New cane for blind people

A New white cane for blind people inspired by the way bats navigate in the dark has been produced by the Leeds inventors.

Researchers at Leeds University have developed a ‘batcane’ that works along the same principles. The Times reports that the cane gives off bursts of high-frequency sounds which are inaudible to the human ear. Sensors in the cane then feed information gathered from the echoes back to a computer chip stored in the handle. As the object gets nearer, the vibration speeds up.

The cane which is being tested, mainly in the US by the American Council for the Blind, could be on sale by the end of this year.

Source: The Times of India
Dated 4th March, 2002