Just over a year ago, we reported Microsoft’s efforts, along with the charity Guide Dogs, to use technology to help the blind. At the time, the navigational headset that could be worn by blind people to give them a sense of what was around them was still in its developmental stage.

The technology was called, at the time, 3D Soundscape, and it combined a GPS tracker, a gyroscope and a compass, which through a headset connected to a blind person’s smartphone to help them to navigate streets. The technology also used Bluetooth beacons connected to objects in an area, as well as using Microsoft’s Bing maps.

One year from when we first heard about the headset that could change the lives of the blind, Microsoft has revamped the technology and given the project a new name: Cities Unlocked. The improved device, that fits to the ears, can now understand voice commands that might be used to ask for further information or to replay audio that the user has just heard. You can also now tag obstacles that have gotten in your way, using the app CityScribe.

The original device had used bone conduction to let people know what was around them using censors and audio cues, although the updated device is rather simpler: It just tells you what is around you. It will give you added information too, so you won’t just be told there is a bus stop in front of you; it will also tell you when the next bus arrives. At the same time the headset doesn’t block out peripheral noise, which would defeat the purpose.

Following a Microsoft Cities Unlocked project, it was revealed that around 180,000 registered blind individuals in the UK said they are afraid to leave the house unaccompanied, so such a device could help a considerable amount of people around the world.

It’s already been called “massively empowering” by someone with a sight disability, but as the headset now focuses on giving you information rather than telling you what’s around you, it could also be used by anyone discovering a new city.

Photo credit: Michael Coghlan via Flickr