[Nfbmo] Explore Mobility Canes.mp3

[Fred Olver]

Good morning Gary and all. I found this news item most interesting. Gary, to speak to your heart use on canes, it would seem to me that any electronics would need to be installed in the uppermost portion of the cane there by being the handle if you will. This way it would be less likely to become damaged and could possibly be threaded onto the top of another came. I don't know if you ever saw the cans that were made many years ago that had three electronic sensors in them one of the handle one midway down and one near the bottom they cost $1500 they did alert you to items in your path and overhead items but too expensive for my taste. This sounds very doable and at a much less expensive cost. The reason I say that is that the information which could be gleaned from such an electronic device would undoubtedly be transmitted via Bluetooth to one's phone and then to a pair of your buds/your phones Fred Olver

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 21, 2015, at 7:36 AM, Gary Wunder via Nfbmo <nfbmo at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Nancy. I found this interesting. The question that comes to my mind immediately for the list is how you treat your canes? Now I understand that no one intentionally throws them on the ground and stomps them until they break, but, for example, when you are ready to pick up a load of groceries and put them into the car, do you throw your cane on the ground? When you carry in wood for a fire, do you do so one-handed or do you somehow put your cane out of the way? How many canes do you go through in a year? In my own case I go through several, and although they cost thirty-five dollars each, it's nothing like breaking a Victor Stream, an iPhone, or, God forbid, a refreshable braille display or notetaker.
> 
> Part of what I am getting to is that I tend to envision mobility enhancement devices as being external to the cane and to view the cane as something of a disposable device because, at least with me, I hit a surface that will crack or shatter it, occasionally I collide with someone or someone collides with me who breaks it, and sometimes it simply breaks when being folded or unfolded, or when being telescoped back into place. So should all of the smart hardware be inside a cane or should it be external?
> 
> I have no doubt that technology can be used to enhance mobility for blind people. Some of us find it incredibly difficult to walk a straight line. Having a sensor that could keep a straight would be helpful. Everybody would like some overhead protection that the cane simply doesn't afford. Indoor navigation is a dream waiting to be realized. Being able to follow someone in a line without frequently tapping their heal is something that appeals to me. So, while I'm all for these enhancements, I would like to know if the list shares my reservation about actually having it in the cane or what the fellow calls his stick.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Lynn via Nfbmo
> Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2015 7:38 AM
> To: mcb chat; nfbmo list; NFBC List; ATI List
> Cc: Nancy Lynn
> Subject: [Nfbmo] Explore Mobility Canes.mp3
> 
> I got this from a friend of mine. It’s about the technology involved in building smart canes that they call Explore Mobility Canes.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbmo mailing list
> Nfbmo at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmo_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbmo:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmo_nfbnet.org/fredolver%40gmail.com