[Blindtlk] A Cane for the Blind Improves Social Interactions.

Fri Dec 2 16:48:30 UTC 2011

I like the way my plain white cane works.

It might be well and good, but what is wrong with paying attention to what the plain white cane is telling you when traveling.

Just my opinion.

Gloria Whipple
Corresponding Secretary
Inland Empire chapter
nfb of WA

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nickie Pearl
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 05:02
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: [Blindtlk] A Cane for the Blind Improves Social Interactions.

I think this is an interesting idea!

A Cane For The Blind Improves Social Interactions, Sunday Strolls.
As scientists make slow and steady progress on sensors to help the blind see 
and move, this cane helps them say hi to friends.

While the National Federation for the Blind is pushing to build an auto 
interface that lets visually impaired people drive safely and autonomously, 
design student Selene Chew has a more modest technological breakthrough to 
help the 285 million people who are blind or partially blind: The BlindSpot 
cane, a clever and empathetic technological attempt to create new 
opportunities for social interaction for the visually impaired by harnessing 
GPS technology and non-visual interface design.

“I took the approach to serve their emotional needs more than just their 
physical needs,” she says. So, for her design program at the National 
University of Singapore, she built a prototype white cane that doubles as a 
GPS-enabled smartphone with a tactile and audio interface that lets a blind 
user walk more confidently while navigating social settings a little more 
easily than usual.

“Their social life is dependent on the people around them. They cannot say 
hi to a friend without the friend saying hi first,” Chew explains. A blind 
person could be standing right next to a friend at a bus stop and not know 
it. The BlindSpot cane will alert the blind friend that someone they know is 
nearby, and direct them to initiate a hello. That’s an empowering new 
ability. It’s not a pressing health issue that a blind person won’t ever see 
a classmate across the quad and be able to go up to them to ask about 
sharing notes, or that a blind child wouldn’t know his mother arrived at 
school to pick him up until she comes over to tap him on the shoulder. But 
each step toward fuller autonomy is an important one for the sensory 
impaired.

The friend-finding feature works because the cane contains a specially 
designed phone that slots into the handle and connects to a Bluetooth 
earpiece with an audio interface. A trackball on the handle controls the 
menu and points which way to go.

When a friend checks in on Foursquare (or any other location-sharing 
service), the cane alerts the blind user with an audio message, saying how 
far away the person is, down to how many steps it will take to reach them. 
The cane offers the option to ignore, call the friend, or, most 
impressively, go find them, an option blind people don’t usually get to 
experience.

“The tactile navigator is a directional pointer that translates GPS map 
directions into an 'arrow’ that points towards the way to go,” Chew says.

In addition to the phone features, the BlindSpot cane also does a better job 
at its primary function, preventing a blind person from walking into things.

An ultrasonic sensor detects obstacles a normal cane would not, like hanging 
objects, rails, or other protruding structures that the ground-level sweep 
of a cane might miss. The product demonstration video portrays the everyday 
danger of a broom handle slanting out of a garbage can, for instance. A 
standard cane would sweep under the broom without detecting it, leaving the 
handle dangerously aimed right at the blind walker’s head. The BlindSpot 
cane senses it and beeps a warning call in the Bluetooth earpiece.

And like other minimalist white gadgets with just one button these days, the 
BlindSpot’s design elegance makes it easier to handle at home. The 
electronic components detach from the cane to charge, cable-free, on an 
inductive charging dock. And when the phone component is not inserted, it 
acts just like a regular cell phone, so you can still accept calls without 
the Bluetooth headset, controlling the menu with the tactile track ball on 
the back.

Chew is currently looking to find a partner to bring this design to market 
on an industrial level. She was recently recognized with second prize in the 
James Dyson Awards.

You can read this article and view a video at the link below:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678887/a-cane-for-the-blind-improves-social-interactions-sunday-strolls

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______________________________________________
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 9:37 PM
To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Blindtlk] Fwd: NBP-Announce: New: Diary of a Wimpy Kid in braille

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