‚ and living relatives to build a picture of what prehistoric creatures looked like and how they behaved. Without witnesses to ask‚ it is no surprise that mistakes get made‚ but they can spread quickly due to the public’s interest in the […] The post 10 Prehistoric Creatures That Might Not Look How We Think appeared first on Listverse.

Nothing like starting as one of the average players of the bunch to then reaching stardom. Here is how to improve your Road to the Show player’s rating in MLB The Show 24. MLB The Show 24: How to improve your Road to the Show player’s rating When you create your character for the career mode of MLB The Show 24 – Road to the Show -‚ you will immediately notice that his or her abilities are far from ideal. Now‚ here is where I would justify my complete lack of skill and inability to hit a ball – and I will -‚ but the truth is that starting from the ground in the hope of getting to baseball’s Majors up can be a bit frustrating and time consuming. However‚ there are some things you can do while you are battling through team interest and strikeouts in order to stand out and start crafting your legend in the books of this sport. Be sure to check out the following tips fro you to improve your RTTS player’s rating in MLB The Show 24. Equip stat-boos...