MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER STATEMENT, Head of the Road Safety Department sees no objection to a luminous white cane

I received this in response to my letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management:

I hereby respond to your question to the National Government Information about the white cane that you use as a visually impaired person when you participate in traffic. You ask if you can use a cane that is luminous, because the ordinary white cane is not visible in the dark and in bad weather.

Thank you for putting this question to me. It is very unfortunate to hear that you have been hit and I understand that you are looking for ways to prevent this in the future.

The white cane should contribute to your safety in traffic. In Article 49, paragraph 1, of the 1990 Traffic Rules and Signs Regulations (https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0004825&hoofdstuk=II&paragraaf=19&artikel=49&z=2017-07-01&g=2017-07-01 ) state: “Drivers must let the blind, equipped with a white cane with one or more red rings, and let all persons with difficulty move ahead.” Thanks to the blind guide cane, other road users see that a blind person is approaching and they must let him go.

The legislation does not further define the white cane with one or more red rings, the white cane for the blind. We must therefore start from common usage. A white cane that emits white light and has one or more red rings still looks like a “white cane with one or more red rings”. From “one or more” you could infer that the legislator would not want to see just one design as a “white cane for the blind”.

It is super nice to know this!

Presentation LightupCane at Symposium

Presentatie Lightupcane op Symposium

Presentatie Lightupcane op Symposium

Two teams of students gave a joint presentation about the DIY version of the Lightupcane. They have made it suitable for the blind. When the light comes on, or goes out, the blind user receives a vibrating and sound signal. If the cane falls it will beep until it is picked up. If it needs to be charged, we will receive a signal.
Super handy!

The intention is that second-year students of electrical engineering make the electronics smaller, so that the electronics should fit into any handle.

Announcement Symposium

Students at work

Students at work

At the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences 2 teams of students have made the DIY version of the Lightupcane user-friendly, and they have been selected to give a presentation at a symposium. There is a competition element in it. I am curious how high they will finish 🙂

Symposium: ‘Healthcare technology: not lulle maar bouwe’

January 22, 2020 Time: 13:00 – 17:00 Location:

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rochussenstraat 198,

Local RS.00.311 (ground floor)

Everyone is welcome!l

https://www.hogeschoolrotterdam.nl/hogeschool/agenda/kc-zorginnovatie/symposium-nlmb/

Kennisnetwerkbijeenkomst Zorgtech010

ZorgTech010

Managers at work

Manager at work

Managers at work

Manages at work, improving the LightupCane

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!

Make Health Open Evening at Waag

Geniuses at work

Geniuses at work

Coding

Coding

Prototyping

Prototyping anti-roll away

The first Make Health Open Evening took place on November 14 in the Waag Amsterdam. More than 10 technicians accepted the challenge of improving the Marchena Lightupcane in one evening. Surprising ideas came out. On the Photos you can see a small impression of a successful evening.

VR 360* “Lightupcanes make me visible “

Aankondiging VR filmpje

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”

Studenten geven presentatie

 

 

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.

Ontmoeting met producenten op SightCity.

Debby met some producers of beautiful white canes at the fair, and exchanged ideas with Mr. Bey from Comde Derenda.

Debby in gesprek met mobiliteitstrainer van een revalidatiecentrum.

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.

Verschillende lichtgevende witte stokken

 

Presentation stand of the Marchena Light-up Cane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impressie presentatie lichtgevende witte stokken

 

 

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!)

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!

Makehealth Group Presentation

The Team presented their prototypes during a very well attended “Make Health” presentation. A total of 13 project teams proudly demonstrated their accomplishments.

The reason why private persons create solutions that people around them need differ, but they generally fall into three categories. The Solutions that exist are too expensive, they suck or simply do not exist yet. The team at “De Waag” help the team develop their Solution from Conceptual to Practical Prototype.

As did Debby’s Team. Her team had a bit of a head start on the other teams, because Debby had a clear vision of what the product would have to do. Her challenge was to get the right materials, only include the bare necessities and create a product that can stand the daily abuse of commuter travel and being slammed into objects all the time.

First the team prepared the presentation table and laid out the different prototypes the team created. Once this task was completed, we all joined the kick-off presentation in the Media room.

Paulien did a great presentation about the why and future the of Make Health platform careables.org. She also conducted a very interesting interview with the panel.

Then the audience went by each project demonstration. The pictures speak for themselves.