Bats and blind people

2003/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Teknologia

Bats are not blind, although many believe it, but take advantage of the ecology to see them at night. It has now been used for blind people.

The truth is that bats create and send ultrasound pulses that, when they receive their echo, are aware of what surrounds them. This system inspired RADAR and sonar and has now become a means for blind people to appropriate the environment. In fact, they have developed a blind stick that emits and receives ultrasound pulses. The stick sends 60,000 pulses per second and the blind, through four small cushions with sticks, feels in hand the echo of ultrasound; the faster and more accused the signals, the closer the obstacle of the road.

In this way, the blind can receive a three-dimensional image of what is within a distance of three meters.

The tests have been carried out with 25 people who have received a small training and plan to sell the invention for an amount of 635 €.