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Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Development of an Audio-based Virtual Gaming Environment to Assist with Navigation Skills in the Blind
Published on: March 27, 2013
The "EyeCane", a new electronic travel aid for the blind: Technology, behavior & swift learning
Shachar Maidenbaum1, Shlomi Hanassy1, Sami Abboud1
1Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Purpose:
Independent mobility is one of the most pressing problems facing people who are blind. We present the EyeCane, a new mobility aid aimed at increasing perception of environment beyond what is provided by the traditional White Cane for tasks such as distance estimation, navigation and obstacle detection.
Methods:
The "EyeCane" enhances the traditional White Cane by using tactile and auditory output to increase detectable distance and angles. It circumvents the technical pitfalls of other devices, such as weight, short battery life, complex interface schemes, and slow learning curve. It implements multiple beams to enables detection of obstacles at different heights, and narrow beams to provide active sensing that can potentially increase the user's spatial perception of the environment. Participants were tasked with using the EyeCane for several basic tasks with minimal training.
Results:
Blind and blindfolded-sighted participants were able to use the EyeCane successfully for distance estimation, simple navigation and simple obstacle detection after only several minutes of training.
Conclusions:
These results demonstrate the EyeCane's potential for mobility rehabilitation. The short training time is especially important since available mobility training resources are limited, not always available, and can be quite expensive and/or entail long waiting periods.
