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

[Arielle Silverman]

Patrick,
Good point. I often get the sense that all the guys and gals who
decide to invent smart canes and other gadgets for the blind develop
ideas without really talking to each other about what already exists
and what others are inventing, which is why we're seeing a lot of
duplications of effort. I also question how much these folks talk to
blind people to assess needs and priorities. It'd be awesome if all
the creativity, money and effort going into these tech projects could
be harnessed to teaching more blind kids Braille, either by recruiting
more TVI's with good philosophy or coming up with creative ways to get
Braille taught efficiently. Either that, or use all that creative
drive to develop ways for the blind to access entry-level jobs so we
can gain the valuable work experience we need to be competitively
employed. We'd lose vibrating shoes and special yoga mats, laser canes
and bibs for the blind, but would gain so much more and ultimately be
able to put more money back into the nation rather than spending it on
expensive gadgets.
Best,
Arielle

On 11/28/11, Patrick Molloy <ptrck.molloy at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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