Dr. Blasch gave a global perspective of the strategy used by the Veteran's Administration Vision Center to address blind mobility and navigation technologies. He spoke of the effort to create a single device that would allow for seamless wayfinding. Elements of the system would address intelligent signage (talking signs with information content), intersection technologies (pedestrian crossing systems), outdoor orientation tools (particularly GPS), indoor orientation units (in regular light fixtures; in dead reckoning modules, etc.), and wearable computing systems (bone conduction headsets from Temco Communications, etc.).

Dr. Blasch also gave an historical overview of the development of wayfinding technology. He mentioned the long history behind all the newly evolving technologies. He urged us not to forget the advantages of "low technology," the inexpensive, tried and true tools that have served individuals well over many years. He also cautioned that we need to understand and plan for the demographics of blindness, especially noting the large population of senior citizens with vision impairments.