‘Batcane’ Wins Tomorrow’s World Health Innovation Award

New technology that will revolutionise the way blind and visually impaired people can move around has been awarded the 2002 Tomorrow’s World Health Innovation Award, in association with the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts, (NESTA).

The Batcane is to be launched in the second quarter of 2003. It has been developed by Sound Foresight Limited, in partnership with Cambridge Consultants Limited, using two new types of technology:

The first is inspired by the way bats are able to navigate in absolute darkness. The Batcane uses ultrasonic echoes: signals which bounce off objects present in the environment and feed back information to the cane. This covers the areas in front, to either side, and, uniquely, to the head height of the user. It is the first cane which gives reliable information about obstacles at that height, such as low branches and wing mirrors on lorries.

The second new technology is tactile feedback designed to access a specific part of the brain used in mapping the surroundings. We move around in a complex environment, and the Batcane enables the visually impaired user to understand the elements present in a way that is much more immediate than has previously been possible.

Recently completed trials have shown that these two technologies enable a blind or visually impaired person to feel more confident about moving around, in turn providing wide ranging benefits, from improved posture to increased quality of life.

Dr Dean Waters, Human Factors Director of Sound Foresight and one of the inventors of the Batcane, commented: “We are very thankful to the visually impaired people all over the world who have contributed to the trials of the Batcane. Their enthusiasm for the product has been overwhelming and their feedback will help us to create a user friendly product which has the potential to enrich and enhance a great many lives.”

Tomorrow’s World’s Executive Producer, Tina Fletcher, said: “The Tomorrow’s World Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of people whose inventions help improve the world we live in and which are able to improve quality of life. The Batcane is a deserved winner, congratulations to the whole team.”

To see the 'Batcane' on Tomorrow's World please see the streaming video link - real media streaming video links - 56k modem or 256k broadband

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