I just can't resist commenting, having been around the blindness
biz for 30
years, on Mr. cooper's reselling of the "NEW" sonar glasses.

Now I in no way object to his reselling of these devices, or to
there being made.  However, the idea is in no way new.  I saw the
first "sonar torch" a flashlight like sonar device that did the
same thing in 1963 built by Dr. Leslie Kay of New zealand.

There have been literally dozens of such products around since
then. they come up and are advertised like theyll save the blind,
then they're gone and never heard of again.

The good thing here is that the price is very much less than the
several thousand dollars asked for previous products.

Mostly, such products look cool for a few weeks then sit on the
shelf.  Just think do you really want to know every time there is
something in a forty degree wide cone in front of your head?

All kinds of stuff you won't bump into will beep, and you can't
tell whether or not you need to care.  If your need is to be told
that your poor battered noggin is yet again in danger, you'll get
a very great many "false positives" from such a gizmo. False
positives, warnings about a danger that isn't real, are a very
strong stimulus to ignoring a warning.  the vernacular is
"crying wolf."

so before you send in your money, think a bit and ask folks who
have used any of the many sonar devices sitting in peoples
drawers with dead batteries.

Again, nothing wrong with selling such a device for a not too
unreasonable price, but don't jump off the deep end unless you
got bucks to burn.

the dificulties of enhancing orientation and mobility for blind
folks are  far far more complex than a simple obstacle detector.

Tom Fowle


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