Electronic cane to help the blind put to test at college

Students at Henshaws College, Knaresborough, yesterday piloted the new UltraCane, a sophisticated mobility aid designed to make it easier for blind and visually impaired people to walk around, helping them electronically map out their surroundings – which is launched this month.

The patented UltraCane works by warning users of obstacles ahead of them, through the handle, which is a handset fitted with transmitters and sensors.

Buttons in the handle vibrate when the sensors detect that an object is near. The strength of the vibration indicates the proximity of the object, helping the user to walk around the obstacle easily and independently

Henshaws College caters for more than 70 full-time students, the majority residential, and a range of school links to pupils in Harrogate and Leeds high schools.

Most students have a visual impairment as well as a complex physical disabilities and learning difficulties and the college aims to promote in them independent living and employability skills in vocational areas like hospitality, retail and administration, horticulture, arts and crafts and media and communications.