This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science. I'm Larry Greenmeyer. Got a minute?

Foldable white canes help the visually impaired navigate their surroundings.

But the guidestick's tactile nature offers only so much information.

The cane's user must manually find and avoid obstructions.

But new high-tech canes are on the horizon. Last year

researchers in India tried to fill in some of the missing info with their

experimental smart cane. The device uses an attached ultrasonic

transmitter and a sensor that vibrates the cane to warn

its users when an obstacle is within 3 meters.

Students at the UK's Birmingham City University are developing a cane that can even identify acquaintances as they

approach.

Called the Explorer Mobility cane, it includes an embedded digital camera that analyzes the

faces of people walking by and compares their images

against the database stored on a memory card in the cane's handle.

If there's a facial recognition match, the cane alerts the user's smartphone via Bluetooth. The phone that I The

Can alerts the user's smartphone via Bluetooth. The phone then identifies the approaching person to the

user via its speaker or earbuds. The students are building a prototype

they'll test later this year. The hurdles are significant.

Facial recognition is a tough problem, especially outdoors. But if the

Explorer works, it could actually give the visually impaired a leg up on everyone else,

especially those of us who never remember people's names.

Thanks for the minute.

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