[Nfb-seniors] Another news flash on a travel device for the blind traveler

[Robert Leslie Newman]

(From today's Washington Post; thank Newsline for this access)

 

Echolocation wristband gives visually impaired a sonarlike 'sixth sense' .

 

Peter Holley. Developers hope to link the technology with navigation apps 

 

Watching Fernando Albertino stroll down a crowded sidewalk in downtown
Washington during a recent lunch hour, casually sidestepping pedestrians
running errands and crowding around food trucks, you'd have no idea he is
legally blind. 

 

Albertino easily blends into the flow of human traffic swirling around him,
which is even more remarkable considering he is doing so largely without the
use of his limited vision. 

 

His secret: a wristband called Sunu that emits a high-frequency sound wave
that bounces off objects as far as 14 feet in front of him before
registering as a gentle, pulsing vibration on his arm. 

 

The closer the object is - whether it's a wall, trash can or person - the
more frequent the pulses become, allowing Albertino to create a mental map
of the world around him using echolocation. He compares the device to sonar
being used in vehicles to sense nearby objects and avoid crashes. 

 

Albertino, who grew up in Puerto Rico, is part of a team of entrepreneurs
from Mexico who built Sunu from scratch and are hoping their invention
changes the way visually impaired people get around. 

 

"One of my friends calls the device his 'sixth sense,' " Albertino said,
noting that people with vision loss are sometimes afraid of going outside.
"It enhances my awareness of my personal space and keeps me safe when I'm
out in my neighborhood. 

 

For the visually impaired, smartphone apps can help them hail a ride, link
to real-time maps and get to the nearest convenience stores. But avoiding a
tree branch obstructing a sidewalk after a storm or walking through a busy,
rush-hour crowd, not to mention finding an office in an unfamiliar building
or locating the closest restaurant in a new neighborhood? There is no app
for that. 

 

It was those challenges - the kind that can fill an ordinary day with
physical hazards and extreme complication - that led Albertino to develop
Sunu. 

 

"This is a way of getting people outside and doing things while being
discreet," he added. "Folks want to be able to go outside, be active, blend
in and be part of their community. 

 

The device's settings, including range and sensitivity, can be customized
using the company's app. 

 

The National Federation of the Blind estimates that there are more than 7
million people living with visual disability in the United States. Some
experts expect that number to increase sharply in the coming decades as baby
boomers reach old age and are afflicted by glaucoma and other eye diseases. 

 

Although the visually impaired are still largely reliant on guide dogs and
the white cane - a tool that is nearly 100 years old and doesn't protect
users above their knees - the Sunu band isn't the first device to harness
the power of echolocation. Inventors have created vibrating clothing that
uses echolocation and a vibrating clip that uses ultrasound technology to
help visually impaired people avoid obstacles above their lower body. 

 

And at least one man, known as "the real-life batman," trains visually
impaired people to create a rudimentary form of echolocation by clicking his
tongue against the roof of his mouth - a tactic he learned on his own. By
clicking, Daniel Kish, who lost both his eyes to cancer as a toddler, is
even able to ride a bike on city streets. 

 

The challenge for engineers, Albertino said, is creating technology that
isn't obtrusive, distracting the user from the sensations and sounds
visually impaired people rely upon. A vibrating cane might help a user
detect large obstacles ahead of them, for example, but it can also numb the
delicate sensations that allow someone's fingertips to perceive subtle
changes on the ground below, Albertino said. 

 

Because of the variety of navigational challenges visually impaired people
face, there is no single solution for getting around, experts say. Having
access to a portfolio of complementary navigational tools is often ideal,
according to Dave Power, the president and chief executive of Perkins School
for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the United States. 

 

"If you're walking down the sidewalk and you're anticipating a corner, it's
hard to beat a guide dog that knows you and can help you travel long
distances," he said. "But if you drop your wallet on the floor, you might
prefer using Sunu over using a cane, which might be a clunkier solution for
finding a small object. 

 

In the future, Albertino said he'd like to link innovations like Sunu with
Google Maps or Facebook, so that a visually impaired person could point a
device in different directions to get up-to-date information about
complicated urban environments, such as business locations, parks, offices
or transportation locations. Instead of being tethered to their routine
routes, Albertino said, such a device would allow visually impaired people
to roam freely. 

 

"What we're really creating is technology that augments human awareness, and
this is just the beginning," he said.