There are smartphones and smart watches these days, but so too, have we come across the likes of smart walking sticks in the past. Smart walking sticks do come in handy to assist visually impaired people in their moving around, since it would help them in avoiding the numerous obstacles that are in their way. Well, such technology could have been deemed to be useful and yet annoying, since the beeping could drive anyone nuts after a while. As for a true blue smart proximity sensor, it ought to do things differently – such as predicting a chance of hitting an object instead of letting the visually impaired person know that there is a nearby object. Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Schepens Eye Research Institute have come up with a device that is worn on the body that does what was intended and mentioned.
Still in the prototype phase, this system will boast of a wide angle camera on the front which will keep track of objects in proximity, where it is capable of making predictions of potential collisions, while giving out a beep whenever there is a high chance that the wearer might strike something – and we are not talking about the lottery. The system has been tested with tunnel vision and hemianopia volunteers who had to make their way through a 41 meter-long course which has been laden with 46 objects in random areas, and the study pointed out how the device offered a reduction in collisions with objects by 37% as opposed to one not using a walking aid. [Press Release]
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