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TJ McCue Contributor

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Assistive Technology Device for the Blind

Steve Hoefer Inventor Maker Problem Solver

Steve Hoefer, Inventor and Maker. Image Courtesy Grathio Labs.

Makers are change agents. As a group, they make because they like to fix things, adapt things, hack things to improve them. As individuals, each is a problem solver. Some solve problems for other makers or people in their niche area. Some solve problems for people who are disadvantaged. Steve Hoefer, of Grathio Labs, falls into all those categories (not boxes, mind you).

Tacit is the kind of project that stirs the imagination and hope in almost everyone that sees or hears about it. Tacit is “Sonar for the Blind.” While working on a video game project, Mr. Hoefer had several ideas about how guide players through a dark room or cavern. Most of them were audio-based. Then he thought that audio would be cumbersome to use in a game, as it can also be in life when you have fewer visual cues. Mr. Hoefer looked to haptic technology for some answers.

If you’ve used a new smartphone keyboard, you have likely used haptic technology. It is that little buzz or click feeling when you touch a key on a smooth screen. Emerging haptic technologies, also known as feedback technology, can do a lot more than simply vibrate, as Steve Hoefer’s device makes clear. They can apply pressure. They can make a display’s surface feel rough or that you’ve moved it.

What is Tacit?

In a nutshell, Tacit perceives or measures the distance to things and translates that into a gentle pressure squeeze on the wrist. You can tell how close you are to an object by the pressure Tacit applies.

Tacit: Sonar for the Blind. Image courtesy of Grathio Labs

From Grathio Labs website:

It is wrist mounted and senses objects from about 1 inch (2 cm) to 10 feet (3.5m).  It has generally fast response time (fractions of a second) to quickly navigate complex environments. It’s designed to help a vision impaired person to navigate complex environments.  Mounted to the back of the hand, the force feedback means it doesn’t interfere with other assistance devices that mount elsewhere and use audio feedback cues. The learning curve is measured in seconds; everyone who has worn it has figured it out immediately.

The project is not yet a commercial product; that’s not the reason it is profiled here. Steve’s fun-loving, but deep problem-solving skills captured my attention. He is the epitome of a professional maker. He solves problems for corporations and for his fellow makers. He creates fun projects and ones with meaning.

You can read the whole backstory about Tacit here:  How Trying to Make a Video Game Created Sonar for the Blind.  Or, if you are interested in the technology deep-dive, read his detailed post:  Meet the Tacit Project: Sonar for the Blind. Once you’re on Steve Hoefer’s site, you can click through to his “Rock Paper Scissors Glove” which is tough to beat. Also, he has a Secret Knock Detecting Lock that is fun (and possibly very useful) for those with secret rooms in their homes.

Makers and inventors and creators of all types are changing the world. Have you heard of an amazing new product being created in a lab or garage somewhere by one, two, or three people? Please share it with me via email or comments.

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