Ultrasonic canes give the blind more information about their surroundings

1 Dec 2015: Ultrasonic canes have been around for years, so many of you may be aware of what they are and what they allow people to do. For those of you who are unaware, like I was before I wrote this article, read on.

Traditional canes only allow the user to detect obstacles when they come into physical contact with them. The user runs the risk of being injured or unaware of obstacles that are moving, or at head height.
Ultrasonic canes such as the UltraCane have been designed to help prevent these problems by making users more aware of their surroundings.

To detect obstacles the cane uses two transducers to emit ultrasonic waves that bounce off anything in the user's path. The lower transducer detects things at ground level within a distance of approximately 4 metres. The upper transducer detects things at head height within a distance of approximately 1.6 metres.

Once the device has detected an obstacle in the user's path, feedback is provided through vibrating buttons on the handle. From these vibrations the user can tell the direction and proximity of the obstacle.

With all this information users can react to changes in their environment more effectively and thus move around with increased safety and confidence.

For more information on the UltraCane visit www.ultracane.com