An online resource showcasing the latest technology innovations to help blind and partially sighted people get about has been launched by Guide Dogs. It’s a guide that gives you up to date information about mobility and access products which use new technologies.
Technowatch will help Guide Dogs meet its strategic aim to help more blind and partially sighted get about independently.
It features products from around the world in four categories:
Way finding and Orientation,
Obstacle Detection,
Remote Activated Signs and
Miscellaneous.
Products include the Kapten Personal GPS Voice Navigator, a tiny voice-activated way finder that uses GPS signals, plays music.
Besides the products, the site also contains technology research papers and a feedback system that allows users to comment on products.
These comments will be fed back to manufacturers to improve future product designs.
Guide dog owner and Guide Dogs’ employee Peter Barker said: “Technowatch is a really exciting development.
“Not only does it provide a means for blind and partially sighted consumers to input feedback to suppliers, but it gives researchers somewhere to promote their findings.
Technology moves quickly, so this site will be a really important way for blind and partially sighted people to keep up with developments that could improve their quality of life and independence.”
Please note that most suppliers stress that a technical product is not a substitute for the normal mobility aid such as a guide dog or long cane. Mention of a product in the lists does not indicate that Guide Dogs recommend any of the products. If and when we have fully tested and evaluated a product we may publish our findings.
Guide dog puppy Gem is a beautiful black retriever cross Labrador, starting out on her journey to becoming a guide dog of the future for a blind or partially sighted person.Pictured below with her brother Gilbert. You will soon be able to sponsor her online.
Ike is a beautiful yellow Labrador cross golden retriever, starting out on his journey to become a guide dog of the future for a blind or partially sighted person. He’s very playful and one very active puppy!
Gilbert is our latest puppy available to sponsor! He is a beautiful yellow golden retriever cross Labrador and is just starting out on his journey to become one of our guide dogs of the future. As you can see he is very cute and one day we hope that he’ll become a life changing companion to a blind or partially-sighted person.
To sponsor a guide dog puppy for yourself or as a gift – click on the sponsor button below.
This is what you get in your Welcome Pack: certificate, Pupdates, Sponsor a Puppy calendar and pictures of the puppy.
Every year BBC Gardeners’ World Live brings an exciting collection of show gardens to life in a celebration of how imagination and creativity can transform any type of outdoor space. A central focus of the Show, these gardens will reflect current trends and design ideas covering a diverse range of themes which together will make up an impressive and inspiring selection for visitors to enjoy.
The garden, whilst acting as a space to demonstrate the guide dogs, also represents a real garden. It is a stylish urban front garden, with paved areas leading from the owner’s house to the street beyond and raised beds full of lush, aromatic herbs, clipped box hedges and plants chosen for their textures and scents as well as their appearance.
The Guide Dogs garden by Tracey Foster.
Gardeners’ World Live will be taking place in the NEC in Birmingham between 16th and 20th June 2015.
Our friends, k9friendsunited.com have a new competition to win a Tuffie bed. To win all you need to do is think of a name for the little dog that pokes his head round various icons on the homepage of k9friendsunited.com. You can enter by leaving a comment on the blog post, via twitter using the hastag #winatuffie, or by leaving a comment on k9friendsunited facebook page.
Whoever comes up with the best name by midnight GMT on 23rd May wins the Tuffie. Couldn’t be simpler. Good luck!
Our weekly blogosphere crawl this week brings you a blog written by a guide owner about her guide dog Layla. What more you can listen to the guide dog owner read her posts. Rather clever.
In one of her recent posts, Sue talks about a charity ball that raised £5000 for Guide Dogs! Thank you very much!
Canine freestyling duo and stars of Britain’s Got Talent, Kate and Gin, helped Guide Dogs launch its latest national fundraising campaign in London today.
Go Walkies logo.
Sensational dancing Border Collie, Gin, and his trainer Kate Nicholas, were special guests at this afternoon’s (Tuesday 11th May) official launch of ‘go walkies for Guide Dogs’, in Hyde Park.
‘go walkies’ is a series of events to get the nation out walking their dogs, whilst raising vital funds to help Guide Dogs. Dog-lovers around the UK are tasked with organising walks and sponsoring dogs to take part – making it the first series of national events dogs are sponsored to take part, rather than their owners.
Fiona Chaillier, go walkies for Guide Dogs manager, commented: “There are already a number of events planned across the country which dogs, and their owners can participate in.
“We’re also making it easy for everyone to get involved by helping people to organise their own events – so they can decide on the distance, location and timings. We’re hoping that over 100 events will take place across the country this year and even more in future years. We’ve teamed up with members of the Round Table who are helping to organise several events.”
Since starting Guide Dogs numerous pages on Facebook we have gained many new friends and stumbled upon some fantastic pages. One of them is – My guide dog Moss. Moss and his guide dog owner have been doing a fantastic job writing about the life you lead in a partnership.
Recently we posted a link to our latest young guide dog owner’s FB page – Andrea on Moss’ FB page and here’s what his response was:
Guide dog Moss.
This is a lovely page, I too have optic Atrophy like Andrea, I was told at 19 and registered partially sighted, then registered blind at 24. Moss has givin me everything, hes enabled me to continue my job as a Tax officer, to be a single mum to my little girl and live independantly. I owe a great deal of my independance to Moss. Hes shown me that anything is possible if you try and that nothing is beyond my grasp. At 27 I’m now living the the life of ndependance that I was previously stopped from living, I dont have to reply on anyone and Moss never judges me. He’s always there for me no matter what.
We wanted to say ‘thank you’ for such wonderful comment.
Guide Dogs is a working name of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.
A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (291646) and a charity registered in England and Wales (209617) and Scotland (SC038979).
that pokes his head round various icons on the 
