I was listening to CBC radio this morning and they were talking about these amazing shoes the visually impaired could wear to walk around and be guided with-out the use of a cane or any other support. I just had to find out more about these shoes … I was pleasantly surprised … Great idea!!!
The shoe is called Le Chal, which means “take me there” in Hindi they are Designed by Anirudh Sharma in India.
How do these shoes work?
As you can see from the picture above the shoes works with an Android app connected with Bluetooth via a Lilypad Arduinoit (A microcontroller board designed for wearables and e-textiles).
You speak your destination into the phone which works with Google maps and the smartphone’s GPS.
As you walk to your destination the four vibrators (front, rear, right and left side of the shoe) let you know when you need to make a turn.
The shoes also have built-in proximity senors that give you a warning if there is any obstacles in your way, they can sense objects up to 10 feet away.
I was introduced to the phase “Haptic feedback” which is what these shoes are based on, they are known as “Haptic Shoes”, if you want to do a web search on them.
Definition: Haptic feedback
hap•tic
of or relating to the sense of touch, in particular relating to the perception and manipulation of objects using the senses of touch and proprioception.
Links and references for this article:
This is a good article that I found on these shoes. There is also a video that you can watch … I found the video a little on the dark side but you get to see the shoes in action. Here is the link: http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/01/video-haptic-feedback-shoes-guide-blind-walkers/
More information on the shoes follow this link: http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/03/soul-to-sole-eye-surgeon-anthony-vipin-das-has-developed-shoes-that-see-for-the-blind/
I love running into great ideas and technology that helps. If you come across any great things like this, I would love to hear about them by leaving a comment below.
Yours warmly,
Adam.
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