Ideas for Innovation: The Compass Walking Stick

For the next month or so, instead of my usual philosophical pieces, I'll be sharing ideas I've had that I think we can use in the real world. I don't know if anyone has come up with them already, but if not, then these ideas are a contribution to society to use for the good of man and not to profit. In other words, I don't want to see people create a patent with these ideas (especially if you got the ideas from me). I would instead like to see people take these ideas for free and implement them for the good of the society.

The first idea is the Compass Walking Stick. I've heard that it's sometimes best to leave a blind man alone or not guide him somewhere because he may lose his orientation and sense of direction. The simple idea is to implement a compass-like device on the handle of the stick so that he can know which direction he is facing.

The tricky part is making it so the compass is touchable without erasing the position. If it's electronic, then maybe it can use an electric compass and then pop out the symbols of the directions in the proper place.

Now, while the goal is to make it so that blind people can use it, A simple design with a compass on the hilt for those who can see is good as well. In the city, it's quite easy to lose sense of direction, especially when emerging from a subway. At that point, even with a map, I had trouble identifying which direction I needed to go and my phone did not help due to the tall buildings surrounding me. I think this will benefit the elderly a great deal especially if they are using a walking stick anyways.

N. D. Moharo