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

Sat Dec 3 00:01:27 UTC 2011

This sounds totally awesome!!! Thank you for sharing Nickie!!!
I shall be on the lookout for it, hopefully in the near future!!

On 12/2/11, Gloria Whipple <ladygloria at webband.com> wrote:
> 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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>>In contracted braille (2 vols) and eBraille, $13.95
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>>
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>>
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>>
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>>Yet, unlike some other books about kids of this age, there's no sense of a
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>>To order or read more about this book online, visit
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>>
>>
>>*******
>>Which FREE book will you choose in our Annual Holiday Book Sale?
>>http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/holidaysale.html
>>
>>
>>******
>>To order any books, send payment to:
>>NBP, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115-4302
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>>Or order any of our books online at
>>http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/index.html .
>>
>>
>>
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