2007.33.12

Kay Ultra "Torch"

Kay, Leslie

(a) "Torch" ETA; gray plastic case resembling a square body flashlight; sides of body have raised lines for better grip; wider at head with two round aluminum screen fitting in black plastic surround which houses the units audio transmitter(bottom) and receiver (top); toggle switch on top of the head switches range of unit from 0-7' (left toggle) to 0-20' (right toggle); rotary switch under head turns unit on/off and adjusts audio output volume; on rear of handle is black wrist strap, jack for earpiece, and aluminum battery compartment cap; sliding gray panel reveals two hole jack for AC adaptor; (b) artificial russet leather case, fiberboard body with plastic covering, real leather shoulder strap riveted to sides; stitched and riveted construction; rectangular with hinged lid and push button brass plated latch; lined with thin red felt, internal battery compartment; in gold foil on front, "ULTRA"; (cd) pair of rechargeable 9v batteries, cylindrical with raised terminal on top and flat terminal on bottom, ribbed blue plastic sides; (e) earpiece, light pink plastic earliece with removable ivory plastic earclip, twisted gray plastic insulated cord, mini-plug; (f) gray plastic two-wire extension cord, two prong rectangular plug, split leads with attachments for terminals on a 9v rectangular-type battery; (g) battery charging unit, dark gray plastic case with light gray charging cradle on top, gray plastic power cord, gray plastic two prong charging lead; (hi) telescoping shipping box, brown cardboard, label on top, "UEL/Ultra Electronics Limited/WESTERN AVENUE/ACTON, LONDON, W.3/ULTRA SONIC AID FOR THE BLIND TYPE 8A9/SERIAL No. 2137/Despatch to: R.G. Jorgensen/co Hadley School for the Blind/700 Elm Street/Winitka, Ill.; (j) paper instruction page with braille caption; (k) imitation russet leather carrying pouch for charging unit, hinged lid with brass plated push button catch, stitched construction, gold foil on front, "ULTRA"

H-3.125 W-1.62 L-9 inches

ca. 1960

Ultra Electronics Limited; Kay, Leslie

London, England

During the 1950s, Dr. Leslie Kay worked for the British Navy developing underwater sonar technology to find submerged objects like submarines and mines.
The Torch, named for the British name for a flashlight due to its physical resemblance to one, was invented by Kay at the University of Birmingham in the late 1950s and early 60s after developing an interest in using sonar's principles to create electronic travel aids for the blind. Along with a colleague, Donald Griffin, Kay studied how bats used widespread frequency sweeps to navigate rather than the pulsed tones used by earlier ETA's. Lightweight and portable, his Torch scanned the area where it was pointed and provided auditory feedback to the user. According to L.W. Farmer, the Torch was widely tested and commercially produced on a moderate scale, but was eventually unsuccessful because it was imperfect as a "primary" travel aid, and took up a free hand to operate when being used as a secondary ETA.
This is a later model, featuring internal battery compartment and rechargeable batteries.

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