Cover Book
Team in Contactweg Amsterdam
it turns out that we are in book with our LightupCane!
LightupCane in a book about art and science
Holman competition
Crossing the street with a LightupCane
Hello dear supporters,
I tried to make a video with a mild cold to participate in the Holman competition. The Holman Foundation is based in the United States, and they promote that blind and partially sighted people do interesting things. Well, I am of course still busy with the Marchena LightupCane.
Something didn’t go quite right, so that movie is (unfortunately) called “mijn film”, my movie. Yes, it will eventually be, well, just watch it.
Do you want to vote for my video?
How? Like the video
Sincerely,
Debby
Please, could you share this message?
Finishing Touches Improvements Lightupcane
Finishing Touches
Students put the finishing touches to the improved prototypes of the Marchena Lightupcane. The presentation will take place during the Symposium “Healthcare technology: don’t talk but build” | January 22, 2020 of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
Kennisnetwerkbijeenkomst Zorgtech010
Managers at work
Managers at work
Managers at work, improving the LightupCane
Members of the Executive Board and education managers met yesterday during Knowledge network meeting Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Kenniscentrum Zorginnovatie) ZorgTech010
In a short workshop they brainstormed about improvements to our Lightup cane. In this way they could experience a little how students approach it. Then Jasper, one of the students, gave a presentation of what they have improved so far. Very promising!
Article in Amsterdam Newspaper Het Parool
New Project Hogeschool Rotterdam
Students of the Hogeschool Rotterdam are going to improve the Lightupcane.
What are the two groups of students going to do?
Making the cane user-friendly for the blind. For example, there is no tactile feedback that the light is burning, or that it stops shining, or a signal that the battery is running low. And if the cane falls it would be handy if the cane makes a noise so that you can find it again. In addition, they can come up with brilliant ideas themselves, as long as they keep communicating with me and document everything well. They also document things that “go wrong”, in order to avoid that the same “unsuccessful solutions” are devised and tried out every time.
The two groups of students had planned to “avoid” each other as much as possible during the first few weeks. Then each group can come up with ideas and solutions in deep isolation. Then they come together to forge plans together or not and to divide the work. I am super curious and very grateful!
VR 360* “Lightupcanes make me visible “
Lightup Canes Make me visible
June 20 the VR videos of Heroes & Friends Amsterdam were shown for the firsttime. The same goes for Debby’s VR video of the Marchena Lightupcane.
Presentation of Light-up cane Improvement Student Science Project – Calandlyceum Amsterdam
Julian, Max and Calvin from VWO 4 of the Caland Lyceum in Amsterdam have worked on making the Marchena Lightup Cane more user-friendly.
First, they have adapted the handle. They have added a vibration function in the handle, so that a blind user knows if the light is on and if the battery is low. They put the electronics in the handle, which is 3D printed. Their handle is longer and slightly wider than the earlier model.
They have experimented with applying the lighting to the tip, the end of the stick. Ultimately, their lighting is also in the handle, and it shines fairly far through, at least over 80 cm, the light is quite clearly visible! Their handle also gives light.
In addition, they have made the pole divisible with the tent pole principle (with thin nylon thread) and aluminum connectors.
All in all, the students of the Calandlyceum have made a useful contribution to the further development of the Marchena Lightup Cane. Thanks for that!
The Calandlyceum stands for “More than just a good diploma”.
Surely you can continue after the Calandlyceum with a good diploma. But the Calandlyceum also want our students – in the safe environment of school – to develop socially and emotionally into independent, balanced young adults. The Calandlyceum also provide the students with the best possible guidance, from first year classes to final exams.
Well, we are sure we will be seeing more achievements of these young Gentlemen.
Honours Programme Technology and Society at “Hogeschool Windesheim”
Students from Windesheim can follow an Honours Program in addition to their study program, in which they devise and elaborate technological solutions to social problems.
A group of students wanted to promote the safety of VIPs in traffic. In the end, they came up with the idea that a luminous cane was the best solution, which, moreover, can be realized in the short term.
The idea of a light-up cane is clearly spreading through the Universe!
They came to us through the “Eye Association” (a VIP interest group), and now we have 4 great members to contribute to our team.
About Windesheim
With over 22,000 students, thousands of students and 2,000 employees in the Zwolle and Almere locations, Windesheim is one of the larger Advanced Education Institutions in the Netherlands.
Windesheim is located in Zwolle, a historic city that dates from the 800’s.
Strategic policy
Windesheim wants to be among the top three of the major colleges in the Netherlands. How do we ensure this?
Mission and social mission
Our mission is to actively contribute to an inclusive and sustainable society, by training valuable professionals and conducting practice-oriented research. Giving as many talented people as possible the opportunity to follow higher education: that is the social mission of Windesheim. Regardless of origin, previous education, background or age: every student with talent counts and deserves the opportunity to fully develop.
Ambitions
This mission and social mission have been translated into three ambitions that determine the direction of Windesheim for the coming years:
1. every student has its own learning route that is personal, challenging and flexible;
2. the research at our university focuses on an inclusive and sustainable society;
3. we improve the flow of students in the education chain.
Honors Programs
Nobody knows what the world of tomorrow looks like. What we do know is that the world is complex and changeable and Windesheim is training the professionals of the future.
SightCity in Frankfurt am Main
On 8 May 2019, Debby visited SightCity, the largest trade show for VIP devices in Europe. There was an incredible amount to see, from traditional to super modern items such as obstacle detecting shoes and “Langstocken” (“Long Sticks” literally translated form German), tactile canes and identification canes.
Debby met some producers of beautiful white canes at the fair, and exchanged ideas with Mr. Bey from Comde Derenda.
The mobility trainers at the fair were very keen to inspect the Marchena Lightup Cane the moment they noticed Debby with it.
Make Health III
Thursday 18 April there was an exhibition of Make Health III in Contact 020.
Contact Amsterdam is a maker space aimed to support and promote sustainable projects.
Presentation stand of the Marchena Light-up Cane
Debby is standing in front of the various light-emitting Blind Canes
Impression of the ZieZo event
Debby had a lot of fun presenting the Lightupcane to the VIPs’ present and other interested parties, here are some impressions.
The visitors and the colleagues at the event stand have subjected the Lightupcane to close inspection and “Road Tests” for two days during the event.
People were positively impressed.
Lightupcane presentation on the open day at the Royal Visio
Debby’s Lightupcane was invited by Fred Boot, Employee Advice and Information, to present the luminous cane at Visio Heerhugowaard at the Open Visio Day. This was of course an invitation that we could not turn down.
The public found Debby’s invention “a real solution” for visibility of VIPs in the dark and in bad weather.
The table was well attended and we also received good feedback from VIPs and other visitors.
Most VIPs found the handle of the Lightupcane Blind Cane pretty slim, although some people found the edge where the plastic of the handle flows into the flashlight somewhat annoying. Certainly if you have to commute for a long time, it may rub the skin too much. With the new handle design, the cylinder has been extended to address this problem.
In general, the handle of the “Simple signalling Cane” was experienced as being extremely pleasant in the hand, although for some the handle seemed a bit large.
The signalling cane is just one meter long and equipped with a touch point. A lady who is not that tall wanted a Signalling cane like that, but with the “Gripper point” so she could connect her roller onto the Cane. What a great idea! We would not have come up so quickly ourselves. So you see again, the user ultimately decides how they want to use their Blind Cane themselves.
As a thank you for the invitation and for introducing as many VIPs as possible to the Lightupcane, we have donated a Lightupcane Blind Cane and also a signalling Cane.
We wish the entire Visio Team tons of fun with the Lightupcane. Fred immediately started testing the Cane (see photo at the top).
There were a large number of people who visited Visio because, for various reasons, had lost sight or were losing sight. Visio has an enormous amount of knowledge and resources for this target group to prepare the VIP for the future. During the day, Visio colleagues held several workshops and demonstrated the possibilities that Visio can facilitate. There is a wealth of knowledge within the team that is made entirely available to VIPs. The team really goes for it, very cool to be able to experience this up close.
Visio also gives workshops to do something with Art. In addition to the luminous Blind Cane and the and the Visio activities, there was also the exhibition by Rachel Kuipers. Rachel is a VIP whose vision continues to decline.
You could not ignore the artworks of Rachel’s exhibition when you entered. She works with colored wax on heated paper (A2 size hot plate!) And makes amazingly beautiful art.
The photo on the left is an impression, you can see the beauty of the composition well and you can see the detail a bit.
In real life the artworks are spectacularly detailed and the colors just stand out. You really can’t imagine how someone with such low vision with just pieces of colored wax can paint with this precision on a piece of paper on a hot plate.
Ingenious.
It is exactly as Rachel says: “I don’t paint with my eyes, I paint with my heart and soul.”
The themes, the colors, the composition and the finesse of her work are ingenious and extremely artistic. This artist deserves respect and a wider stage!
You can admire Rachel’s work on her facebook page and also make an appointment to see and purchase her artwork.
You can tell from the faces of Rachel and Robert Jan that it was a successful day! Chapeau for this beautiful couple and thanks for the Brownies (they were heavenly!)
(Nederlands) Radio Cast op radio 509 Amsterdam
Sorry, this entry is only available in Nederlands.
Debby is featured on Eyes on Success Podcast
Debby was interviewed in the studios of the Amsterdam TV / Radio Station AT5 for the American internet platform “Eyes of Success”. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey had heard about het exploits and took great effort to do to a very professional interview with Debby indeed!. Here is the podcast. The purpose of the “Eyes on Success” internet platform is to discusses products, services and daily living tips for people with vision loss, all from their smartphone or PC. The “Eyes on Success” website excels in simplicity and accessibility. Nancy and Peter did a great interview and also gave Debby lots of tips and tricks to enhance her internet presence. Great people, fantastic interview. We have fantastic people in our VIP communicty, you just have to find them!
Light-up Cane vs Regular White Cane
Light-up Cane vs Normal Blindcane. Any questions?
Road Test in Amsterdam Historic Center
Debby is testing the Marchena Cane in Amsterdam, in the Historic Center, close to the FabLab “De Waag”