5 ms·

I am soo surprised by this invention not hitting the market years ago. It surprises me to the fact that we still used just basic sticks for the blind. We are

I am soo surprised by this invention not hitting the market years ago. It surprises me to the fact that we still used just basic sticks for the blind. We are trying to fix their biological conditions, but never have we tried to just make it easier for them to get around while they wait for the biological part...

dkersten 16y ago
For my final-year undergraduate computer science project, myself and my project partner built a headset which consisted of wireless headphones, an accelerometer, a digital compass, ubisense location tracker (since been replaced by a high quality PS unit) and an ultrasonic sensor. It could serve a similar goal as the cane in this video and we had two demonstration applications based around the idea of using it as a guidance system for blind people: one was using audio "waypoints" to guide the wearer and the other was to detect obstacles using ultrasonic and providing audio feedback to give the user an idea of the obstacles location and size. Other demo apps we created are a virtual band (you could walk around and between the instruments that were playing) and a virtual zoo (same idea as the band, except we played animal noises when you approached certain areas, demonstrated its location-aware use). While we worked on this, we had some exposure to research being done in similar areas and one PHD students who was working on haptics was working on a virtual white cane - I guess a fancy high-tech version of the cane in this video (using haptic feedback instead of a buzzer and vibtrations, to give fine-grained feedback). Since completing the project, my project partner worked on improving the headset for the first few months of his PHD and the hardware (which we built ourselves) was replaced with professionally manufactured (and I'm told millitary grade, eg our $25 accelerometer was replaced by a $2000 super-accurate one) components. I guess what I'm saying is that the research is there and some work has been successfully done in this area, but very little has been commercialised so far. Perhaps these girls' success will inspire others to commercialise similar tools to aid people with disabilities.
lallysingh 16y ago
Seriously. I can imagine a lot of intensive testing & analysis done with MRIs & sophisticated biochemistry. After all that, it's "You're blind. Here, use this stick."
KingOfB 16y ago
A good friend of mine is blind. I think it has not made it to market because it's an over-engineered solution that doesn't solve the problem better. Most blind people would say 'Why the hell would I want a buzzer on a heavy cane?'. It buzzes when I am near a stair (aka all day long). Or it buzzes when it hit a step... like it does now when I hit it! Great story, neat solution, not market viable.

dkersten 16y ago

For my final-year undergraduate computer science project, myself and my project partner built a headset which consisted of wireless headphones, an accelerometer, a digital compass, ubisense location tracker (since been replaced by a high quality PS unit) and an ultrasonic sensor. It could serve a similar goal as the cane in this video and we had two demonstration applications based around the idea of using it as a guidance system for blind people: one was using audio "waypoints" to guide the wearer and the other was to detect obstacles using ultrasonic and providing audio feedback to give the user an idea of the obstacles location and size. Other demo apps we created are a virtual band (you could walk around and between the instruments that were playing) and a virtual zoo (same idea as the band, except we played animal noises when you approached certain areas, demonstrated its location-aware use). While we worked on this, we had some exposure to research being done in similar areas and one PHD students who was working on haptics was working on a virtual white cane - I guess a fancy high-tech version of the cane in this video (using haptic feedback instead of a buzzer and vibtrations, to give fine-grained feedback). Since completing the project, my project partner worked on improving the headset for the first few months of his PHD and the hardware (which we built ourselves) was replaced with professionally manufactured (and I'm told millitary grade, eg our $25 accelerometer was replaced by a $2000 super-accurate one) components. I guess what I'm saying is that the research is there and some work has been successfully done in this area, but very little has been commercialised so far. Perhaps these girls' success will inspire others to commercialise similar tools to aid people with disabilities.

lallysingh 16y ago

Seriously. I can imagine a lot of intensive testing & analysis done with MRIs & sophisticated biochemistry. After all that, it's "You're blind. Here, use this stick."

KingOfB 16y ago

A good friend of mine is blind. I think it has not made it to market because it's an over-engineered solution that doesn't solve the problem better. Most blind people would say 'Why the hell would I want a buzzer on a heavy cane?'. It buzzes when I am near a stair (aka all day long). Or it buzzes when it hit a step... like it does now when I hit it! Great story, neat solution, not market viable.