Artificial vision armband for the blind
University of Rochester, Undergraduate Category

Like a lot of young students, Randy Erb likes robots. He's fascinated by the
simple robots that can already wander independently through the world, using
sonar to navigate around obstacles. 

Erb's fascination led to an inventive insight. Taking a robot sold as a
novelty, he removed the sonar unit and modified it for use by the blind.
Erb's invention is an armband that uses ultrasound to measure the distance to
nearby obstacles, helping the wearer avoid them. 

"It's a very simple, intuitive device," said Erb, who tested his invention in
a unique way. He asked his college roommates to don blindfolds and then use
the sonar unit to get around. After that test met with success, he recruited
a visually impaired person to test the device. At present, his device has a
range of up to 18 feet, and he hopes to soon create a short range feature for
it. 

Erb, 22, created his invention as his senior project at the University of
Rochester. Wanting to develop a project that used everything he'd learned in
college so far, Erb came up with the idea for his artificial vision armband
out of the blue. 

Erb remembers always being interested in math, even participating in math
competitions when he was young. He found electrical engineering to be a
challenging and intellectually stimulating field, so he pursued it in
college. Erb is enthusiastic about tackling new ideas, saying, "That's what I
really enjoy, taking a problem and solving it."  

Erb graduated in May 2004 with his bachelor's degree in electrical
engineering. The son of David and Marilyn Erb of Greenwood Village, Colorado,
Erb is a graduate of Cherry Creek High School, also in Greenwood Village. He
is currently living in his home state, working as an electrical engineer for
a Denver firm. 

From:
http://www.invent.org/collegiate/2004/Erb%20profile%20final.doc

Note: This project was a finalist in the 2004 Collegiate Inventors
Competition. The winners were reported in the February 2005 issue of
Scientific American (page 87).