Recently I have come across a simple and practical system to tag objects for blind people, called WayAround. It has practically unlimited uses, and people are coming up with all kinds of innovative ways of making their lives easier. I was wondering if I could use it during my trips to simplify a few things.
But first let me explain how it works. There are 7 different types of WayTags that you can attach to any objects. Then you take the WayAround phone app, touch the tag to the phone and add any text. With the same app, you can also read tags, you just touch it to the phone and it will read the text you recorded previously. The uses are unlimited, practically it is up to your creativity. People use it to label cans, spices, food containers, clothes, etc.
When you record a tag, you can make it as easy or complicated as you like, you can just add a couple of words, or you can create complex instructions for example about how a medicine should be administered, or food preparation instructions.
The seven different types of tags allow you to attach them to different objects. There is a sticker tag, a magnetic one, a button you can sew in clothes, or a button with a large hole that you can attach to an object with a hairband or rubberband.
I talked with Jessica Hipp from WayAround and she gave me so many ideas how to use this product around the house. One thing that immediately solved for me is to quickly be able to find the tea I wanted to make. But I was curious, how could it help me through my travels.
There are two things I have struggled over the years during my trips, identifying my toiletries and medications, and I found myself spending an unreasonable amount of time sorting things out. Let me explain. I like to bring my own shampoo, bodywash or hand sanitizer with me. But you can’t always get the same type, so often different types of bottles have different type of things in them, and each morning I have to figure out what’s what before I take a shower. Another thing I learned to do is to take some emergency medication with me in case of accidents. I don’t use them much, but when I do, I really need it. This is the time when I don’t want to worry about where to find a pharmacy, or what is a local equivalent of a pain killer in a given country, I just want to use it. However, I never remember what’s what, because I don’t use these medications often.
Now with all the scanning solutions out there, especially with AI being able to give me more information than just reading the text, you may wonder why would I want to tag things? Because it is fast. Each time I am trying to read the text on a bottle with a character recognition app I need to make sure there is enough lighting, I am holding it up the right way, and often the results are not too accurate I get enough characters right that I can figure it out. OCR systems are more meant to be used with flat text, and not a curving bottle held up in a dark hotel room. Yeah, because where is the light switch anyway, if I’m lucky it is near the door. This way, I record the shampoo tag once, and in two seconds I can accurately identify it. Once my bottle runs out, when I buy shampoo again, I just apply the same tag to a different shampoo bottle. It is fast and convenient. In case of medications, I can record how to use it, how many can I take, how often, etc.
Last week when I was at the Ohio Museum Association’s conference, I put it to the test and I loved it. I went through my suitcase, and tagged everything I generally have a hard time recognizing quickly, and by the end of the trip I knew I had a new solution in my toolkit. But outside of traveling, I have many ideas on how I can use it around the house to make my life easier.
You can order tags on the WayAround site, and if you are interested, they have a great YouTube channel where you can learn much more about this innovative solution.
