Vision Quest Celebrates Launch of Virtual Guidedog in Second Life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 16, 2009 -- No one thought it was possible. In fact, when members of Virtual Helping Hands (VHH) first proposed building a guidedog dog for the blind in Second Life they were ridiculed. "What are blind people doing in Second Life anyway?" one member recalls being asked.

While it is true that Second Life is largely a visual envirnoment, it is also an ideal place for the disabled to explore, form social networks, take classes, start businesses, and experience a wide range of people, languages, and cultures. Second Life also offers access to an amazing variety of audio content including live music performances, presentations by speakers, and educational forums. For the determined and farsighted members of VHH, the question was NOT "why are the blind in Second Life," but what could be done to make their Second Lives easier?

Enter Max the guidedog. Max is a handsome German Sheperd with kind brown eyes and a wet black nose. He is designed to help the visually impaired navigate Second Life by:

Finding any object (including another avatar) and take the avatar he is leading to it.

Giving his avatar constant feedback on what is in the immediate surrounding area. This enables his avatar to not only navigate and avoid crashing into other people and objects, but get a sense of what is in the area that might be of interest.

Max's launch begins on June 20th with a "Vision Quest" designed to help participants experience what it is like to work with a guidedog and write stories about those experiences. Please see http://www.tvwsp.com/questing/visionquests.html for details.

Saturday, June 27th, is Helen Keller Day and the official celebration of Max's arrival in Second Life. The overall theme and goal of the event is, "Inclusion for everyone in employment, education, entertainment, and social engagement through Second Life." A wide range of creative and thought provoking events are planned including:


- Keynotes by Keller Johnson Thompson (Helen Keller's great grandniece), Pathfinder Linden, and Marcie Roth (Executive Director of National Coalition for Disability Rights)

- Speakers and panel discussions on Education, Employment, Entertainment, and Social Engagment
- Guidedog Wheelchair Races
- Where's Max Flickr contest
- An Accessiblity Building Contest
- Sound Sculpture displays
- See with Sound presentations
- Dog Park Play with SL canines
- A Gold Mine Game
- 3D Wiki Game
- A "Style-Enabled" fashion show
- Guide Dog Memorial Park

For information on the Vision Quest, please see http://www.tvwsp.com/questing/visionquests.html or contact Jena Ball (aka Jenaia Morane in Second Life) at Jenaia@tvwsp.com.

For a full list of events and times, please contact Janyth Ussery (aka Saxet Uralia in Second Life) at saxeturalia@gmail.com

max     second life     virtual guidedog     Virtual Helping Hands     Vision Quest