Blindness is, obviously, quite debilitating. But there are people out there working on developing tools that might make the lives of those deprived of sight just a bit easier. Argentinian student Juan Manuel Bustamante has developed a pair of shoes that uses ultrasound to help a blind person navigate his environment, removing the need for a cane. Dubbing his invention ‘Duspavoni’, the shoes feature sensors on the front, side, and back. They establish a 25-inch (63.5 centimeter) perimeter and will vibrate when a solid object is detected within it, vibrating the part of the shoe that corresponds with the location of the object. The closer the wearer gets to this object, the stronger and faster the vibration is, allowing them not only to know the direction but also the approximate distance to their obstacle.
The batteries that power the shoes are rechargeable, with a 5 hour charge lasting between 3 to 5 days. Unfortunately, there isn’t any information about commercialization or availability.