Abstract
Systems and methods for digital broadcasting of a white cane and notifying its presence to a user nearby are disclosed. The system includes a white cane fitted with a rechargeable wireless transmitter unit that interacts wirelessly with digital devices enabled to receive alerts. The wireless transmitter may use a low-energy transmission protocol such as Bluetooth that supports proximity sensing. The method includes determining the relative proximity of the person between the cane and the device and displaying an alert to the user that a visually impaired person is approaching. The user of the digital device thus may give way and allows the cane-using visually challenged person to pass by. The system and method may be implemented within the device's operating system. The method gets a user’s attention even when they are not physically alert, thus improving safety for both visually challenged and other users.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Snedegar, Robert and Oldham, Jeffrey, "Digital Broadcasting White Cane", Technical Disclosure Commons, (March 28, 2017)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/441