This is an underexplored area, but something people have tried. There are commercial products that already do this, in fact I own one and it's not that great. It buzzes when objects get within 6 m or so. What might be helpful is something more grandular, that varies the buzz based on proximity so you'd know how close stuff is, and especially if it was a cone and not a straight line. But that would actually be a precision device and not a buzzer attached to some lidar. In general blind people will tell you that anything trying to replace or add to the cane is not worth it, making the cane heavier is a no go as it's kind of already too heavy to start with for most and it actually works well for its intended purpose, almost certainly better than a gizmo.

I've been thinking of writing a white paper on what people need to know to contribute to technology for the blind. It feels like so many different teams are trying the exact same things and constantly reinventing the wheel.

Thanks!
I'll get the group to re look at it then! Our main issue is we don't know what needs people have
But what you said is more than doable within a home environment
Thank you!

Yes, but they're just pieces of plastic. Asking people to put a standardized RFID or QR code on their lanyards is a serious problem of coordination. If we could manage that there are way more important problems to tackle first. I just don't see it happening.