Goodbye white cane; new wrist band helps visually impaired get around

Watching Fernando Albertino stroll down a crowded sidewalk into downtown Washington during a recent lunch hour, casually sidestepping pedestrians running errands and crowding around food trucks, you'd have no idea he is legally blind.

Albertino easily blends into the flow of human traffic swirling around him, which is even more remarkable considering that he is doing so largely without the use of his limited vision.

His secret: a wrist band called Sunu that emits a high-frequency sound wave that bounces off objects as far as 14 feet in front of him before registering as a gentle, pulsing vibration on his arm.

The closer the object is - whether it's a wall, trash can or person - the more frequent the pulses become, allowing Albertino to create a mental map of the world around him using echolocation. He compares the device to sonar being used in vehicles to sense nearby objects and avoid crashes.

Albertino, who grew up in Puerto Rico, is part of a team of entrepreneurs from Mexico who built Sunu from scratch and are hoping their invention changes the way visually impaired people get around.

"One of my friends calls the device his 'sixth sense,' " Albertino said, noting that people with vision loss are sometimes afraid of going outside. "It enhances my awareness of my personal space and keeps me safe when I'm out in my neighborhood."

For the visually impaired, smartphone apps can help them hail a ride, link to real-time maps and get to the nearest convenience stores. But there is no app for avoiding a tree branch obstructing a sidewalk after a storm or walking through a rush-hour crowd, not to mention finding an office in an unfamiliar building or the closest restaurant in a new neighborhood.

It was those kind of challenges, which can fill an ordinary day with physical hazards and extreme complications, that led Albertino to develop Sunu.

"This is a way of getting people outside and doing things while being discreet," he added. "Folks want to be able to go outside, be active, blend in and be part of their community."

The device's settings, including range and sensitivity, can be customized using the company's app.

The National Federation of the Blind estimates that more than 7 million people live with visual disability in the United States. Some experts expect that number to increase sharply in the coming decades as baby boomers reach old age and are afflicted by glaucoma and other eye diseases. The visually impaired still rely largely on Seeing Eye dogs and the white cane - a tool that is nearly 100 years old and doesn't protect users above their knees.

The Sunu band isn't the first device to harness the power of echolocation. Inventors have created vibrating clothing that uses echolocation and a vibrating clip that uses ultrasound to help visually impaired people avoid obstacles above their lower body

And at least one man, known as "the real life batman," trains visually impaired people to create a rudimentary form of echolocation by clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth - a tactic he learned on his own. By clicking, Daniel Kish, who lost both eyes to cancer as a toddler, can even ride a bike on city streets.

The challenge for engineers, Albertino said, is creating technology that isn't obtrusive, distracting the user from the sensations and sounds visually impaired people rely upon. A vibrating cane might help a user detect large obstacles ahead of them, for example, but it can also numb the delicate sensations that allow someone's fingertips to perceive subtle changes on the ground below, Albertino said.

Because of the variety of navigational challenges visually impaired people face, there is no single solution for getting around, experts say. Having access to a portfolio of complementary navigational tools is often ideal, according to Dave Power, the president and chief executive of Perkins School for the Blind, the nation's first school for the blind.

"If you're walking down the sidewalk and you're anticipating a corner, it's hard to beat a guide dog that knows you and can help you travel long distances," he said. "But if you drop your wallet on the floor, you might prefer using Sunu over using a cane, which might be a clunkier solution for finding a small object."

Albertino said he'd like to link innovations like Sunu with Google Maps or Facebook, so a user could point a device in different directions to get up-to-date information about complicated urban environments such as business areas, parks, offices or transportation locations. Such a device would allow visually impaired people to roam freely instead of being tethered to their routine routes, Albertino said.

"What we're really creating is technology that augments human awareness and this is just the beginning," he said.