Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Lending A Hand to 2 Million Visually Impaired People in UK

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) realises that a chain is only as good as its weakest link, and in order to strengthen the visually weak in our society the tech giant has come up with headsets that connect to the user’s smart phone and Beacons surrounding an area to convey real time information about the surroundings. Bloomberg‘s Muhammad Darwish reported on the new device.

” […] 2 million people in the UK are visually impaired and 180,000 of them rarely or never leave their homes. This device is designed to remove some of the anxiety around leaving the house. Tesco, First Great Western and others have all signed up to use Beacons […],” reported Darwish.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) installed these beacons in different areas including shops and pavements and asked 8 people who were visually impaired to test the company’s new headset. Gerald James, who is a guide dog user was one of the people participating in this activity. He reflected on the usefulness of this new device.

” […] You get lots of information that you wouldn’t normally have walking around, for instance shops and different obstacles, which even though my guide dog is trained to walk around them, it’s additional information which is very useful […],” said James.

It is very refreshing to see when companies like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) use the advancements that we have made in technology as a human race, to help the less fortunate ones among us. It gives the company an element of empathy and enables people to relate to it.

Of course there are logistic issues with the new device as it relies on Beacons which have to be pre-installed in public places, in order for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ‘s headset to convey real time information to the user. However, as Darwish pointed out, there are companies like Tesco and First Great Western who know that additional costs and bottom line is not the only thing that matters in this world. Hopefully many more will follow suit.

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