Audio Walking Stick: RFID, GPS, and Sound Guidance

Description

The idea is to assist blind people in walking through a busy city. The person can carry a mobile device that will provide audio guidance that will keep the person walking on sidewalks and allow them to identify their surroundings without having to search for the braille signs. 

Key Points

• Place RFID cards in descriptive signs (these are the signs that currently have braille).
• Map walking routes by collecting GPS information from mobile phone users. Use these routes to provide walking assistance.
• Write a program that assembles this information and makes it available in a mobile device for on-the-go assistance.

BatteryBox: RedBox For Your Cell Phone Battery

Description
BatteryBox is a kiosk for the exchange of uncharged cell phone batteries for charged cell phone batteries. Customer swipes credit card, may return a used battery, and receive a charged battery. Specifically useful in airports and hotels (business travelers) as well as on college campuses, theme parks, and travel destinations: i.e. anywhere people may be away from home for a period of time. The general public are becoming increasingly dependent on cell phones for their everyday life, yet no solution exists to help when they need quick access to a charged battery.


Locations
I would initially locate my kiosks in airports, hotels, and universities. These are places where cell phone users are exceptionally tied to their phones, thus making our service more valuable in their eyes.

- 20,000 airports in US with ~1.5 BatteryBox kiosks each

- 4,100 universities in US with ~2 BatteyBox kiosks each

- Locate 1 BatteryBox in each of the top 10 hotels in each of the top 100 destination cities.

  = 39,200 locations prior to standard retail outlets

Important Information
- Total cell phone market in the US: 285 million mobile phones. Every battery loses its charge. The battery exchange market is currently below $10 million. 

User Experience
User chooses to either rent, return, or both.

- If renting, the user with select their phone type so that the proper battery is chosen. The user confirms and swipes their credit card. Charged battery is dispensed.

- If returning, the battery slot opens and the user slides the battery into the slot on the machine, much like returning a DVD to RedBox.
- If both returning and renting, the user retuns the battery and is prompted to choose the same battery type (default) or a battery for another phone. Charged battery is dispensed.