2007.33.20

Prototype wide angle mobility light (WAML)

Pine box assembled, butt joints secured with glue and screws, screwheads are countersunk; 1/2" plywood base and lid; hinged hid with padlock hasp closure; steel handle with black rubber grip bolted to lid; round hole in center of lid allows access to single pole electrical switch bracketed into mortise in plywood brace across top of box; 12 volt auto headlamp wired through switch to battery compartment formed by three steel L-brackets and roughly trimmed sections of black and green rubber mats; no battery; stenciled on top and two sides, "AULT".

H-10 W-8.5 D-8.5 inches

Found in the AER Bledsoe Archives at the Maryland School for the Blind. Original source unknown. Bright hand held mobility lights were found to be useful for some people whose visual impairments resulted in effective "night blindness." Lights came in a variety of shapes and sizes with large units such at this at the large end of the scale. WAMLs were particularly useful for people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), whose condition affected the rods, the cells in the retina that assist in night vision. The main drawback of the WAML was its weight and size.

Gift of Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired