Ara - Mobility Aid for the blind and visually impaired

Often one of the first things we give up after losing our vision is being independent in the community. Walking in a store or going somewhere unfamiliar becomes really challenging. If someone loses their vision in a traumatic way or doesn’t have it from birth our society offers multiple ways to learn the skills needed to navigate independently without sight. But losing vision over time especially at an older age the supports are harder to access because the time to intervene is not as clear. Should I learn to use a white cane? How do I ask for that? Who do I go to? That’s hard to answer and we end up just staying home. Ara solves those hard problems. It’s an alternative to a using a white cane that can easily be placed on the chest. It alerts the user to obstacles in their path with light vibrations or haptic sensations at different points on the straps. So there’s no sounds to distract the wearer or to be worried about others hearing. And it’s easy and intuitive to learn because we learn from our sense of touch so quickly. This works great for anyone with vision low enough that they limit their movements to familiar areas or require a helper to navigate spaces. Progressive diseases like macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma can result in severe low vision or blindness and using Ara as that process begins can help maintain independence no matter the level of vision.