Using a distance sensor, a vibration motor and a LilyPad, Lynne created a light and fashionable coat for the visually impaired. As Lynne points out, a walking stick used by the blind works great for steps and foot obstacles but does little for upper body protection.
LilyPad sewn into the interior of the coat (shown inside out).
This jacket helps the wearer detect potentially harmful obstructions at
the torso level. The sonar garment is a wonderful example of assistive
clothing. Checkout Lynne's Instructable for more info.
Great work, looks beautiful. Looks like we've been working on similar things (by the way, my prototype is also done with arduino - ATiny13 and Atmega8):
http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/perception/HapticRadar/index-e.html
(I've been buying the Arduino components from Sparkfun by the way ;)
Check this too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RamTCQmnT_w&feature=channel_page