Please research the vast amounts of tried and failed attempts at improving the long white cane.

Generally users find these improvements expensive, fragile, heavy, and unnecessary, or in many cases to interfere with the ordinary way a cane should function. Almost none of them have made it to commercial production, much less commercial success.

While I realize this is probably a student project for you and you'll go through with solving a "problem" regardless, we generally do not want:

- more ultrasonic canes

- canes with "built in GPS"

- canes that vibrate or speak

Good ideas for white canes:
Lightweight - using one all day can be tiring.

Affordable - because I don't want to have to spend 100 bucks every year or when mine gets caught in a revolving door.

Durable - doors, people kicking/stepping on it, etc. accidents happen. The point is that it happens to the cane and not me.
replaceable parts

Doesn't rattle - Maybe more of a pet peeve of mine, but when the cane starts to rattle or jiggle when it's assembled, it bugs me to no end and makes me less certain of whether I'm detecting something or it's just the metal smacking around.

Affordable - seriously, if it's more than 30 bucks, no.

Different options for cane tips. Skinny, marshmallow, rolling, or snowball. They need to be options. And they all have to fit and not fall off.

A good grip - Look at golf clubs. The cheap rubber handles will do fine, but those will also wear out as the rubber is exposed to wear and tear.

Affordable - Do not put an app or electronics in my cane. Do not pull any needless gimmicks like laser engraving or whatever.

Bad ideas for canes:

Lights - This isn't bladerunner.

speakers - HEY LOOK THAT GUY HAS A TALKING STICK!

electronics - Aww man, my 200 dollar cane got wet and now the GPS and bluetooth don't work anymore. At least it still has a headphones jack! Suck it, smartphones!

Hidden compartments: You mean like that golf club you're supposed to pee in?


Just give me a folding cane that won't break itself, my wrist, or my back account.

The cane works a lot better when you actually use it correctly.

Now, this may sound bitchy, or sarcastic... but it's actually not.

Bad cane technique is pretty rampant. Muscle memory may not serve you as you think it should. I have had to go in several times to tune up my use, after walking into several poles.

Man I really wish we had something about this ,in the sidebar. This question gets asked here once a week. College kids think they're gonna reinvent the wheel rofl.

I'm going to add something. We have a cane or two lying around because I bought the wife the wrong size of what she's used to. There is a shorter graphite one that she will only take hiking when we camp.

I think most people just want a basic foldable cane. I would suggest an adjustable length feature. Also, an end tip that doesn't wear out as fast.

I find it interesting that several posters said they like the ultra light graphite canes. My wife doesn't like those because they bounce too much. She prefers something a little heavier.

Based on the experience of someone I know: make them lighter and easier to fold.

The $1 is one of the lightest I know of, but it still can be tiring to hold after a while.

Make them easier to fold and unfold. Again Ambutech have improved the joints by making them conical instead of concentric so stiction is reduced when trying to pull the cane apart, but as the joints wear they still can get harder to disassemble.

Finally can you design a white cane that either the tip never gets caught in a pothole or when it does the handle never skewers the blind persons companion in the groin region.

I know you were assigned this topic so I won't give you a hard time for asking.

Try to see what you can come up with for cane tips meant for different terrains rather than sidewalk/cement only. There's a very interesting disc-shaped tip that's very useful on sandy beaches, for instance. I'd like to see what people can come up with to navigate ice and snow, whether or not it ends up being practical. I just like to see ideas being generated and hearing what people come up with.

You should meet with an O&M instructor in your area, to talk to them about it. They can show you how the cane works, and what technological improvements have been tried before (any which ones failed and why).

I'm doing an identical project. One thing I was wondering is why are canes not T shaped? Surely it is better to have a cane that you don't have to move from left to right all the time. The ends of the cane could be castor wheels or something. Why has this not been done?

This account is a day old and this is its only post. Guys, don't want to break it to you, but it's not listening.