Mobility AT: The Batcane (UltraCane)

The use of the long cane by visually impaired people as an obstacle detector is long standing. More recently the basic cane design has been equipped with laser or ultrasound transmitters and sensors and an interpretive human interface to improve its effectiveness, the objective being to allow safe travel by a visually impaired person. This chapter reports an important case study of the steps involved indeveloping an advanced technology obstacle avoidance cane that used bat echolocation signal processing techniques and ultrasonic technology. The final cane design is now marketed worldwide as the UltraCane™.

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