Applications

Visual Impairment

Approximately 1.75 million Canadians and 10 million Americans have severe visual impairment. Our product provides way-finding assistance that complements the long cane or guide dog. Quite simply, the Tactile Belt directs the user to a desired destination through vibrations in the belt. This fully complements the use of a guide dog or long cane that enables obstacle avoidance.

Alzheimer’s Patients

There are approximately 5.9 million Americans and 450,000 Canadians affected by Alzheimer’s disease. A major challenge for people with Alzheimer’s is loss of orientation. As a result, they can easily lose their way. The Tactile Belt provides an affordable homing device that can be used by caregivers to ensure safety for those they care for.

First Response

People working in "first response" type situations often find themselves in areas where they have limited vision. This could be a fire fighter caught in smoke of a burning building, or someone performing search and rescue when the fog rolls in. The Tactile Belt could assist these people in finding their way to safety without the need for relying on their vision.

Military

Governments of all nations are looking towards new technologies to safeguard their military, especially in hostile, unfamiliar, and degraded visual conditions. Spatial disorientation is a serious problem for pilots in clouds and at night. Additionally, ground personnel are visually overloaded in military action. Providing tactile navigational gear can allow military personnel to navigate in low vision situations, and alleviate the burden on the visual sense for ground troops.