My “Cane” is Twenty Feet Long

THE SlDEWALK was crowded with rush hour pedestrian traffic. As I threaded my way through the crowd, I did not know that the man in front of me was on crutches. As I walked, my cane described an arc in front of me. I came closer and closer to the man on crutches. Suddenly, the shaft of my cane went between his legs. He took a step, and absolutely nothing happened. This is because the shaft of my cane was not made of wood or metal. It was a beam of ultrasonic energy; silent, invisible, and having no weight. In my hand I held the handle of this silent, invisible, weightless cane, the Ultra-Sonic Travel Aid for the Blind. In this article, I shall try to tell you something about the Ultra-Sonic Travel Aid and the information which I as a blind person am able to receive from it. This is in no way to be considered an official report from an agency for the blind. It is simply a discussion of my own experiences with the instrument. The Ultra-Sonic Travel Aid for the Blind was invented by Dr. Leslie Kay, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christ Church, New Zealand. Its manufacturer is Ultra Electronics, Ltd.; Western Avenue, London, W3, England. Price of the instrument is $225. In its present form, the Aid consists of three basic components: torch, power supply, and receiver. The receiver is an earpiece like those used in transistor radios or dictation machines. Ordinarily, a little plastic hook fits over the top of the wearer's ear, keeping the receiver in place near the opening to the ear. Instead of using this arrangement, I wear a modified