title: The "EyeCane", a new electronic travel aid for the blind: Technology, behavior & swift learning.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Shachar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maidenbaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hanassy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abboud
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Galit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buchs
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Daniel-Robert
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Chebat
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Shelly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levy-Tzedek
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Department of Cognitive Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amedi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002183:Canes; D003463:Cues; D004215:Distance Perception; D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D012682:Sensory Aids; D065854:Spatial Navigation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Blind; SSD; active sensing; mobility; rehabilitation; sensory substitution