Sound Based Wayfinder
From: Embedds - 02/08/2014

This is a final year project by the students of Cornell University and
utilizes ultrasonic range finders and haptic feedback to facilitate indoor
navigation for the visually impaired. It uses auditory cues, such as sounds
from the natural environment or sounds created artificially, to determine an
individual’s surrounding physical space for the purpose of navigation. The
device is a head-mounted navigation system with a wearable tactile sensor
connected via a long flexible wire and also instructs the user to turn either
left or right depending upon the obstacles.

Source:
http://www.embedds.com/sound-based-wayfinder/

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Acoustic Wayfinder
From: Cornell University

Our acoustic wayfinding device utilizes ultrasonic range finders and haptic
feedback to facilitate indoor navigation for the visually impaired. The
technique of acoustic wayfinding uses auditory cues, such as sounds from the
natural environment or sounds created artificially, to determine an
individual's surrounding physical space for the purpose of navigation. Our
device is an automated and subtle implementation of this technique that uses
pulses of inaudible (to humans, at least) frequencies in the ultrasonic range
as opposed to taps on the floor with a cane or clicking noises made by the
tongue; our device also works in noisy environments where it is typically
difficult to discern auditory cues.

Read the entire article at:
http://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/ece4760/FinalProjects/f2013/xs46_ebl43/xs46_ebl43/xs46_ebl43/webpage.html

Also published in Circuit Cellar - 11/2014 - page 26

Links:
Wearable Assistive Devices for the Blind
http://www.robotica-up.org/PDF/Wearable4Blind.pdf

Can a Robot be a Safe and Cost Effective Alternative to Guide Dogs?
http://hackaday.com/2012/09/05/can-a-robot-be-a-safe-and-cost-effective-alternative-to-guide-dogs/

Ultrasonic Haptic Vision System
http://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/ece4760/FinalProjects/s2009/rs423_jsb89/rs423_jsb89/rs423_jsb89_Ultrasonic_Haptic_Vision.html

Haptic Radar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70_MwrkDOVU