The compass is
battery-operated, using two N-sized batteries, which are generally
available through photographic shops and pharmacies where
photographic supplies are sold.
It has a wrist-
or belt-strap, which is designed to give the user instant
access to the device while retaining freedom of hand movement.
This strap can be looped around the wrist, or the belt, to
fix the compass in place while the user is traveling, but
making it still readily accessible. A three-position switch
can be found along the side of the compass. The centre position
is the "off" position; the other two positions give
the two languages installed in the Columbus.
What comes with
Columbus?
A Columbus is supplied
in a box configured like a match-box. The inner box has a
hollow centre which makes a snug place for the Columbus. Columbus
can be shipped with or without batteries; consult your dealer
to find out. The batteries are packed inside the Columbus
for travel, and the compass is< switched off. The outer sleeve
covers the inner box.
Using the Columbus
as a Personal Mobility Aid.
The compass is
operated by pressing the button mounted on the top of the
case. As long as this button is depressed, the compass will
speak the direction in which it is pointed.
Leveling
For accurate measurement
of the compass direction, the compass should not be more than
twelve degrees out of the horizontal plane. There is a technique
for establishing the proper position, which can also be used
as an orientation method.
The compass is
held before the body, with the arrow on the button pointing
forward, in the operating hand - right for a right-handed
person or left for a left-handed person - with the palm in
a cup-shape underneath the compass and the thumb curving over
the top of the compass to reach the button. If the user holds
their elbows at waist level, the forearm can be radiated naturally
into a position which makes this cupping hold simple and unforced.
Now the user should bring the other hand, in a similar cupped
position, under the operating hand. With this handhold, it
should be possible to avoid tilting the compass to the left
or right. The hold of the arms should bring the arms and torso
into the same direction. The user should swivel their
head left to right and then to the centre, to make sure their
face is directed in the same line as the compass and the rest
of their body. Leveling using Tilt.
The compass button
is depressed, and held down for the whole exercise. When the
button is first depressed, the user will hear the compass
saying a direction like "South-West". The rest of
this technique works most clearly when the user is facing
East or West - other directions will give some confusing results.
However, they need to do this while they are facing in a single
direction, so they shouldn't turn too far from where they
start to get an easterly or westerly direction.
First, the vertical
position must be determined. If the user inclines the compass
so that it is pointing more in an upwards direction, the magnetic
influence will change and a new position will be announced:
in Australia and other Southern Hemisphere countries this
is usually North added to the real direction, while in the
Northern Hemisphere it is usually South. If the user then
lowers the point of the compass so that it passes through
a central, outward-facing position, another position will
be announced, corresponding to the first position heard. The
user should keep lowering the point of the compass until it
is pointing floorwards, where a third position should be announced
- the opposite, usually, of the upwards position. It's possible
by going through this to establish the centre position and
to orient the compass on this.
Now the horizontal
position must be established. This is done by moving the compass
in an arc horizontally - either by moving the arm or by moving
the body. For many users, moving the arm may be more disorienting
than helpful, particularly if they are in danger of losing
the vertical orientation already established - in this case,
it may be better to swing the body slightly to the left, then
back through the centre position and to the right. This will
establish three positions from which the user can orient on
the centre.
It may also be
that for some users it is more effective to orient horizontally
and then vertically; this sort of assessment is much better
done in the field by the mobility professional.
Environmental awareness
As you have seen from the position-finding demonstration,
the directions spoken by Columbus give the user information
about the abstract environment, and their place in it. This
is not meant to supersede other forms of environmental awareness,
but to supplement it, as would the use of any compass. What
we hope is that, by using a compass which interferes less
with normal travel and orientation, the user can fit compass
awareness seamlessly into their total mobility skills.
Independent movement
skills
We have also found
that the Columbus gives supplementary feedback to the user
to assist in the development of independent movement skills
* for dynamic posture: the compass direction spoken will deviate
when the student holds the compass differently, thus showing
the moving relationship of one body part to another. This
information can be useful to trainer and trainee for reinforcing
other methods of establishing bodily awareness.
* for straight-line
maintenance - as the user's path deviates, so does direction
spoken by the Columbus. Again, this feedback can be used for
reinforcement, although the deviation caused by elevation
or depression of the "nose" of the compass must
be taken into account during exercises of this type.
* turns can be
followed dynamically using the Columbus. This is particularly
useful in reinforcing 180? turns.
* squaring-off
can be reinforced using the ninety-degree angle between cardinal
points. Compass Mobility Training Columbus was initially designed
as an aid to understanding cardinal and inter-cardinal compass
points and their relationships. Since using a standard compass
or a Braille compass can actually interrupt the flow of training
and may disorient the new trainee to some extent, it is possible
that Columbus may be able to be fitted seamlessly into standard
orientation training, without interfering markedly between
trainer and trainee. All the standard benefits of using a
compass and compass directions can be derived from using the
Columbus, both in mobility training and in normal daily mobility:
* Personal orientation
and environment monitoring
* Route layout
and description
* Description of
line of travel
* Establishment
of landmarks
* Explicit directions
over large distances
* Systematic maintenance
of orientation
* Formulation of
relationships between points
* As an aid to
self-familiarisation in an unfamiliar environment
General Use General
mobility use of the Columbus, particularly following its use
in orientation & mobility training, should be simple for
the user, not requiring any great effort after initial familiarisation.
We would recommend that the strap is used so that the compass
rides outside the user's clothing: first, for easy access
when it is needed, and second, so that the button is not kept
depressed accidentally, causing the batteries to lose charge.
If the Columbus
is to be shipped or stored, we recommend that the batteries
be removed and packed separately. Batteries should be replaced
if the voice begins to distort or to lose volume. If you would
like to learn more about the Columbus, or try it out yourself,
please contact us using the email links provided. |
