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Goodbye, Electric Dreads!

A project log for Digital White Cane

The Digital White Cane can prevent frequent head injuries and provide intuitive navigation assistance for the blind and visually impaired.

george-albercookGeorge Albercook 09/04/2017 at 02:240 Comments

Clearly the prototype was awkward to put on and take off.  Luckily, there is nothing about the concept that requires it to keep the original configuration.  

The very first prototype used ace bandages to hold the pager motors in place on the forearms.  We chose the forearms because the skin in relatively thin and the nerve endings are numerous and close together. Plus, the area is not "used" for much else.  

We tried several configurations and types of fabric to make a comfortable sleeve-like configuration.

Here we tried stitching them into an elastic material. 

This turned out to be awkward to put on. When putting on a shirt, it's surprising how much it helps that the sleeves are connected to the rest of the shirt.  It's similar to fastening your own bracelet.  One arm is less usable.

Time for a new approach. We're going to put the whole thing in a headband.

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