I was fortunate enough to have the use of one of the first Trekker Breezes in South Africa, and the following is my own assessment of it, as a blind user. 

The Trekker Breeze is a GPS - global positioning system - produced by Humanware.  It is a dedicated unit designed specifically for visually impaired people, as opposed to the many GPS units which have been adapted for our use.  As a result, the unit has been produced as a mobility/navigational aid for blind people and does not try to compete with ordinary GPS systems which have been designed for the sighted.  While I have played with some regular GPS units which have been modified for the use of blind people by the addition of  audio software, I  have found them largely clumsy and finicky. Certainly not suitable as practical mobility or navigational aids for me? 

So, what is so good about the  Breeze?

It is really, really easy to use - the cliché is "blind user friendly"...
Turn it on with a simple slide switch and adjust the volume by rotating a knurled wheel on the other side, and you are in business!

As there are only nine really big rubber buttons, the unit - a bit larger than an old fashioned cell phone- is easy to operate with one hand in a wide range of outdoor conditions.  It is very rugged - mine has been dropped many times - & seems to be pretty weatherproof! 

I have used my breeze nearly every day for the past six months and don't leave the house without it.

I would like to relate my experiences with the Breeze to give you an idea of how it can help you as a blind person.

Before I do so, I need to explain that the Breeze works on a system of routes and landmarks to help you reach a destination or just tell you where you are. However, the 'trade off'  is that you cannot enter a point to which you intend to travel unless you have been there first & entered that place as a landmark.  In other words, should you wish to go from home to the post office, you first have to add the post office as a landmark on the Breeze (by simply pushing one of the buttons, you will be prompted to dictate a four second audio voicetag to identify this point.)

Whenever you wish to travel to any of your landmarks, you simply scroll through your list of audio landmarks using your left and right arrow keys and by pressing the confirm button you will be guided to your destination in either pedestrian or motorised mode.

If you regularly travel a set route, you can walk the route and, again using a voicetag, identify the specific route for future use. You can also add in as many more landmarks at any time to give you additional information about the route and these will be spoken whenever your pass them.

At any stage, by simply pressing the 'where am I?' button, the Breeze will tell you where you are, in which direction you are travelling, whether you  are 'on route' or 'off route', etc. There is a wide range of verbosity settings which determine how much information you wish to have spoken. While the speech volume is very easily changed by the knarled wheel on the side, there are an additional five pitch and rate of speech options in the verbosity settings. I must say, that I found the speech quality very good - even with pretty high background noise!  (Very useful, you can re-label your voice tags in the quietness of your own home - cutting out original traffic noise, etc). 

On Foot:

Using my white cane I've travelled along roads which are identified on the map of the country. The Breeze identifies your direction, the name of the road along which you are travelling, and the names of the cross roads as you approach them. A very definite 'beep' sound lets you know the road you are on as opposed to the roads you cross. Again, depending on the verbosity settings, you will be informed in metres - or yards -  of the distance to the next intersection. If I'm heading towards a destination, either as a landmark or a chosen route, I can, by pressing the right arrow, receive information about each leg of the route ahead.  

One thing that took me some while to get used to - the Breeze is not a compass - it can only tell you the direction you are facing when you are in motion - ever seen a satellite scratching its head when you are standing still?  Another thing I learned the hard way - you have to concentrate on your own mobility skills while listening to the Breeze - trees & poles have I struck while thinking how clever I was being able to operate a GPS on the move!

If I'm walking across an 'open area' - say on a farm or a university campus - I will be guided to my destination by being told to walk at, say 10 o' clock if I need to head off to the left or three o' clock if I need to turn at right angles to the right of my present direction.  (You will also be told how many metres/yards still to go to your destination).  I live on a farm and find my way along dirt roads by either recording a route or simply following the road until hearing a landmark at which point I can make a turn.

I am constantly surprised at the accuracy of the Breeze - often as close as one metre when walking to a Landmark!  (Ten metres is stated in the tutorial). 

At the university campus in Pretoria we were able to set up routes which would enable a blind student to easily travel independently around the campus to various lecture halls, the administration block or the cafeteria, etc.

A really nice feature of the Breeze is the ability to insert any number of landmarks along a route which will warn you of obstacles e.g. "overhanging branches", "steep drop- off to the left" etc. While travelling any route or simply being guided to a destination, by pressing the 'where am I?' button, you can be told where you are, on what route, etc. The info button, immediately to the left of the large, 'where am I?' button, confirms your destination, distance travelled and distance remaining. In the info mode you can also access your altitude, speed, region, gps and battery strength...  It is just so easy! 

In a Car:

I have to say that I've probably got more use from my Breeze while travelling as a passenger in a car. In my work as a fundraiser in at least four major cities I often have to travel to unfamiliar places and am driven by people who do not always know the area or even know how to use a map!!! When the Breeze is set at its highest verbosity level it is amazing how much information you can receive!  I'm sure I don't have to mention how frustrating it is as a blind person when you don't know where you are and you're totally in the hands of your driver.

In conditions of poor visibility and missing street signs, the Breeze has now enabled me to be a useful navigator - mobility aid for the sighted? - as opposed to being a helpless, toothgrinding passenger. Just being able to tell your driver the names of the streets you cross is an incredible benefit.

A typical situation for me when travelling Pretoria and Johannesburg: I have an appointment to visit a donor on behalf of one of my clients who provides me with a car and driver to take me there. Nine times out of ten I need to go to an area which the driver is not familiar with... Until I got my Breeze my stress levels were incredibly high in simply travelling from one place to another.  Now, by travelling to a landmark, I arrive in time for all my appointments and even my driver is relaxed - he hasn't had to worry as much either.

Whether I'm travelling in a strange town on business, or visiting a restaurant with my wife, I know, with my Breeze, that I can really help with the navigation.

On a Horse:

I accept that not many blind people see horseriding as their sport of choice or would see the benefit of a GPS on horseback ! However, I would like to mention my experiences to highlight two facets of the Breeze - ease of use and accuracy. While riding, the Breeze is slung around my chest with the extension headphone clipped to the collar of my jacket so I can clearly hear information from the Breeze as well as my guide's voice, other horses hooves, fast approaching cyclists, etc. The buttons on the Breeze are so prominent that I can operate the unit with my right hand (even wearing gloves) while holding the reins in my left. There have been times when I have been in the lead or my guide has been a little inattentive that I have gone under low trees, struck a telephone pole with my shoulder, or simply been unaware of a sharp turn or ditch in my way. By inserting landmarks ten metres in advance of these obstacles I receive a reliable warning in time to take action! I can say without hesitation that the Breeze has given me greater confidence when riding - my horse can't fool me any longer!!!

On a mountain:

I used my Breeze early this year on a hike up Sani Pass in Lesotho and then recently up Mount Kilimanjaro.  On both occasions I used the distance to a landmark (e.g. my starting point each day) in addition to the altitude feature to give me an idea of our progress each day. Even when wearing fairly thick gloves I was able to feel the buttons and the Breeze worked well even in sub zero temperatures. (On Kilimanjaro we charged the battery with a lightweight solar panel which simply clipped on the back of my rucksack.)

In conclusion:

It was not my intention to re-hash the operating instructions of the Breeze - but just to give you -a potential blind user, an idea of how much easier the Breeze can make your day to day travelling...  in leisure, work or adventure mode!

If the purpose of the Breeze was to be a mobility aid, produced specifically for blind people, to me it has succeeded 100%.

GEOFF HILTON-BARBER.

JUNE 2009.