White Cane by PuZZleDucK

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This is very much a work in progress, and is not simple to print yet.
Please forgive my yellow "White" cane :D I just couldn't resist (and I'm running out of white).
This is intended to be a "White cane" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_cane) for the blind or visually impaired... Warning I have no experience designing disability assistance devices nor do I have any experience with the blind or visually impaired, but I am open to feedback and willing to learn.
I think the diamiter is a bit too wide and I'm planning to thin down the next version (I keep thinking in diamiter, but OpenSCAD thinks in radius). Again, I'm not sure how wide a normal white cane is so feedback from people who might know better would be great.
You will need to print at least one handle and one end piece (warning: the end piece ball will require at least a raft... mine still moved... improvements to this are already planned)
The modular design is intended to accomidate a variety of users and cane styles. I was origionally thinking that two mid segments would be appropriate for a "Symbol Cane", but after printing I think maybe three would be better. For a "Guide Cane" at least four or five mid segments would be required, and for a "Long Cane" six or more might be appropriate. The current design should probably not be used as a long cane as the segments just use friction to hold together and the join might not be strong enough. I plan to "lock" the pieces together in a future version. Any advise on locking mechanisms that are "blind friendly" would be appreciated.
I'm also planning to smooth out the mid section in the next iteration.
This is also my entry for the "Print to improve life quality"(http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?282,220067) competition. Wish me luck.