Chinese Character - "Seeing Shoes" threaten Guide Dogs' jobs

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"Seeing Shoes" threaten Guide Dogs' jobs
(CRI)
Updated: 2006-08-08 09:35





Guide dogs may soon be out of a job thanks to a high-tech set of glasses
and shoes invented by scientists to help blind people navigate the
trickiest of terrain.

Researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University say the glasses and
shoes, which have a built-in computer, detect objects within close
proximity through echo location then send a vibrating warning to the
wearer.

"Ultrasonic waves are sent out and when they bounce back they are
interpreted by a receiver, Research Institute of Innovative Products and
Technologies Director Wallace Leung Woon-fong, told Hong Kong's Sunday
Morning Post.

"Once an obstacle is detected the shoes will vibrate, perhaps increasing
in intensity as the obstacle gets closer," he added.

The shoes will use GPS (Global Positioning System) to tell the wearer
where he is and which direction he is going in.

"The shoe will be able to detect steps, holes in the road and obstacles
within a 5-centimetre vertical distance," Leung said.

The innovations are based on the award winning "electronic bat ears"
sonic glasses developed by the university's Professor He Jufang, which
use similar technology to relay information such as size and distance of
an object to the wearer.

But some blind people have expressed reservations about the inventions.

"There are so many bumps in Hong Kong's roads. If I wear the shoes I will
end up shaking and vibrating all day," said Chow Wing-cheung.

















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