BLAZING NEW TRAILS: Persons with visual impairment taking part in a hike with a white cane and a GPS device using voice navigation in Reipertswiller.
REIPERTSWILLER, France: Five hikers, all blind or partially-sighted, crossed a mountain range in eastern France last week thanks to an innovative GPS system that developers hope can help millions of people with vision problems.
Armed only with their white canes and the experimental smartphone app – unaccompanied by sighted guides – the group trekked 80 kilometres (50 miles) in six days through fields and forests in the Vosges range near the German border.
