I got to test-drive one of these and I enjoyed it.
Jake
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz kalamazoo adapt mcbvi" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 5:39 PM
Subject: laser cane story


Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 5:58 PM
Subject: FW: A Piece in Today's New York Times on Nasir A. Ali's LaserCane

  Sunday, April 27
  New York Times
  FYI
  brunhilde


  COUNTERING THE DARKNESS
  by CLAIRE FURIA SMITH

  Canes are a staple for the blind, but traditional ones may not find tree
  branches and other obstacles ahead - or other sudden dangers, like the
  drop-off from a subway platform.  Nasir A. Ali is out to change that. He
has
  spent the last four decades working on a cane that uses three laser beams
to
  detect such hazards. Called the LaserCane, it is made of aluminum and
emits
  various audio tones that signal information about the path up to 12 feet
  ahead.

  "When you're walking down the street, it tells you there's an opening
  between people," said Mr. Ali, who is 59.
  He is president and founder of Nurion-Raycal, a two-person company in
Paoli,
  Pa, which makes the LaserCane - priced at $2,990. It also makes two other
  devices that use lasers to guide the blind: the Pathfinder, which attaches
  to wheelchairs, sells for $4,500; and the Polaron, which hangs around a
  person's neck, sells for $990.

  Mr. Ali helped design and develop the original version of the cane in thw
  1960's while working for a Pennsylvania company that the Veterans
  Administration had asked to invent tools to assist blind veterans of the
  Korean War.  In 1970, Mr. Ali, an Iraqi immigrant, became the lead
developer
  of the cane, which he later helped convert to laser technology from
  infrared. In 1978, he founded his own company to continue work on the
  project.  Since then, Mr. Ali has worked to make the cane smaller, lighter
  and less expensive to manufacture. In 1998, Mr. Ali received a letter from
  the State of Pennsylvania that offered help to small businesses at the
time
  when Mr. Ali was still making LaserCanes one at a time.  He received a
  $149,700 grant through the state-financed Ben Franklin Technology
Partners,
  which he used to lay the groundwork for mass production. PPI/Time Zero in
  Paterson, N.J., recently began making the canes, which have always had a
  waiting list. Mr. Ali also received marketing assistance from the state
  group.

  Only 400 LaserCanes have been sold to date, but a Greek company is ironing
  out the details of a deal to import the canes. A few guide-dog agencies
have
  placed orders, and the cane is on the Web sites of various associations
for
  the blind. From the beginning, stories of how the LaserCane has changed
  people's lives have inspired Mr. Ali, who recalled that one of his
proudest
  moments was in 1984 at a restaurant with his family.  "My son pointed to a
  woman who walked in with a LaserCane and bought her food," Mr. Ali said.
"My
  son was so excited. He was just 4 years old."





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