Are there any apps out there that can use your devices camera or some sensor to alert you of things in front of you such as other vehicles, signs and whatever else might be in your way? A white cane is good for detecting things at waist level and below, but what about for things that are sticking up higher that you could easily bump into that a white cane can miss such as chest height and above. These smart glasses I hear are extremely expensive, that’s why I’m looking for something without all that heavy cost. I don’t know if they even exist yet, but I hear they do.
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Hi I have not herd of sutch…
Hi I have not herd of sutch a app. as far as the glasses I am not shure since I have never used those.
Nothing yet
There are apps such as Seeing AI and Envision (or even the native Magnification app) which offer some form of scene description functionality, but these won't provide the level of information that you would want for your use case. They would also beed to deliver this information In real-time as you are moving. The closest we get to real-time information with a phone is probably the People Detection feature available on LiDAR-equipped iPhones, but in my opinion this is still a couple of generations short of being something that you could rely on.
There's also the not insignificant question of whether you would want to be holding an iPhone in front of you as you navigate your world. I believe that some have experimented with using a lanyard to hang an iPhone around their neck, but I haven't herd of anybody making this a permanent solution.
I'm hoping that Apple Glass will offer something for your described use case, but it's likely to come with a hefty price tag. The current rumors are that it won't have a camera, which if true will likely seriously dash my hopes, as LiDAR will only go so far.
The Envision glasses are an option, but pricey and not without issues from what I've read and heard. They do, however, hint at what might be possible in the next few years.
Not seen description
I'm actually not looking for seen description, I'm looking for something that will alert me if I am walking and there's something ahead of me that I could bump into that a white cane can miss. But it is a really good idea to incorporate that idea into some of these other apps
WeWALK Smart Cane
The closest to what you want is likely the WeWALK Smart Cane.
Not cheap and also perhaps a generation or two short of being perfect, but another product that hints of better things ahead.
https://wewalk.io/en/
Super lidar will work
If you have a lidar equipped phone like the 12 pro or 13 pro, then Super Lidar will alert you before you walk into something it will not help you with moving vehicles though.
As far as I know, Seeing AI will help with that.
Providing you have a phone equipped with Lidar. There was a podcats about this and Super Lidar about a year ago, so I don't know how up to date the information is.
Iphone 12
I have an iPhone 12, but it's not a pro or anything like that. Just curious, what exactly is lidar?
You could check out Strap or the Voice for android
From what I’ve seen of the lidar apps they’re not reliable enough for what you’re wanting yet and may or may not get there. There's a ton of potential but seeing AI and super Lidar are too unrefined / arguably not moving in that direction anyhow. You could check out strap – which sounds somewhat promising if the company can figure out their supply chain problems and start shipping now almost a year behind schedule – or The Voice on android smart phones if you’re willing to wear your phone in some sort of gopro mount or on a lanyard or something. That app has a pretty substantial learning curve but I’ve seen people do really cool things with it, like hear where the crosswalk lines are in a road or catch tree branches before people do, depending on echolocation and how fast they’re walking etc. I think this is a way our community has failed somewhat, we quite rightly push cane use and guide dogs for folks who want them but then balk at any potential new improvements because what we have does what it always has and we’re used to it.