Radio frequency identification aiding the visually impaired, including receiving in an electronic travel aid ("ETA") for the visually impaired, from a radio frequency identification ("RFID") tag associated with an object, information that describes the object and displaying a description of the object through an interface for a visually impaired person. Information that describes the object may include at least one of a predefined set of attributes that describe the object. Many embodiments include retrieving, in dependence upon a unique identification code, further information describing the object—either locally from an ETA or through a network from a remote store of information.