Abstract - A concept and a prototype application of a system
supporting street navigation and independent, outdoor
movement of the blind is presented. The system utilises GIS
database of geometric network of pedestrian paths in a city and is
capable of finding a route from an indicated source to a
destination. Subsequently, the system supports movement of the
blind along the found route. Information on user's position and
his movement direction is obtained utilising a GPS receiver, a
magnetic compass and a gyrocompass. The system communicates
with the blind by a simple keyboard and by voice messages
generated by a voice synthesizer. First tests of the system
operation and performance were carried out by the blind users in
two districts of Gdansk city. The preliminary results of the tests
proved the usefulness of the system and justified the necessity of
further work on the system development.