LiDAR Cane vs Ear Sonar

REQUIRES AN IPHONE WITH A LIDAR SCANNER — iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro and Pro Max models. It will not work on non-Pro iPhones. LiDAR Cane turns your iPhone's LiDAR sensor into touch. Made for blind and low-vision users, it converts the distance to obstacles into haptic feedback you can feel — no screen reading required, though VoiceOver is fully supported throughout. TWO WAYS TO SENSE Cane Mode — hold the phone upright and walk. The nearest obstacle ahead taps in your hand: weak, slow taps when it is far away, building to strong, rapid drumming as it gets close. Silence means the way ahead is open. Double-tap with two fingers at any time to hear the distance spoken aloud. Touch Mode — the whole screen becomes the scene in front of the camera. Move a finger across it and feel the depth under your fingertip, ticking like a Geiger counter: closer surfaces tick faster, harder and higher pitched. Crossing the edge of a table, a doorway or a kerb gives a sharp click under your finger. Sweep around a room and build a picture of it by touch. MADE TO BE TUNED Every part of the feel is adjustable, and every setting plays a preview you can feel as you change it. Choose a preset — Near, Indoor, Outdoor, Far — or tune tap rates, distance ranges, pitch, strength, edge sensitivity and sensor smoothing yourself, then save your own named presets. Pick the voice that speaks distances, by ear, from the voices installed on your phone. BUILT ACCESSIBILITY-FIRST Every control is labelled for VoiceOver and speaks its value in real units — meters, centimeters, taps per second. The screen never sleeps mid-use. Spoken distances work even with the silent switch on. FREE, WITH OPTIONAL TIPS Everything in the app is free, for everyone, forever. If it helps you and you want to say thanks, there are optional tips — buying one only removes the Support button from the home screen. It unlocks nothing, because nothing is locked. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no analytics. The camera and LiDAR data never leave your phone. SAFETY LiDAR Cane is an awareness aid. It is not a replacement for a white cane, guide dog or other primary mobility aid, and should not be relied on as your only means of detecting obstacles. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Ear Sonar is an accessibility app that helps people who are blind or have low vision sense nearby space. It uses the iPhone’s rear LiDAR to scan what’s ahead, then turns that depth into spatial audio—or haptics—so you can “hear” the environment. What you can hear • Distance: nearer sounds arrive sooner, denser, or higher in pitch; farther sounds are sparser and lower • Direction: binaural spatial audio places objects to your left or right • Shape cues: flat walls, slopes, and gaps create distinct sonic rhythms Four sensing modes • Echolocation: row-by-row pings outline space like sonar returns • Pitch sonar: a rising scan line encodes distance as pitch in real time • Continuous sonar: a fixed center line for a live depth profile while you walk • Haptic sonar: vibration timing encodes distance—no headphones required Semantic markers Optionally detect people, vehicles, dogs, chairs, tables, doors, and more, then announce them in stereo from their real-world direction. All processing stays on device; nothing is uploaded. Tips • Stereo headphones are recommended (Apple headphones with head tracking and spatial audio work best); haptic mode can be used without headphones • Full VoiceOver support, including gestures and the rotor • Requires an iPhone with LiDAR (iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro models) • This is an assistive tool—not a replacement for a cane, guide dog, or your own judgment when traveling Open the app and start hearing space. Camera preview is on by default so sighted helpers can see what’s being scanned. To keep the experience focused, the app intentionally avoids UI that isn’t essential to core sensing. Questions or suggestions: ninerwong@outlook.com