Could the PING))) and Prop be used to aid the blind?

Oldbitcollector (Jeff)

www.wimp.com/boysees/

Inspirational stuff.. It's got me wondering if a PING))) and Prop connected to a set of headphones could
be used to "see" in the way Ben does? Mounted in the top of a baseball cap?

OBC

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Ravenkallen

Huh, that is interesting. I have actually thought about creating a similar system that could be worn like a pair of goggles. Of course it would need to be battery powered. The system might use a ultrasonic sensor and a infrared sensor so it would be more robust. Or if you really wanted to get cool, you could use a laser rangefinder(of course that would raise power requirements).....

Ken Gracey

OBC, we have one customer who invested some significant time in R&D for development of the exact system you describe. He tells me (and I haven't verified this) that blind people tend to hit their heads quite often.

The discouraging part was that he claimed the market was too small for a head-mounted ultrasonic sensing device. I believe there's a market for nearly anything if it is done properly, so maybe his problem lied more with the design, marketing and manufacturing more than the concept.

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Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.

Follow me at http://twitter.com/ParallaxKen for some insider news.

Leon

A couple of years ago I saw an aid for the blind on a TV programme that looked like a torch with an ultrasonic source and receiver. Moving it too and fro gave the person using it an auditory signal that varied as it scanned objects. The person using it claimed that she could detect obstacles easily and was able to build up a sort of map of her surroundings.

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Leon Heller
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM