Hey my loves and welcome back to my channel. So today I've got a tech review for you today.
Now I am not a tech reviewer by nature. I am usually the person would only ever review
an eyeshadow palette.
But recently I was contacted by a brand called Sunu, who make a really interesting echolocation
device, that's been made for people who are blind or have visual impairments, to enable
them to navigate the world around them. And I was asked if I would like to review one
in return to be sent the band that I'm wearing in question to review.
And I said yes, because in the past it's been a bit of a running joke. People have said
to me a couple of times "Can you do echolocation?" or "Have you heard about echolocation?"
[Slow motion] "Have you heard about echolocation?"
"Echolocation?"
[Normal speed] I've just been a bit like "Errr, no, no, no, honey. I'm not Daredevil, I'm not Daredevil."
But this came on the market, and actually I'm having to kind of hold back my words a
little bit now. Because echolocation when you're visually impaired may be more of a
possibility than you thought with this new piece of technology. And today I'm going to
be explaining why that is.
So if you are interested, stick around and I'll explain more about this device, and how
you as a visually impaired person may be able to indeed harness the power of echolocation.
Also, if you're interested, I do have a discount code which you can use. So stay till the end
of the video if you're interested, and there will be a discount code for you guys, to get
10% off an order if you are interested.
Let me just make something clear. This video is not sponsored by Sunu, and I am not an
affiliate with Sunu. But this band was sent to me by Sunu for me to review. So thank you
Sunu for sending this to me.
The Sunu band is an echolocation device that helps people who are blind or have low vision
to navigate the world around them and their surroundings, using something called
sonar technology.
So basically sonar is what dolphins use. And I love dolphins, so that makes me very happy.
And basically how this device works is it will send out sound waves into the environment,
which will then feed back to the device when the sound waves connect with an object. And
then what will happen is this device will feed that back to you using something called
haptic gestures, which is basically a vibration that you'll feel through the band.
So to explain this simply, the further you are away from an object, the slower and the
more spaced out the vibrations are. And then as you get closer, the vibrations become quicker
and more rapid, until eventually it's a constant hum when you are on top of that object,
to let you know that you are very nearby to something that you might collide with.
So it's very easy after a while to get used to knowing the difference between when you're
away from an object to when you are closer to an object.
This device has 2 modes - an indoor mode and an outdoor mode. The indoor mode is designed
for closer confined spaces. So when you need feedback when you are closer to an object
in a smaller space. And an outdoor mode, which can detect things at a further distance from you.
Although, this device isn't just for echolocation. It does have a number of other features that
you can access.
This device has a sonar sensor, which always has to be in line with your thumb, no matter
what hand you use it on.
It also has 2 buttons. It has a home button, which you can use to exit any app or any feature
that you're using. And it also has the app menu button, which is also what you use to
access the 2 different sonar modes.
And then it also has a touchpad at the top, which is receptive to certain gestures like
tapping and swiping.
This device also comes with the free download of an app, for both Android and iOS users
as well. And once you have paired your device to your phone, it's pretty much very easy
to use, and you can access all the features that this device can do from the app.
One thing I liked about the device is that it has a voice option which you can enable.
So when you want to use the app or the band, if you enable the voice option it will basically
give you audio feedback on what app you're on, on what mode you are on the sonar mode.
The way that you access the sonar modes is by turning the device on and then clicking
on the app menu button once. And then, using the touchpad, you swipe outwards if you want
to use the outdoor sonar mode, and inwards if you want to use the indoor sonar mode.
Now when I was using this device out and about, one thing I did notice between the 2 modes
is that the indoor sonar mode was a little bit more subtler, compared to when you used
it outdoors, and I could definitely feel that the vibrations were a little bit more...
not aggressive, because that makes it sound scary, but you could definitely feel them more prominently
than when you were using the indoor mode.
And I think that's probably a lot more useful. Because, when you're outdoors, usually it
can be quite loud, quite busy, and I think that's a really good feature that this device
actually has.
Another thing that I liked about this device was that you can actually customise the
obstacle detection and the haptics feedback directly on the app.
So if you would like to have a further distance that it can detect when you're indoors or
outdoors, or a shorter distance, you can change it if you so wish. But then you can also
reset it if you're not happy with it.
And then the same goes for the haptics. If you want a higher intensity haptics feedback,
you can have that. Or if you want something a little bit more lower and more subtle,
you can change that as well from the app too.
This device also has a number of other features on it as well. So it can be used to tell the time.
It can detect local landmarks around you such as banks, ATMs, shops and so on.
It can be used as a pedometer. You can use it as a compass as well. And you can also
use it linked up with the app to find your phone if you've lost it,
if you're anything like me.
Now this device really does come in useful when you're tackling objects that are
higher above you or above waist height.
So I used it in different situations. I took it to the park and I was walking along this
really, really, really crowded pathway, where there was loads of overhanging branches and
loads of shrubbery. And I found that it pretty much constantly vibrated the whole time, which
pretty much indicated that there was a lot of things in the way.
I've used it both indoors and outdoors. When I was indoors I took it around my local supermarket
and it was really useful for navigating around the aisles. I used it when I went to a few
different museums in London. I've used it when I went to shops and cafés. I used it
when I was queuing up to purchase things. And I found this device was really, really
useful when I was queuing.
The reason for that is when I queue, I can't always see if someone's moved forward in the
queue. Or sometimes I move forwards too much and I bump into them, because I can't really
tell the distance. I haven't got a lot of depth perception. So this device really came
in handy for that, because it would actually vibrate a little bit less as a person moved
up in the queue, so I knew how much I could move forward without bumping into them and
colliding into them. So I did find that really useful.
When I was using the outdoor mode, I find this device really good to help me detect
if there's any pavement obstacles, for example wheelie bins, or if I'm coming up to an overhanging
shrub, or if there's roadworks on the road, things like that. It comes in really useful for that.
Generally anything that's protruding above you, anything that's gonna directly obstruct you,
It's not gonna be any use if you're trying to detect things like steps or kerbs. But
certainly if you struggle with trying to navigate your way through crowded areas and there's
a lot of pavement clutter, then you will find this device comes in really handy for this.
And it also really helped me to navigate my way around a lot of shrubbery and
overhanging branches.
I've used this device both when I use my long cane and my guide dog. Personally I find that
this device comes in a lot more handy when I'm using my long cane, just because I'm not
always able to detect a lot of the objects myself. This device does a lot of it for me.
I also used this device with my guide dog. I used it when I was going to a setting that
I hadn't ever been to before and I wasn't really sure which way I needed to go. So this
device was really useful, because I could know what was around me, to give my
guide dog instructions about what to do next.
It's not gonna replace the aids you already have. But it can certainly work in conjunction
with them, and it can form a really valuable tool, especially when you're in new situations
or if you're in a very crowded area.
Living in London, you have very narrow streets in London, especially the older parts of London.
And trying to walk through when you've got a lot of people in the way as well,
trying to congregate into one area, it can be absolute hell. But this device was really good,
because you could really get a sense of how crowded an area was.
If I walked down a street and it was crowded, it would literally be like a constant vibration,
compared to maybe a more wider street that didn't have as much traffic or as much pedestrians
on it, it was a little bit less frequent. And as you turned and pivoted your wrist,
you could really tell which parts of the street were a little bit more quieter, compared to
what parts of the street were a bit more crowded.
One thing I will say about this device is that you have to be mindful of where you're
pointing it. When I first started to use it, I sometimes would point it in the wrong direction.
So it would pick up things that were slightly to my left or to my right or at a 30 degree angle.
So when you're using this device, you have to really try and keep it straight.
You can of course move it. If you want to get an idea of what's to either side of you,
I would suggest moving it from either side, pretty much like you would do with your
long cane, so you can get an idea of what's around you.
And I definitely feel that this device would be a useful tool to have in your arsenal,
especially if you travel quite a lot or you go to new situations, and you want to have
something extra to back you up when you're in a new situation.
This device can also be used to count steps, it has a pedometer on it as well. But personally
I feel like this section of the app could do with some improvements. Because I feel like
if they added some more fitness options to this device, and had added some more options
for you to be able to really track your fitness and monitor your fitness, it would definitely
improve this app.
But all in all, I think this device has some really useful features. The sonar mode is
actually really useful for lots of different situations. And I've actually found that it's
made me more confident to get out and about, be it either with my guide dog or with my long cane.
I used this device at different times of the day. I used it in daylight and I also used
it at night when it was dark. However, I sadly couldn't really get any footage of it on my
phone or on my camera, because I couldn't really film in the dark. But you have to take
my word for it. Then it really, really helped, because I go completely blind in the dark,
and I found it was really useful for that.
I, as someone with only central vision, no peripheral vision, and very short distance vision,
and no sight in one eye, found this device useful.
I'm actually going to be taking this device with me when I go to Edinburgh for a short
trip at the end of the month. Somewhere I've never been, so I'm definitely gonna be taking
this device along with me, and I'm probably gonna be blogging with it then as well.
So if you're interested, do keep a lookout on my channel, and do be sure to subscribe, and
click the little notification bell down below to receive updates so you don't miss that one.
This device retails for $299 on the Sunu website, and they also ship worldwide. But as promised
I do have a discount code for you guys to use.
So if you want to get 10% off your order, all you have to do is enter the code "Emily"
at the checkout when you order this band, and you'll get 10% off your order.
So that concludes this review today. I really hope you found this useful. Do let me know
in the comments what you think about this device. Have you used it before? Have you
got it yourself? What are your thoughts on echolocation? Would you use this device?
Thank you so much for watching this video. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe.
And click the little notification bell to receive new updates when I make new videos.
And once again, thank you to Sunu for sending me this device to try.
And I will see you guys in my next one. Bye!
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