Regarding an electric sound sourse for the location of objects, Bill 
Gerrey said:
> It was fun to use, socially offensive to some, and worked pretty well. 
> As a training aid for use of echo location, its vurtues were praised by
> Larry Scadden. 
I know that many blind people including myself depended greatly on finger 
snapping and/or clicking to get information about our surrounding 
environment when we were kids.  The use of a cane reduced the need to 
generate sounds, but we were also discouraged from generating sounds as 
it was seen to be inappropriate.  Yet, as an adult, I still find an 
occasional situation when generating a sound that yields echos, whether 
it be a tapping cane or jingling keys, is most useful.
However, one of my gripes with some of the travel aids that have been 
suggested is the way they appear.  Therefore, I guess, one must examine 
the social implications of any device that we would intend for wide use.  
Also, as I have said before, one more device to carry that needs 
batteries may not go over.   --
          Steve Jacobson
          National Federation of the Blind
          3M Company 
          Internet:  SOJACOBSON@MMM.COM
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