2007.33.40

C-4 Laser Cane

C-4 laser cane; breaks in half at quick disconnect joint; top half is 1.125" diameter white enameled crook (3" internal diameter, 180 degree turn) with speaker and clear plexi tube threaded to open end, RCA jack for battery recharge at bottom of crook; laser unit in front of crook, with three emitters, aimed parallel to cane, 45 degrees to cane, and perpendicular to cane, the down, forward, and up channels; black toggle power switch behind lasers, sliding range switch to left of lasers, and hole for tactile stimulator to right; in front of lasers, tube narrows to 1"; just above quick connect is the receiver unit, three round glass lenses aimed in same direction as the lasers, parallel, 45 degree, and perpendicular; lower half of cane is 3/4" diameter aluminum tube covered with white Scotchlite reflective tape, 6" of red Scotchlite; friction-fit standard white nylon pencil tip; dynotape on left of receiver unit, "SN-9".

H-51 W-1.375 D-6.25 inches

ca. 1971

Bionic Instruments, Inc.

The lasercane evolved in a direct line from Lawrence Cranberg's Signal Corp Sensory Aid to the flashlight detector of J. Malvern Benjamin. By 1966, Benjamin and his colleagues at Bionic Instruments, Inc., had developed the C-3 lasercane, taking advantage of miniaturized components to invent the first true laser cane. The C-4 model was developed later that year. It sent narrow beams ahead of the user to detect obstacles ahead and above the user, and dropoffs below. When detecting an obstacle, the beams would be reflected, and detected by the cane's receivers. Audio signals of different tone sounded when the different detectors were activated. A vibrating pin in the handle was activated only by the forward channel detecting an obstacle. Range was adjustable, between 5-12 feet. Testing of the C-4 resulted in a new model, the C-5 in 1973-74. By 1978, rights to the laser cane belonged to one of the project engineers, Nazir A. Ali, who formed Nurion-Raycal to market and sell the laser cane.

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