Microsoft Soundscape Pedestrian Guidance
As it saved my bacon earlier on, I thought I'd share my experience using MS Soundscape over the past week or so. I've been looking for an app to replace the Trekker Breeze, and I think this is it. At the moment it doesn't work in vehicles, but MS support claim that will be added at some point. As for the app in its current state: the TTS voice is very good, and the street/intersection announcements are the best out of the apps I tried. Sendero's Seeing Eye for instance, which by the way costs a whopping £199 to buy outright, is nowhere near as reliable at announcing intersections, though it does have turn by turn guidance from A to B, and Soundscape does not. Soundscape seems very reliable in terms of correctly announcing almost every intersection, and announcing things in a predictable way in terms of how far you are from the actual intersection. Seeing Eye would often announce intersections while you were still 50 yards or more away, and other times while you were right on top of them. Soundscape is also very good at announcing bus stops.
The TTS voice is very clear, and the 3D binaural sound is a nice touch, though I don't think it has any real practical use. Nor in my case does the beacon feature. As a cane user, I need to know where I'm going and can't just wander in the direction of a location hoping I'll be alright.
That said, Soundscape did get me out of trouble tonight when I decided rather foolishly to walk a slightly different way home to test it out. I missed the turn off I was aiming for and ended up in a street that I knew, but had not walked down before. It's one of those typical curving windy British streets that had all kinds of curves, ways in and out, and even a exit into a park area. Using the my location feature, I knew what street I was on. Then by tapping the what's ahead button, I was able to orient myself facing a takeaway restaurant that I knew was in the direction of the street I wanted to get to. I found the street I wanted. Without soundscape , I would have had to phone someone up to come and find me as it was after 11PM and the chances of a stranger walking past in such a quiet street at that time of night wasn't likely. If you're a cane user, and occasionally lose your orientation, or take a wrong turn, apps like this are invaluable, and it's free. Good job Microsoft!
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