IRIS—a multilingual infrared orientation and information system for visually impaired persons

During the past few years the mobility of blind and partially sighted persons has been significantly improved, but an information gap still remains because a great deal of information cannot be conveyed through tactile or simple acoustical means. This paper describes IRIS, an infrared system for transmitting data and orientation information in a language-independent way to blind users who thereby have access, e.g. to traffic lights, bus line indicators on public transport systems, street names at crossings and orientation information inside public buildings.