Hello and welcome to Ara’s assistant! I’ll be guiding you on how to use your new device. From the interface, to it’s various capabilities and features. I will also give you some helpful tips to ensure the best experience possible. Are you ready to make the most out of Ara? Let’s do this!
Battery life in devices is essential. Ara’s battery is designed to last a whole day of normal use. Ara will report on the battery status every time you turn it on. If you make a fast press on the power button it will beep 4 times, this means your device is fully charged at 100% battery, 3 times when it is at 75%, 2 times when you have 50% left and 1 time when the battery is at 25% or less. If you hear a long 2-second beep, that means the battery is drained and needs to be charged immediately.
Obstacle detection is Ara’s flagship feature. Using the array of sensors inside the device, together with our obstacle detection algorithm, Ara can detect obstacles you may run into up to 2 meters away (6 feet) in the low, mid and top regions of the body, including flights of stairs going up and down, and holes in the ground.
White Cane Mode comes activated by default and the downward-looking sensors are turned off. At the moment Ara has 3 sensors for low obstacle detection and 1 out of 3 sensors is detecting obstacles while the other 2 are gathering data for 30 days for our artificial intelligence to reach maximum resolution. We will talk about the White Cane Mode later on and how to turn on the bottom sensors at the current resolution (minimum resolution of a foot tall obstacles protruding from the floor, and no recessed obstacles from the floor).
Ara groups obstacles into 3 main categories depending on the obstacle’s position in relation to your height. The main categories are:
These are any objects you could run into from the top of your head to your shoulders. Objects could be street signs, tree branches, horizontal poles, objects hanging from the ceiling and more.
These include anything that might impact the mid part of your body, and also objects going from floor to the top of your head. These objects could be walls, poles, telephone booths, protruding windows, railings and more.
These are obstacles below your waist. This category is subdivided into protruding objects and recessed objects from the floor.
You will find a total of 10 haptic actuators on the device, 2 actuators by your shoulders (1 on each side), 2 of them by your ribs (1 on each side), and 6 on the center of the device.
There are 3 location categories, high, mid and low. Depending on the location of an obstacle, a set of actuators will vibrate accordingly. High obstacles will trigger the top shoulder actuators, mid obstacles will trigger the main core actuators, and low obstacles will trigger the side actuators.
Now that you know the different locations of the actuators, the vibration patterns will convey the type of obstacle you are dealing with. The patterns activate different actuator sequences at different frequencies to give precise information of your surroundings. For instance, every obstacle protruding from the floor will trigger 3 short pulses, and obstacles going down, such as stairs, will trigger a downward vibration.
Remember that by incorporating the two levels together we will know where the obstacle is located relative to your body height, what the obstacle is and how far away you are from it.
Tip: Whenever you are facing obstacles try to navigate your way out of them depending on the obstacle category. Don't panic. You got this!. You will become an expert on this when we talk about obstacle detection capabilities.
When you are approaching an obstacle located at head level, the Head-Obstacle vibration pattern will be triggered, and you will feel 3 short pulse vibrations on the top strap-actuators.
When you are approaching an obstacle located in the midsection of your body, the Mid-Obstacle vibration pattern will be triggered, and you will feel 3 short pulse vibrations on the center actuators of the main core’s haptic foam until you pass the obstacle.
When you are approaching a low obstacle protruding from the floor, the Low-Protruding Obstacles vibration pattern will trigger 3 short pulse vibrations on the side haptic actuators and will loop back until you pass the obstacle.
When you are approaching a low obstacle recessed from the floor level, the Low recessed Obstacles vibration pattern will be triggered, and you will feel a downward vibration pattern and it will loop back until you pass the obstacle.
For both types of low obstacles please remember that Currently, White Cane Mode comes activated by default and the downward-looking sensors are turned off. At the moment Ara has 3 sensors for low obstacle detection and 1 out of 3 sensors is detecting obstacles while the other 2 are gathering data for 30 days for our artificial intelligence to reach maximum resolution. We will talk about the White Cane Mode later on and how to turn on the bottom sensors at the current resolution (minimum resolution of a foot tall obstacles protruding from the floor, and no recessed obstacles from the floor).
When you access the White Cane Mode, Ara will shut down all its bottom sensors and allow you to walk with your cane or any mobility aid below your waist; like a white cane or a seeing-eye dog. Ara will still work normally in the top, and mid sections. To access this mode, after activating Ara, press and hold the volume-down button for 5 seconds. You will hear a confirmation notification and a haptic effect on the lower part of the device. You can go back to full obstacle detection simply by pressing and holding the volume-down button for 5 seconds again.
White Cane Mode comes activated by default and the downward-looking sensors are turned off. At the moment Ara has 3 sensors for low obstacle detection and 1 out of 3 sensors is detecting obstacles while the other 2 are gathering data for 30 days for our artificial intelligence to reach maximum resolution. We will talk about the White Cane Mode later on and how to turn on the bottom sensors at the current resolution (minimum resolution of a foot tall obstacles protruding from the floor, and no recessed obstacles from the floor).
Smart on/off is a feature that saves Ara’s battery by automatically putting the device in standby mode by turning off the sensors and haptic actuators when you stop moving (walking or making strong abrupt movements) for 3.5 seconds approximately, and turning them back on when the you start moving again1 (after you take the first step or make a strong/harsh movement (like stomping the ground). This feature will become available 15 seconds after turning on the device with the power button.
Congratulations! Now that you have graduated from the learning mode, let us try the following steps together to improve your experience and get the most out of Ara.
Choose a familiar and safe place with a variety of obstacles (head, mid, low, protruding, and recessed). Your home is an ideal location.
It's recommended to have someone assist you in simulating additional obstacles that you might not typically encounter at home.
Position yourself in front of a known obstacle, such as a flight of stairs.
Approach the obstacle slowly until you feel Ara's vibrations, indicating proximity.
Identify the haptic pattern associated with the obstacle, then step back until the vibrations cease.
Repeat this process to become familiar with the haptic feedback for different distances and obstacles.
Once you've recognized the haptic pattern, approach the obstacle again at a slow pace.
Practice moving towards and away from the obstacle to distinguish when the device starts vibrating and when you meet the obstacle.
Continue practicing with different obstacles to enhance your proficiency in using Ara.
Tip: the absence of vibration indicates a clear path. To find open spaces, rotate your body until you no longer feel any vibrations.
Note: These are only recommendations to get a better understanding of the product. At the end of the day, you need to find what works best for you.
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