October 28, 2005

A New Guidance System to Train the Blind to Walk Without Veering

By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK

INVENTIONS: AT WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

What it is: A device that uses a gyroscope and voice commands to train blind people, who can't rely on visual cues to walk without veering from side to side.

The market: The device will likely be a niche product. Of the 1.3 million Americans who are legally blind, probably fewer than 80,000 would require or want this kind of training, the inventors say. (Most others are not so severely blind that they need it, or don't often find