[nabs-l] [LCA] a cane for the blind improves socialinteractions]

[Chris Nusbaum]

Hi Patrick,

I agree with you, but let me just play Devil's Advocate here, as 
I can see both sides.  But at the same time; how expensive do you 
think one of those blind driver cars would be?

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind, 
1968-1986

 The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired youth 
in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through providing 
assistive technology and scholarships to camps and conventions 
which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  For more 
information about the Foundation and to support our work, visit 
us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Patrick Molloy <ptrck.molloy at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:09:05 -0500
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] [LCA] a cane for the blind improves 
socialinteractions]

Arielle,
Didn't the laser cane from a couple of years ago have overhanging
object identification? Also, how expensive do you think one of 
these
canes would be? I'm not sure if it would really be worth it.
Patrick

On 11/28/11, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
 Hi all,
 A few comments:
 1.  I couldn't help but notice some of the pathetic and 
exaggerated
 statements in the article, such as "They must be dependent on 
another
 person" (for social interaction).  While it is true we can't 
locate
 silent people, we can, and do, use our ears to find people at 
times.
 This aspect of blindness is completely ignored here and I am not 
even
 sure if this invventor is aware that blind people use their ears 
as a
 means to find people.  And, in spite of what the article says, I
 learned at a young age to detect my mother's presence in a room.  
:)
 2.  I don't quite get it.  So in order to locate someone with 
the
 device, that person has to check in on Foursquare or another 
such
 venue? I know even my friends who are heavy Foursquare users 
don't
 check in everywhere they go.  So what are the odds of 
accidentally
 bumping into someone who checked in on Foursquare right where 
you are?
 Most of the time we need to find people is in small and crowded 
spaces
 like at meetings or parties, where people may or may not check 
in.  If
 I make plans to meet a friend and they have to go to the trouble 
of
 checking in for me to find them, it'd be easier for them to just 
come
 up and say hi to me, no?
 That said, I might be for something that uses face-recognition
 technology to ID people in a small space, like a meeting etc.
 3.  I agree with others that it'd be more practical to implement 
this
 as an app rather than as part of a cane.  Also, I like the idea 
of
 overhead object identification as cane users currently have 
little
 defense against overhead objects.  But is a mere beep sufficient 
to
 tell the user exactly what is hanging overhead, how far down 
it's
 hanging, how big it is, etc.? It reminds me of the infamous 
"watch
 out" sometimes exclaimed by sighted onlookers, which is very 
general
 and meaningless.  The cane gives tactile feedback so we know 
what is on
 the ground-at least how big it is, how close it is and where the 
clear
 path is-so it seems we would need to get similar tactile 
feedback for
 overhead objects in order for the technology to be effective.
 Otherwise we might as well just use a plain old cane with a GPS 
app.
 Best,
 Arielle

 _______________________________________________
 nabs-l mailing list
 nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for
 nabs-l:
 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/ptrck.molloy%
40gmail.com


_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
for nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbau
m%40gmail.com