Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.
-Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
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Review of the Robotron Columbus Talking Compass
by Greg Epley
January 2, 2006
A timeline of over two decades of assistive technology products from the Robotron Group at http://www.sensorytools.com/ dates the original Columbus Talking Compass at 1994. However, the company's C2 Talking Compass, dated by the same timeline at 2002, is the product most dealers and distributors of assistive technology products sell as "The Robotron Columbus Talking Compass". The C2, as I'll refer to it for the remainder of this review, is the product reviewed here.
What is the C2?
The C2 is a true digital compass linked to a speech chip. It's intended to be used by a visually impaired or blind person as a traditional handheld analog compass would be used by a sighted person.
The C2 isn't designed to be used while in motion. Compass units installed on boats or other motor vehicles are designed so bearings can be obtained while in motion. As with any traditional handheld compass, the C2 is designed so the user takes an occasional bearing while standing still. It's important to understand this distinction; the C2 isn't a GPS and it isn't designed for bearings while in motion.
How the C2 arrives
The C2 package is designed like a large matchbox, with a sliding cardboard sleeve covering a box. The C2 is nestled snuggly in a fitted cardboard form within the box.
What does the C2 look like?
The C2 has a large, oval shape. According to my Cobolt Talking Tape Measure, the C2 is about 2.75 in. long by 2 in. wide by 1 in. thick. The case is a nice tough plastic with a fine texture to it that should help avoid losing one's grip on the unit. The plastic case appears as a semi transparent light blue color, which I imagine from my sighted days is a very cool looking futuristic device. Mine arrived with the carry strap already attached, but it's easy enough to remove the strap if you want; however, I recommend leaving the strap attached, as we'll see later. The top of the C2 can be identified by a one eighth inch diameter domed button on one of the flat, oval sides; near this button you'll also observe a tiny speaker grill. A three position slide switch is on one of the curved sides. The bottom side contains a small, tension locked battery door.
The reason the plastic case is semi transparent is due to a series of colored light emitting diodes. These are supposed to be used by persons with low vision, as different color combinations of the lights appear visible through the semi transparent case when a particular direction is being spoken. Light emitting diodes generally have a very low power consumption; however, I think Robotron could have left these flashy lights off since speech is always supplied along with the light indicators, and extended the available battery life by at least a small fraction. I'm sure Robotron has some perfectly logical reason for including these lights. Unfortunately, I see this line of thought as typical of what's wrong with many of the assistive technology product designs; putting a useless feature in a production unit out of some misguided notion that anyone really needs it, while not doing something else that would have added real value. I'm sorry - if the thing is going to speak the direction anyway, why does a person with low vision need cute little lights too?
Power
Power is supplied by 2 12 volt N type batteries. These batteries are commonly found in many stores that sell photographic equipment, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a replacement source for these batteries. Your C2 may or may not be shipped with batteries, and if included, the batteries may or may not be installed. Under normal use, you'll probably get quite a bit of use out of the batteries. One caveat: the batteries that came in my C2 were drained sufficiently as to cause the unit to appear to function incorrectly; replacing them with a fresh set resolved this problem; keep this in mind and be prepared to install some fresh batteries if your C2 seems to behave erratically.
Speech
Most vendors let you order your C2 with your choice of two languages; the two default languages are English and Spanish, which is what my C2 provides.
Speech output is generally good; that is, easy to understand. The following Windows .wav audio sample, about 962Kb and just under 45 seconds long, will allow you to hear all eight compass points in the English voice. The audio sample is of fairly good quality, but of course the actual speech output is better. Click here to listen to the C2 audio sample. If the audio sample doesn't open in your favorite audio player, you'll need to right-click on the link and "Save" the audio sample to your hard drive, then load it into your audio player to listen.
Holding the C2
You should hold the C2 in your palm, where your thumb rests naturally on the domed button just above the speaker grill. In this orientation, a small, three position slide switch is on the left side of the unit. The carry strap is pointing toward you; that is, the carry strap should not be facing away from you. If this seems confusing, just orient the unit so the three position slide switch is on the left of the C2 and the domed button is on the top where your thumb can press it.
It's important to hold the C2 as level as possible. This isn't anything new. You can't expect any handheld compass to provide an accurate bearing if you hold it at a significant angle. You'll quickly discover how to hold the C2 once you work with it a little.
Controls
There are only two controls.
The small, three position slide switch on the left side of the C2 controls whether the unit is on or off and also determines the speech output language. When the slide switch is in its center position the C2 is "off" - nothing happens - no battery power is being used. If the switch is pushed away from you, the "default" language is selected for speech output - in my case this is English; if the switch is moved back past its center "off" position all the way toward you, the secondary language is selected for speech output - in my case this is Spanish.
On the top of the C2 is an approximately one eighth inch diameter domed button. When the slide switch is moved into either of the two switch positions off center, and you press the domed button, the C2 will speak the compass point over repeatedly as long as the domed button is held down.
In Use
In use, the C2 speaks the four major cardinal points, North, South, East and West, and the four midpoints, Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and Southwest.
I mentioned earlier that it's important to hold the C2 properly, without introducing significant angle. It's also important to avoid unnecessary motion. The C2 is designed to operate like a traditional handheld compass you might use for hiking, where you stop to take a bearing and continue on.
You can get reasonably accurate compass readings while in motion, such as when walking or in a moving vehicle, but notice I said "reasonably". If you use the C2 while in motion, be very careful to double check your reading while not in motion.
I also mentioned the carry strap earlier. By leaving the carry strap attached to the C2, you can loop the strap around your wrist or around a belt loop so you won't lose it.
Some helpful information on becoming familiar with and using the C2 is available at the TVI - Products | Columbus page at http://www.tvi-web.com/products/columbus.html. An archival copy, which should only be referenced if the above link doesn't work, is available here.
The only problem I've experienced with my C2 involve incorrect bearing, due to not holding the unit within its level tolerance or due to low batteries. It's too bad Robotron didn't choose to include an audible "unlevel" indicator and an audible "low battery" indicator in place of the direction indicating light emitting diodes I mentioned earlier. These two simple features would have added value to the product, whereas I find the inclusion of the lights to just be something flashy to impress sighted persons.
Conclusion
The C2 is a handy orientation aid for the visually impaired or blind individual who wants to learn more about their environment. Cons: No audible "unlevel" or "low battery" indicators, light emitting diodes that don't really serve any useful purpose. Pros: small size, carry strap, good speech and generally gets the job done. Shop around - you'll find all kinds of price levels for this little gadget - so shop carefully.
Company Info
Robotron Sensory Tools, a division of the Robotron Group
http://www.sensorytools.com/
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