Hello friends! I am T K Bansal, A visually impaired Professor of Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology. Today, we are going to discuss about various types of tips that can be used with white canes.

White cane is an important tool for people like me, who are blind or visually impaired. White cane provide us means of navigating our environment safely and independently. The cane is used to detect obstacles, drop-offs, and changes in terrain and to signal to others that the user has a visual impairment. One important component of white cane is the tip, which can vary in size, shape, and material, depending on the user's needs and preferences. In this article, we will explore some of the different types of tips that are available for used with a white cane. But before going any further, let us discuss the ways in which white canes are used.

Methods in Which White Canes are Used.

With the advancement in technology, advancements are taking place in white canes also. Different types of white canes are now available. Depending upon the requirements, the method and style in which the canes are used are also different. Following are some of the ways in which white canes are now used.

The Two Point Contact Technique

The most common use of a white cane has been the two-point contact technique. In this method, the cane is held in front by the user, and the cane is moved from left to right, and on the two sides the cane is touched to the ground. This touch with the ground gives us feedback about the surface on which we are moving. However, this method does not give us any feedback about the surface in between the two points. There may be pits or obstructions in between. This method also fails to give us feedback about the changes that take place in the texture of the surface in between.

The Constant Contact Technique

In the constant contact technique, the cane is swiped from left to right on the surface without lifting it from the surface. Therefore, the tip of the cane is always in contact with the surface. This method of exploration gives us both tactile and auditory feedback about the surface in front of us. This method is the most preferred method for navigation.

Identification or ID Cane

Many times, the person is not totally blind but is partially sighted. In such cases, the white cane is not used for navigation, but is used to signal to others that the user is visually impaired. Such a cane is short in length and quite light in weight.

Commonly Used Types of Tips

Pencil Tip

The first one, or the first style, we are going to talk about today, is the most popular tip specially in India. This is the Pencil Tip, so named because it is thin and long like a pencil, shaped very similar to a pencil, but it has a rounded-off blunt tip. On average, these range from one inch to two inches in length, and these are great, very low profile, and very lightweight tips. These are not great for constant contact, because this tip is a point at the end of our cane, and it gets caught in everything. So, these tips are going to be great only for two-point contact and also for identification canes or canes that you don't need for mobility or navigation. Once again if you want to see how deep a step is or a curb and you just need to poke at it with your cane. The pencil tip is going to be great for that. Unfortunately, In India, we do not get any other type of tips, so each one of us is forced to use only the pencil tip.

The Rolling Marshmallow Tip

Now we are going to talk about the most popular tip, the Rolling Marshmallow Tip, for the white cane. It is the one that most people, in developed countries, have. The tip gets its name because it looks similar to a marshmallow – which is a sweet confectionary in the shape of a small cylinder. These tips come in different sizes – large and small and may be either rolling or static. The one that we are going to talk about is a rolling marshmallow tip. In my opinion, the rolling marshmallow tip is the Swiss Army Knife of cane tips, because this can be used in lots of different situations: They are big enough that they can roll over most obstacles. They are nice and lightweight. So, if we want to use them for two-point touch, which will work, or if we just want to have a tip on an identification cane, and we are just going to be investigating steps and things like that, that will work too. The Rolling Marshmallow Tip is perfect for constant contact. These will glide over most obstacles, although, they do get stuck sometimes. For small holes and obstructions, this tip works fine, however, it tends to get caught in on some larger obstacles like cracks and bumps in the sidewalk. It is ideal for use on rough surfaces, such as gravel or cobblestones, as it can easily detect changes in texture. This tip does work well even indoors Because it does not make much noise on smooth surfaces. it does give different auditory feedback on marble, wooden, or on cemented surfaces. In my opinion, The Rolling Marshmallow Tip is a great blessing for the visually impaired community.

Although earlier it was not available to the people in India, The Blind to Visionaries Trust has recently developed one for Indian users. Moreover, the price is so affordable that everyone can afford it.

Rolling Ball Tip:

The Rolling Ball Tip features a rolling ball at the end of the cane, which allows the user to detect obstacles by feeling the movement of the ball. This is the go-anywhere tip. The ball tip, the ball is about the size of tennis ball, a racquetball, and it rolls laterally from side-to-side. It is spherical shaped, so it glides over most obstacles, making it perfect for constant contact users. The tip is big and heavy and not ideal two-point touch, or someone that just wants to carry as an identification cane. But if you use your cane for mobility, and you find your pencil tip, or your marshmallow tip getting frequently caught or different terrains, rolling ball tip will be helpful.

Stranger and Rarely Used Tips

Now we are going to talk about some of the stranger and rarely used tips that are now available at some places in the world. these are one of the more bizarre cane tips that we have ever come across.

All-Terrain Tip

It is a long piece of plastic tubing that's about 10 or 11 inches long. It's about the same thickness as the pencil tip and even has a similar blunt end as a pencil tip, but it's also curved like a snow ski. This is supposed to be great for all types of terrain, and in fact it is expected to be great on grass, dirt, and sand. However, the tip digs into the ground, digs into the concrete, or whatever you are walking on. so.- And so it gets stuck a lot. It would be good for two-point touch.

Omni sense Tip

The omni-sense Tip can move in all directions. It has two wheels on a shaft, called omni wheels. Omni wheels are omnidirectional, i.e., they can roll in any direction. This makes this tip very versatile. It is great for constant contact. This is a heavy tip so it's not going to work great for two-point touch. It's just too much weight down at the lower end of the cane. Because it has these wheels that roll in any direction it rolls over obstacles beautifully

Rolling Wheel Tip

And finally one of the strangest tips. It's a giant wheel attached to the end of a cane. The wheel is a rubber material. It's nice and firm. It's got a little bit of rubber in the wheel and it's very simple. It's just a hub or an axle and a wheel so this one by far performs the best when rolling over obstacles, but you know there's always a but.

All right friends, so that was a nice assortment of cane tips for all of us. Different tips and what situations they might be helpful for. In case, I come across any other type of cane tip, I will try to add it to this list of cane tips.

Thank you for reading this article. In case you have any other information that can be added to this article, to make it better, please let me know, I will be thankful to you.