The friend finding feature works because the cane contains a specially designed phone that slots into the handle and connects to a Bluetooth earpiece with an audio interface. A trackball on the handle controls the menu and points which way to go.
When a friend checks in on Foursquare, (or any other location sharing service), the cane alerts the blind user with an audio message, saying how far away the person is, down to how many steps it will take to reach them. The cane offers the option to ignore, call the friend, or, most impressively go find them, an option blind people don’t usually get to experience.
“The tactile navigator is a directional pointer that translates GPS map directions into an 'arrow’ that points towards the way to go,” Chew says.
A beginning