Vision loss has dramatic repercussions on the quality of life of affected people, particularly with respect to their orientation and mobility. Many devices are available to help blind people to navigate in their environment. The EyeCane is a recently developed electronic travel aid (ETA) that is inexpensive and easy to use, allowing for the detection of obstacles lying ahead within a 2 m range. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential of the EyeCane as a primary aid for spatial navigation. Three groups of participants were recruited: early blind, late blind, and sighted. They were first trained with the EyeCane and then tested in a life-size obstacle course with four obstacles types: cube, door, post, and step. Subjects were requested to cross the corridor while detecting, identifying, and avoiding the obstacles. Each participant had to perform 12 runs with 12 different obstacles configurations. All participants were able to learn quickly to use the EyeCane and successfully complete all trials. Amongst the various obstacles, the step appeared to prove the hardest to detect and resulted in more collisions. Although the EyeCane was effective for detecting obstacles lying ahead, its downward sensor did not reliably detect those on the ground, rendering downward obstacles more hazardous for navigation.

The Open-Science fabrication laboratory movement is an ongoing student initiative at the School of Optometry of the University of Montreal. The pilot project, the OptoFAB, is a collaborative space specially dedicated to producing low-cost material for research purposes based on the Open-Science and Maker movements. It aims to:1.Promote Open-Science and the fast dissemination and replication of research.2.Provide accessible training for students in a multitude of disciplines (i.e., 3D printing, 3D modeling, coding, robotics).3.Encourage interdisciplinary collaborations between the different programs (e.g., research, clinical, engineering).Our laboratory model will benefit laboratories and provide students with more opportunities during and beyond their (under)graduate studies. As students are the next generation of researchers, the Open-Science fabrication laboratory aims to give them more resources to develop multi-faceted skills, improve their self-efficacy and help them build their research careers. This paper describes our model and how we aim to measure our impact ongoingly and to improve the tools and services we put at students’ disposition. We hope that, through this paper, other universities might join the movement and replicate our model within their research programs.