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

[Patrick Molloy]

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
>
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