Smart cane

'Smart cane' reads e-tags to help blindAP 5 August 2009, 12:28am IST DETROIT: A cane equipped with the technology that retailers use to tag merchandisecould help blind peopleavoid obstacles.An engineering professor at Central Michigan University has created a 'Smart Cane'to read electronic navigational tags installed between buildings to aid the blindin reaching their destinations more easily.During the spring term, Kumar Yelamarthi, the project leader, and five engineeringstudents tested the cane, which is equipped with Radio Frequency Identification technology,similar to what retailers put on products to keep them from being stolen.The students also created a vibrating glove to assist those who are both visuallyand hearing-impaired. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Smart-cane-reads-e-tags-to-help-blind/articleshow/4858002.cms