While sight is something we take for granted while riding our bikes, Daniel Kish from California rides his bike based completely on sound. Kish, who is blind, goes riding around town using a method called echolocation — which effectively works as a sonar. As Kish rides his bike around he makes a clicking sounds, and the clicks then bounce back, allowing Kish to create a mental image of his surroundings. Kish’s system allows him to used his ears as his eyes, similar to bats.
Kish, who usually takes a stock of the most important structures in a new area before he starts riding, says that the differences in the aural reflections from the buildings around him allow him to tell what angles they’re standing at, or whether they have columns or balconies.
Kish is currently working on a nonprofit foundation called the World Access For the Blind. The foundation hopes to teach blind children how to navigate the world using echolocation.
Clearly an incredible display of human strength, we take our hat’s off to Kish!
Via NPR
Photo: ©DieselDemon
“…called echolocation — which effectively works as a sonar.”
Echolocation IS a form SONAR.