[NFBofSC] Microsoft Backs Development of Smart Cane for Visually Impaired

Fri Jan 8 16:36:38 UTC 2021

A cane is an assistive device,
 I’m quite interested to know how a “Smart” cane will assist us with
walking and if the battery dies in the middle of us using it then what?

On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 11:28 AM Mike and Jean via NFBofSC <
nfbofsc at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> If this cane is such a bad idea, why are blind people using the trecker
> and the i-phone maps?  Why are they using cnia for reading and other such
> apps.  Just because this cane might not be a good idea for some, there is
> no reason to critisize and say that it should not go forward.  I personally
> hope that it is developed and comes to the USA very soon.  i would be very
> interested in it.  i am an independent blind person and a proud member of
> the nfb, however, i an open to new ideas and i don’t cut down evything that
> i personally would not use.  thanks steve for sharing this very informative
> article.  mike
>
>
>
> *From:* NFBofSC <nfbofsc-bounces at nfbnet.org> *On Behalf Of *Sunshine
> Stylez via NFBofSC
> *Sent:* Friday, January 8, 2021 9:37 AM
> *To:* NFB of South Carolina Mailing List <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org>
> *Cc:* Sunshine Stylez <sunshinestyles01 at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [NFBofSC] Microsoft Backs Development of Smart Cane for
> Visually Impaired
>
>
>
> This is Ludicrous!!!!!!! How smart can a cane be without the user? Unless
> the cane can walk for us it is not smart at all. Just another waste of time
> every and money on training for something that will cause us issues.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 8, 2021, 9:22 AM DAVID via NFBofSC <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> To be frankly honest this is completely disgusting. This is another
> SIGHTED person or group THINKING they know what’s best for people that are
> blind. Every tiek I heard the word “stick” to describe our canes also made
> me irate. Another point is that our CANES do take us places and DO provide
> A LOT of information. They tell us when ground surfaces have changed from
> hardwood floors to carpet to concrete to asphalt. As well as letting us
> know when we are in a wide open area with echos. Also our canes send
> vibrations up the STRAIGHT cane to our hands. Let’s us know the difference
> between a driveway entrance and a side street, allows us to find curbs and
> doors and door handles.
>
>
>
> This group making this device is a complete shame and another company
> looking to exploit people that are blind by getting them to spend $600 on a
> cane which is ridiculous. It’s bad enough that Braille displays cost a
> bloody fortune on top of screen reading software. You can get yourself
> different types of straight canes such as NFB cane, a Bob Riley or  a
> Commander cane, ALL of which cost between 20 to 40 dollars.
>
>
>
> Someone that comes form an NFB training center LCB (Louisiana Center for
> the Blind) I find this horrible and it’s making people that are blind to
> still be relying on others or technology that can fail or glitch and then
> they will have no ability to get around on own with out this crazy
> expensive cane. This in my opinion is the absolute worst thing ever and I
> can already figure the areas this system will NOT work and in the end will
> be a bigger problem then a helper.
>
>
>
> WE as people that are blind truly need to STAND UP and teach these so
> called “helpful” people or groups or companies that they should first come
> to us to ask us if this is even something we want or need.
>
>
>
> David Rebocho
>
>
>
> Keep Smiling
>
> Keep Living
>
>
>
> On Jan 8, 2021, at 08:46, Mike and Jean via NFBofSC <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
>
> This is exciting.  Thanks for sharing it.  i would love to be one of the
> test dummies on this one.  mike
>
>
>
> *From:* NFBofSC <nfbofsc-bounces at nfbnet.org> *On Behalf Of *Steve Cook
> via NFBofSC
> *Sent:* Friday, January 8, 2021 6:00 AM
> *To:* nfbofsc at nfbnet.org
> *Cc:* Steve Cook <cookcafe at sc.rr.com>
> *Subject:* [NFBofSC] Microsoft Backs Development of Smart Cane for
> Visually Impaired
>
>
>
> Visually impaired accessible technology - BingNews - Wednesday, January 6,
> 2021 at 8:03 AM
> Microsoft Backs Development of Smart Cane for Visually Impaired
>
> <~WRD0000.jpg>
>
> (Bloomberg) -- Jean Marc Feghali has Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, a
> disease that reduces his peripheral vision and renders him effectively
> blind at night. But the intelligent walking cane he’s helping to develop
> has been life-changing, he says. It’s also won support from Microsoft Corp.
>
> “We’ve come to a world where we talk about autonomous vehicles and yet
> we’re still sending visually impaired people out with what is essentially a
> stick,” Feghali said. “It doesn’t take you anywhere. It doesn’t take you to
> a coffee shop. It doesn’t help you seek employment. It’s just a stick.”
>
> London-based startup WeWalk -- where Feghali, 24, is head of research and
> development -- wants to change that with its $599 “smart cane.” It pairs
> with smartphones and uses ultrasonic object detection to spot hazards such
> as steps and parked cars, as well as objects at waist height like tree
> branches.
>
> It also features wireless networking, turn-by-turn GPS navigation,
> taxi-booking and public transit directions in dozens of cities. The device
> even has a voice assistant. Feghali, who’s also working on a doctorate in
> philosophy at Imperial College, said he believes it’s a long-overdue answer
> to a problem that affects millions of people worldwide.
>
> The U.K.’s Royal National Institute of Blind People says more than 2
> million people live with sight loss in Britain, of which about 350,000 were
> registered as either blind or partially sighted as of 2017. The American
> Foundation for the Blind says more than 32 million American adults reported
> experiencing vision loss in 2018.
>
> Both organizations campaign for the use of technology to make workplaces,
> schools and transport networks more accessible to individuals with little
> or no sight. Tech firms such as Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and
> Amazon.com Inc. also promote accessibility features on products like the
> Apple Watch and virtual assistants such as Alexa for users with sight loss.
>
> Feghali said the company’s goal is to create a product that blends key
> elements of devices like the FitBit or Apple Watch with hardware that’s
> specifically built for people with limited or no vision.
>
> A number of WeWalk’s 20 employees are visually impaired, including Feghali
> and Co-Founder Kursat Ceylan. “I see through a small tunnel, which is
> darker than typical sight,” Feghali said. “It’s quite sharp, but narrow,
> and at night it’s basically complete blindness.”
>
> WeWalk secured initial financing via a crowdfunding campaign in 2018 and
> joined Microsoft’s AI for Accessibility program at the end of 2020. Feghali
> said he and his colleagues were particularly interested in using the U.S.
> tech company’s Azure cloud platform for analyzing movement data of
> individuals collected by its cane.
>
> “We can detect when they might be having a bad journey, or we see
> anomalous mobility patterns,” he said. “So apart from the personal benefit
> to the visually impaired person, where you can actually have a way to
> diagnose your own mobility characteristics, we can now feed back to
> health-care professionals and mobility trainers who work with visually
> impaired people.”
>
> But at close to $600, the product is about ten times more expensive than a
> conventional white cane. It also requires a smartphone to make the most of
> its features and the company’s free mobile app, which could put it out of
> reach for many people.
>
> Feghali said WeWalk is working with governments, charities, health-care
> providers and more recently at least one U.K. mobile-phone network to
> create subsidized packages to help users afford the canes, similar to how
> the costs of guide dogs are often reduced.
>
> “The standard white cane really is fantastic, but it’s kind of from the
> Stone Age,” he said.
>
> For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
> <https://www.bloomberg.com>
>
> ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
>
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