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Pretty solid arguments. I had an idea once for an addition to a cane specifically for blind people trying to learn or use echolocation. This would be a period
by ALittleLight 6y ago
Pretty solid arguments. I had an idea once for an addition to a cane specifically for blind people trying to learn or use echolocation. This would be a periodic noisemaker built into the cane so the blind person wouldn't have to chirp themselves.
I guess there's no reason why this would have to be in a cane as opposed to a little device you could store in our pocket or on your belt. When I was imagining it I thought the cane would be a good spot to put a battery plus device, but seeing so much emphasis on weight from this article - maybe not.
- lupire 6y agoDid you think of this idea before smartphones were invented?
- alanbernstein 6y agoThere are plenty of electronic devices that are still valuable as a discrete object instead of an app that requires navigating your smartphone's ui to use (obviously). The article gives one specific reason: "I've walked several miles in weather cold enough to become frost bitten in minutes, and I can't aford to take my gloves off to operate a touch screen." The article mentions GPS specifically as not an important part of a smart cane. Other features need to be easier to access, or more dependable than a phone which might die because of all the other things draining its battery.
- ALittleLight 6y agoI'm only imagining this tool, I've done no research on it. In my imagination you may need to point the sound, you may need specialized speakers to get the right frequency and duration for the click, and you might not want the clicker to be in your pocket / might not want to be holding your phone out of your pocket for long periods of time.