A growing number of wearables are looking to improve the lives of those dealing with a range of medical conditions and physical limitations. We have already featured a number of such devices, ranging from devices like the Braille Smart Gear and Dot Braille smartwatch to epileptic seizure-detecting smartwatches and wearables like the now-funded BuzzClip wearable that can assist the visually impaired in navigating their way around the obstacles that can limit their mobility. The Sunu Band is the latest to offer such a solution. One early adopter described it as “the Fitbit for the blind.”
The Sunu Band is a wrist-worn wearable that uses ultrasonic technology to provide haptic feedback to its wearer about their surroundings. The closer something is, the more frequent the pulses get. It is designed to augment other aids such as a cane or guide dog.
The ultrasound transducer acts as a proximity sensor. The emitted ultrasonic waves bounce back when they hit an object. The echo is processed and converted into vibrations pulses. A 3 axis accelerometer is used to measure inclination of the band to adjust the range and avoid detecting objects like ceiling lamps that are too high to be genuine obstacles.
An outdoor mode can detect obstacles up to 13 feet away. It will pick up anything from just above the knee to head level, detecting everything from a trash can to a hanging tree branch. Its indoor mode works on a shorter 8 feet range and is better suited to navigating in more constrained spaces such as supermarket aisles or in crowded spaces.
https://youtu.be/s6EYUll2Sug
The Sunu Band can also indicate the time with its discrete vibrational watch feature. It can also pair with a smartphone Paired with Sunu Tags that you can clip to personal objects, it can also help you find those objects quickly.
The Sunu Band campaign offers a number of funding tiers. The Early Bird perk gets a Sunu Band kit with one sonar smart-bracelet, one Sunu tag and one wireless charging station for US$199. Another cool funding tier is the “Gift a Sunu Band” perk. For US$99, Sunu will provide a blind child in a developing country with their own Sunu Band.
With 24 days to go, the Sunu Band campaign has already raised a third of its US$50,000 goal.
Source : Indiegogo